Bible Quote by Ambrose Bierce
“INADMISSIBLE, adj. Not competent to be considered. Said of certain kinds of testimony which juries are supposed to be unfit to be entrusted with, and which judges, therefore, rule out, even of proceedings before themselves alone. Hearsay evidence is inadmissible because the person quoted was unsworn and is not before the court for examination; yet most momentous actions, military, political, commercial and of every other kind, are daily undertaken on hearsay evidence. There is no religion in the world that has any other basis than hearsay evidence. Revelation is hearsay evidence; that the Scriptures are the word of God we have only the testimony of men long dead whose identity is not clearly established and who are not known to have been sworn in any sense. Under the rules of evidence as they now exist in this country, no single assertion in the Bible has in its support any evidence admissible in a court of law. It cannot be proved that the battle of Blenheim ever was fought, that ther”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Devil’s Dictionary”, 1906
The definition argues that much of what societies accept as truth is based on unverified testimony, making it unreliable.
In simple terms: Many accepted truths rely on hearsay, lacking solid proof.
Question the foundations of accepted beliefs.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- legal proceedings
- political decisions
- religious doctrine
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What evidence would you require to accept a belief?
- Can societies function without some unverified assumptions?
Some claims may be necessary for social cohesion.