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Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it Confucius All truth is safe and nothing else is safe, but he who keeps back truth, or withholds it from men, from motives of expediency, is either a coward or a criminal.
James Russell Lowell
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Truth is more valuable than comfort, and those who love the truth are superior to those who merely know it.

This quote emphasizes the distinction between merely having knowledge of the truth and having a deep love and commitment to it. It suggests that while many may understand the truth, it is those who cherish and advocate for it that hold a higher moral ground, as truth requires courage and integrity to defend, especially in a world that often favors convenience over honesty.

Themes

TruthLoveCourageIntegrityPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of honesty in leadership.

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