Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
There is more beauty in truth, even if it is a dreadful beauty. The storytellers at the city gate twist life so that it looks sweet to the lazy and the stupid and the weak, and this only strengthens their infirmities and teaches nothing, cures nothing, nor does it let the heart soar.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Truth, even when harsh, possesses a deeper beauty than comforting lies.
In this quote, John Steinbeck emphasizes the importance of truth, stating that even when it is unpleasant, it holds a profound beauty that can lead to enlightenment and growth. He criticizes those who distort reality to make it palatable for the weak-minded, arguing that such distortions ultimately do not provide real understanding or healing, but rather perpetuate ignorance and limitation.
Themes
TruthBeautyIgnoranceLifeUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on the importance of honesty in journalism.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
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And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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