The truth is perilous never to the true,
Nor knowledge to the wise; and to the fool,
read more

The truth is perilous never to the true,
Nor knowledge to the wise; and to the fool,
And to the false, error and truth alike,
Error is worse than ignorance.

So shall you hear
Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,
Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters,
read more

So shall you hear
Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,
Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters,
Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause,
And, in this upshot, purposes mistook
Fall'n on th' inventors' heads.

By Hercules! I prefer to err with Plato, whom I know how much
you value, than to be right read more

By Hercules! I prefer to err with Plato, whom I know how much
you value, than to be right in the company of such men.
[Lat., Errare mehercule malo cum Platone, quem tu quanti facias,
scio quam cum istis vera sentire.]

It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily read more

It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it.

Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls, must dive below.

Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls, must dive below.

It is only an error in judgment to make a mistake, but it shows infirmity of character to adhere to read more

It is only an error in judgment to make a mistake, but it shows infirmity of character to adhere to it when discovered

Knowledge being to be had only of visible and certain truth,
error is not a fault of our knowledge, read more

Knowledge being to be had only of visible and certain truth,
error is not a fault of our knowledge, but a mistake of our
judgment, giving assent to that which is not true.

Man approaches the unattainable truth through a succession of errors.

Man approaches the unattainable truth through a succession of errors.

A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.

A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.