Quotes about truth and lies
458 quotes from 240 people
Who dares think one thing, and another tell,
My heart detests him as the gates of hell.
Homer900–800 BCIliad, Book IX, 312–313 (tr. Alexander Pope)Freedom is for honest people. No man who is not himself honest can be free — he is in his own trap.
L. Ron Hubbard1911–1986“Honest People Have Rights, Too” (February 8, 1960).
Aldous Huxley1894–1963Frequently attributed to Aldous Huxley (possibly to Brave New World Revisited) but not traced to a reliable source.- Aldous Huxley1894–1963Proper Studies (1927), “Note on Dogma”
- Aldous Huxley1894–1963Brave New World Revisited (1958), Chapter 11 (p. 104)
- Aldous Huxley1894–1963Time Must Have a Stop (1944), Ch. 30 (Bruno Rontini)
The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom — these are the pillars of society.
Henrik Ibsen1828–1906The Pillars of Society (1877), Act IVThe most dangerous enemy of truth and freedom amongst us is the compact majority
Blasphemy is what an old mistake says of a newly discovered truth.
Robert G. Ingersoll1833–1899The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)- Robert G. Ingersoll1833–1899The trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy (1887)
I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.
Washington Irving1783–1859Tales of a Traveler, To the Reader (1824)“Faith, sir,” replied the story-teller, “as to that matter, I don’t believe one half of it myself.”
I’m more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.
Kazuo Ishiguroborn 1954Dunn, Adam. “In the land of memory: Kazuo Ishiguro remembers when” cnn.com Book News. 27 Oct. 2000 (archived from the original on 2001-06-25).
Michael Jackson1958–2009Press statement (November 2003); quoted in “Michael Jackson Calls Child Molestation Charges ‘Lies’” (8 December 2003) JetAs a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no use.
William James1842–1910“The Will to Believe” p. 10