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It is not enough for a wise man to study nature and truth; he should dare state truth for the benefit of the few who are willing and able to think.

— Julien Offray de La Mettrie Man a Machine (1747)

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Truth

More quotes by Julien Offray de La Mettrie

A good prescription is still more profitable than an absolution.

Write as if thou wert alone in the universe and hadst nothing to fear from the jealousies and prejudices of the people. Otherwise thou wilt miss thy purpose.

Let us not limit the resources of nature; they are infinite, especially when reinforced by great art.

Man a Machine (1747)

The soul follows the progress of the body, as it does the progress of education.

Man a Machine (1747)

If there is a revelation, it can not then contradict nature.

Man a Machine (1747)

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You have to start with the truth. The truth is the only way that we can get anywhere. Because any decision-making that is based upon lies or ignorance can't lead to a good conclusion.

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False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

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I believe in evil. It is the property of all those who are certain of truth. Despair and fanaticism are only differing manifestations of evil.

Edward Teller

Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.

Ulysses S. Grant Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant (1885)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Julien Offray de La Mettrie (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.