Literary notes about Truth (AI summary)
In literature, "truth" emerges as a multifaceted theme that oscillates between an abstract ideal and a concrete demand. Philosophers such as Schopenhauer ([1]) and Pascal ([2]) treat truth as an elusive, transcendental reality that guides human understanding beyond mere factual knowledge, while writers like Nietzsche ([3]) and Emerson ([4]) use it to ground moral and social commitments. In narrative and dialogue, truth often functions as a call for authenticity and integrity—characters are implored to "tell the truth" in moments of both personal crisis and social judgment ([5], [6], [7]). Additionally, historical and religious texts ([8], [9]) use truth as a hallmark of fidelity and covenant, reinforcing its role as an enduring benchmark for justice and trust in human relationships.
- Or is it believed that somehow, with such effort and such a turmoil, the truth, at which it by no means aims, will also be brought to light?
— from The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Arthur Schopenhauer - I would then lead man to the desire of finding truth; to be free from passions, and ready to follow it where he may find it,
— from Pascal's Pensées by Blaise Pascal - Let this be the significance and the truth of thy marriage.
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson - He grieved me to the heart by bidding me tell him the whole truth; he even bade me give my word of honour that I was speaking the truth.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - Thus,— John, tell me the truth.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - Let us try, Watson, you and I, if we can get behind the lie and reconstruct the truth.
— from The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle - All his commandments are faithful: confirmed for ever and ever, made in truth and equity.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - 23 The foundation of justice, moreover, is good faith—that is, truth and fidelity to promises and agreements.
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero