Truth lies within a little and certain compass, but error is immense.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Truth is precise and limited, while error is vast.
- In plain terms
- Truth is small and certain; error is huge.
- What can you take from it?
- Seek precise truths and avoid broad errors.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why is error often larger than truth?
- How can we reduce error in reasoning?
Another view
The dichotomy may ignore nuanced middle ground.
More from Henry, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke St John
I have read somewhere or other,-in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, I think,-that history is philosophy teaching by examples.
Permalink to quote #2 Nations, like men, have their infancy.
Permalink to quote #3 They (Thucydides and Xenophon) maintained the dignity of history.
Permalink to quote #4
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