PRETTY much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jnr.
Redundancy theorists infer … that truth is a redundant concept; that is, it is merely a word that is traditionally used in conversation or writing, generally for emphasis, but not a word that actually equates to anything in reality. Wikipedia.
We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are. Anäis Nin.
There are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that play the devil. Alfred North Whitehead.
All things are subject to interpretation; whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth. Friedrich Nietzsche.
As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our trouble. Whose authority? The Old Testament? The New Testament? The Koran? In practice, people choose the book considered sacred by the community in which they are born, and out of that book they choose the parts they like, ignoring the others. At one time, the most influential text in the Bible was: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Nowadays, people pass over this text, in silence if possible; if not, with an apology. And so, even when we have a sacred book, we still choose as truth whatever suits our own prejudices. Bertrand Russell.
I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabrics of their life. Leo Tolstoy.
The wayfarer, perceiving the pathway to truth, was struck with astonishment. It was thickly grown with weeds. “Ha,” he said, “I see that none has passed here in a long time.” Later he saw that each weed was a singular knife. “Well,” he mumbled at last, “doubtless there are other roads.” Stephen Crane.
The national argument right now is, one, whose got the truth and, two, whose got the facts … Until we can manage to get the two of them back together again, we’re not going to make much progress. Michael Adams.
I have this theory that there are five kinds of truth. There is the truth you tell to casual strangers and acquaintances. There is the truth you tell to your general circle of friends and family members. There is the truth you tell to only one or two people in your entire life. There is the truth you tell to yourself. And finally, there is the truth that you do not admit even to yourself. J Michael Straczynski
There are always four sides to a story: your side, their side, the truth and what really happened. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Beyond all particular questions, the real problem lies in the question of truth. Pope Benedict
MICHEL PIREU: pireum@bdfm.co.za