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When fiction rises pleasing to the eye,
Men will believe, because they love the lie;
But Truth herself, if clouded with a frown,
Must have some solemn proof to pass her down.

— Charles Churchill An Epistle to William Hogarth (1763)

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Truth

More quotes by Charles Churchill

Be England what she will,
With all her faults she is my country still.

The Farewell (1764)

Men the most infamous are fond of fame,
And those who fear not guilt yet start at shame.

The Author (1763)

He mouths a sentence as curs mouth a bone.

The Rosciad (1761)

Wherever waves can roll, and winds can blow.

The Farewell (1764)

Not without art, but yet to Nature true.

The Rosciad (1761)

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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: Charles Churchill (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.