-Alfred North Whitehead
A half truth is a whole lie.
-Jewish proverb
Perhaps I'm just having a hard time Googling the right keywords. But isn't there a quote about truth being preferable to lies - something like:
I'll take a painful truth delivered with care over a lie told with apathy.
Which is a thing I strongly believe. So if I can take credit for that quote, I will. But it just seems that it should exist in some form similar to that.
I can accept painful truth and grow from it. It may not be fun. It certainly will be an emotional negative, but the truth is something I can work out some way to deal with.
Lies eventually take a lot more work, for the teller and for the receiver. Which brings up another one that I'll take credit for if someone smarter than me has not already expressed it better:
It is harder to forgive a friend for a lie than it is to forgive them for the truth.
When people ask "Can I be honest with you?" I say "Bring it on!"
The man who fears no truths has nothing to fear from lies.
-Thomas Jefferson
If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.
-Mark Twain
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13 comments:
And the truth is a LOT easier to remember...
Dryden: If we've told lies, you've told half-lies and a man who tells lies, like me, merely hides the truth, but a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it.
T.E. Lawrence: The truth is I'm an ordinary man. You might have told me that, Dryden, and I want an ordinary job, sir. That's my reason for resigning. It's personal.
Yet another great scene from a great film, "Lawrence of Arabia."
Must see movie.
The truth may be a hard pill to swallow but I'll take it rather than lose trust in someone who lies to me.
a world of wisdom here. the hardest pain i've ever endured is due to lies...
Here you go: Proverbs 27:5-7
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb,
but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
The truth never changes. You can always depend on it being constant. It is what it is.
Lies are always subject to change and are highly variable. A foundation based upon lies will always crack.
I'm with Mark Twain. There are more than enough things to keep track of as it is.
The second post on my blog was on truth. There are a few quotes there (http://wordybitch.blogspot.com/2006/05/on-truth-and-change.html).
My favorite from that post is this one.
Miguel de Unamuno said:
I shall be asked, "What is your religion?"
And I shall answer that my religion
Is to seek truth in life and life in truth,
Conscious that I shall not find them while I live;
My religion is to struggle tirelessly
And incessantly with the unknown.
Ummm.... The Truth is Out There????
Thank you all!
It is a lot easier for some people to say that they want to hear the truth (even painful) from the other person, than it is for them to be completely honest with someone.
Honesty is a great thing to practice.
“The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.”
--H.L. Mencken
I was raised in an environment of "close your eyes and open then again, and everything will be fine!" The result is that I am now hungry for truth above all else. The result of that is that I don't see much of my family. *sigh*
I'd rather be alone and live in truth, than be in relationships based on lies.
Amen to that, Joanna.
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