In a world where information is abundant and often conflicting, the concept of truth can sometimes seem elusive. Yet throughout history, philosophers, writers, and leaders have grappled with the question of what truth really means, and how we can find it. Whether we’re seeking personal truths about ourselves or trying to navigate complex societal issues, quotes about truth can offer guidance and inspiration.
From the ancient wisdom of Confucius and Buddha to the modern insights of Oprah Winfrey and Nelson Mandela, truth quotes provide a powerful reminder of the importance of seeking and upholding what is true and authentic. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most insightful and thought-provoking quotes about truth, and reflect on what they can teach us about living with integrity and purpose.
85 Truth Quotes
- “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” – Joe Klaas
2. “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain
3. “Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” – Roy T. Bennett
4. “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde
5. “The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.” – Lao Tzu
6. “Knowledge is a destination. Truth, the journey.” – Terry Goodkind
7. “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.” – George Bernard Shaw
8. “There’s more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.” – John Steinbeck
9. “Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.” – Pablo Picasso
10. “Stop doing what is easy. Start doing what is right.” – Roy T. Bennett
Telling The Truth Quotes
11. “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” – Ernest Hemingway
12. “The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.” – Augustine of Hippo
13. “Adversity is the first path to truth.” – Lord Byron
14. “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t going away.” – Elvis Presley
15. “The truth is not for all men but only for those who seek it.” – Ayn Rand
16. “In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell
17. “Trust starts with truth and ends with truth.” – Santosh Kalwar
18. “Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.” – Mark Twain
19. “Wanting to be liked can get in the way of truth.” – Delia Ephron
20. “There are few reasons for telling the truth, but for lying the number is infinite.” – Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Quotes About Truth
21. “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.” – Walt Whitman
22. “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” – Aldous Huxley
23. “Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.” – Michelle Hodkin
24. “Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies.” – Nietzsche
25. “To make a true choice, we must have true knowledge.” – Cassandra Clare
26. “Truth never damages a cause that is just.” – Mahatma Gandhi
27. “Never apologize for showing your feelings. When you do, you are apologizing for the truth.” – José N. Harris
28. “The object of the superior man is truth.” – Confucius
29. “When truth is replaced by silence,the silence is a lie.” – Yevgeny Yevtushenko
30. “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” – Oscar Wilde
Reality Life Truth Quotes
31. “That’s what fiction is for. It’s for getting at the truth when the truth isn’t sufficient for the truth.” – Tim O’Brien
32. “I believe that truth has only one face: that of a violent contradiction.” – Georges Bataille
33. “Three things can not hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth.” – Gautama Buddha
34. “Truth is not something outside to be discovered, it is something inside to be realized.” – Osho
35. “I like the truth, even when it does trouble me.” – Juliet Marillier
36. “Better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.” – Khaled Hosseini
37. “Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.” – Warren Wiersbe
38. “Sometimes the truth hurts. And sometimes it feels real good.” – Henry Rollins
39. “When no one you know tells the truth, you learn to see under the surface.” – Cassandra Clare
39. “The truth is like salt. Men want to taste a little, but too much makes everyone sick.” – Joe Abercrombie
40. “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” – Flannery O’Connor
Quotes On Truth and Honesty
41. “Tell the truth, or someone will tell it for you.” – Stephanie Klein
42. “The truth doesn’t always set you free; people prefer to believe prettier, neatley wrapped lies” – Jodi Picoult
43. “If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” – Virginia Woolf
44. “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” – William Shakespeare
45. “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson
46. “The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.” – David Foster Wallace
47. “It is truth that liberates, not your effort to be free.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
48. “Truth is on the side of the oppressed.” – Malcolm X
49. “Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.” – George Washington
50. “There’s no comfort in the truth, pain is all you’ll find.” – George Michael
Speaking Your Truth Quotes
51. “People always say life is too short for regrets. But the truth is, it’s too long.” – Sarah Addison Allen
52. “A harmful truth is better than a useful lie.” – Thomas Mann
53. “Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.” – St. Catherine of Siena
54. “People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe.” – Andy Rooney
55. “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” – Blaise Pascal
56. “The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and must therefore be treated with great caution.” – J. K. Rowling
57. “Justice is truth in action.” – Benjamin Disraeli
58. “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” – Galileo Galilei
59. “Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.” – St. Vincent de Paul
60. “If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth.” – Carl Sagan
Short Truth Quotes
61. “Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time.” – Benjamin Disraeli
62. “Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.” – Albert Einstein
63. “Truth exists; only lies are invented.” – Georges Braque
64. “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” – James A. Garfield
65. “I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
66. “Truth is what your contemporaries let you get away with.” – Richard Rorty
67. “No one dies of fatal truths nowadays: there are too many antidotes.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
68. “Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.” – Andre Gide
69. “There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure truth.” – Maya Angelou
70. “Accept yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses, your truths, and know what tools you have to fulfill your purpose.” – Steve Maraboli
71. “Never assume the obvious is true.” – William Safire
72. “The truth may not set you free, but used carefully, it can confuse the hell out of your enemies.” – Laurell K. Hamilton
Famous Quotes about Truth
73. “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde
74. “Knowing the truth is not always a kindness.” – Rosamund Hodge
75. “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” – Buddha
76. “Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.” – George R.R. Martin
77. “Truth is always served by great minds, even if they fight it.” – Jean Rostand
78. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” – Isaac Newton
79. “Comfort is no test of truth. Truth is often far from being comfortable.” – Swami Vivekananda
80. The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. – Ernest Hemingway
81. “The truth is what I cherish and that’s my strength” – Sophocles
82. “The pursuit of truth will set you free; even if you never catch up with it.” – Clarence Darrow
83. “The truth isn’t always beauty, but the hunger for it is.” – Nadine Gordimer
84. “Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority.” – Francis Bacon
85. “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.” – Robert H. Schuller
the power of truth cannot be overstated. The quotes we’ve explored in this article remind us that truth is not just a matter of facts and information, but also of personal integrity and authenticity.
Whether we’re navigating complex societal issues or seeking to better understand ourselves, seeking and upholding what is true and authentic is essential to living a meaningful and fulfilling life.
So the next time you find yourself struggling with a difficult decision or grappling with a complex issue, remember the wisdom of these truth quotes and let them guide you towards a more honest, compassionate, and authentic path
Additional Read: The importance of truthfulness