4 A. E. Housman Quotes on Truth

A. E. Housman quotes on truth

2. The house of delusions is cheap to build, but draughty to live in, and ready at any instant to fall.

3. The average man, if he meddles with criticism at all, is a conservative critic. His opinions are determined not by his reason -- 'the bulk of mankind' says Swift 'is as well qualified for flying as for thinking' -- but by his passions; and the faintest of all human passions is the love of truth. He believes that the text of ancient authors is generally sound, not because he has acquainted himself with the elements of the problem, but because he would feel uncomfortable if he did not believe it; just as he believes, on the same cogent evidence, that he is a fine fellow, and that he will rise again from the dead.

43. Hope lies to mortals And most believe her, But man's deceiver Was never mine.

52. The most important truth which has ever been uttered, and the greatest discovery ever made in the moral world.