Veracity does not consist in saying, but in the intention of communicating truth.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Truthfulness depends on the intent to communicate truth, not just the words spoken.
- In plain terms
- Being truthful is about your intention to tell the truth.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus on intent when communicating truth.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you verify another's intent?
- Can words be true if intent is hidden?
Another view
Intent is internal and hard to verify objectively.
More from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
An idea, in the highest sense of that word, cannot be conveyed but by a symbol.
Permalink to quote #103 Never pursue literature as a trade.
Permalink to quote #105 Milton had a highly imaginative, Cowley a very fanciful mind.
Permalink to quote #102
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