"Necessity can make a doubtful action innocent, but it cannot make it commendable."

Joseph Joubert Literature See all quotes by Joseph Joubert →

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“All these philosophers are no more than surgeons.”

“In such times, if you want neither to lie nor to wound, you are reduced to being silent.”

“Fortunately, when he lacks reason he also lacks words.”

“Stars more beautiful to the eyes than the telescope that robs them of their illusions.”

“The punishment of those who have loved women too much is to love them forever.”

“Of what must be said and what must not be said. The importance of knowing.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Comrade Khrushchev often repeats that Socialism cannot be built with American wheat. I think it can be done by anyone who knows how to do it, while a person who doesn't know how to do it cannot build …"

— Josip Broz Tito

Politics1892–1980

#knowledge

"In time, you’ll come to understand that a state like ours cannot afford to offer up a show of weakness for honesty’s sake; Duke Nicovante charges me with vouchsafing his security, not his conscience."

— Scott Lynch

Literature1978

#truth

"Judah Benjamin said, "The nations of Europe continue to abhor our policy, try as we will to convince them that we cannot do otherwise. Mr. Mason has written from London that Her Majesty's government m…"

— Harry Turtledove

Literature1949

#time

"You cannot define objective truth without understanding the nature of truth... So what does the brain mean by saying that it's discovered something as truth... A model can be predictive or not... here…"

— Joscha Bach

Philosophy1973

#truth