--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a man wishes he generally believes…" description: "\"“What a man wishes he generally believes to be true”\" — Demosthenes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/demosthenes-11463_quote_what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes_2149870.jpg" --- # What a man wishes he generally believes to be true ![“What a man wishes he generally believes to be true” quote by Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/demosthenes-11463_quote_what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes_2149870.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/demosthenes-11463_quote_what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes_2149870.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/demosthenes-11463_quote_what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes_2149870.jpg) > ““What a man wishes he generally believes to be true”” [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man’s desires shape his beliefs, influencing his perception of truth. **In simple terms:** Desires guide belief. Key Takeaway Examine your wishes before accepting truths. Themes belief desire perception Mood inquisitive critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - decision making - political persuasion - personal growth Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What wishes are shaping your current beliefs? - Can you separate desire from fact? A Different Perspective Strong desires may blind objective assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believes/) [Believes True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believes-true-254339/) [Generally Believes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generally-believes-3719640/) [Man Wishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-wishes-289427/) [Wishes Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishes-generally-4514745/) ## Related quotes > [“the easiest thing of all is to deceive oneself, for what a man wishes, he generally believes to be true!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/the-easiest-thing-of-all-is-to-deceive-oneself-for-what-a-man-wishes/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-easier-than-self-deceit-for-what-each-man-wishes-that-he/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what every man wishes, that he also believes to be true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-easier-than-self-deceit-for-what-every-man-wishes-that-he/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [Every historian with professional standards speaks or writes what he believes to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-e-morison/every-historian-with-professional-standards-speaks-or-writes-what-he/) [Samuel E. Morison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-e-morison/) > [“You may not believe this. No one believes this, but it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-may-not-believe-this-no-one-believes-this-but-it-is-true/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lilly/in-the-province-of-the-mind-what-one-believes-to-be-true-either-is-2/) [John Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lilly/) > [A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/a-man-is-his-own-easiest-dupe-for-what-he-wishes-to-be-true-he/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. 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To remind a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/he-who-confers-a-favor-should-at-once-forget-it-if-he-is-not-to-show/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [Since we are not yet fully comfortable with the idea that people from the next village are as human as ourselves, it is presumptuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/since-we-are-not-yet-fully-comfortable-with-the-idea-that-people-from/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each me wishes, that he also believes is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-easier-than-self-deceit-for-what-each-me-wishes-that-he/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [Success has a great tendency to conceal and throw a veil over the evil deeds of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/success-has-a-great-tendency-to-conceal-and-throw-a-veil-over-the/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [I decline to buy repentance at the cost of ten thousand drachmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/i-decline-to-buy-repentance-at-the-cost-of-ten-thousand-drachmas/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [“Was man wünscht, das glaubt auch jeder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/was-man-w-nscht-das-glaubt-auch-jeder/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [It is impossible for men engaged in low and groveling pursuits to have noble and generous sentiments. A man's thought must always follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/it-is-impossible-for-men-engaged-in-low-and-groveling-pursuits-to/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [Close alliances with despots are never safe for free states.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/close-alliances-with-despots-are-never-safe-for-free-states/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [“I'll betide thee, say I, and may the Gods, or at least the Athenians, confound thee for a vile citizen and a vile third-rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/i-ll-betide-thee-say-i-and-may-the-gods-or-at-least-the-athenians/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) [Explore all 59 Demosthenes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) ## More Believes quotes > [A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-erhard/a-compromise-is-the-art-of-dividing-a-cake-in-such-a-way-that/) [Ludwig Erhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-erhard/) > [Only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/only-he-who-believes-is-obedient-and-only-he-who-is-obedient-believes/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [If she gives you her heart she believes you are all she needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-jush/if-she-gives-you-her-heart-she-believes-you-are-all-she-needs/) [El Jush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-jush/) > [“He is a missionary and believes in God, intensely I mean, but it takes all kinds to make a world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-paton/he-is-a-missionary-and-believes-in-god-intensely-i-mean-but-it-takes/) [Alan Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-paton/) > [I see myself as a man who is searching for meaning in life. 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Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/when-you-design-a-building-you-start-from-a-general-philosophy-and/) [Renzo Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-piano/) > [I believe in myself like a five-year-old believes in himself. They say look at me, look at me! Then they do a flip in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-believe-in-myself-like-a-five-year-old-believes-in-himself-they-say/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [“By night an atheist half believes in God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/by-night-an-atheist-half-believes-in-god/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [President Clinton not only benefits by gay and lesbian votes, but he benefits by showing the nation that he is a strong leader who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mixner/president-clinton-not-only-benefits-by-gay-and-lesbian-votes-but-he/) [David Mixner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mixner/) > [Cynicism, I contend, is the wailing of someone who believes that things are, or should be, or could be, much, much better than they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-becker/cynicism-i-contend-is-the-wailing-of-someone-who-believes-that-things/) [Walter Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-becker/) > [“Everyone believes very easily whatever he fears or desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/everyone-believes-very-easily-whatever-he-fears-or-desires/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [“The God I believe in believes in me and won’t silence my heart or others based on a paycheck at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-alder/the-god-i-believe-in-believes-in-me-and-won-t-silence-my-heart-or/) [Shannon Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-alder/) > [It's hard to come across genuine people now a days and no one believes in the truth anymore either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-hard-to-come-across-genuine-people-now-a-days-and-no-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 736 Believes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What a man wishes he generally believes to be true”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Demosthenes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes-to-be-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes-to-be-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/demosthenes-11463_quote_what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes_2149870.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/demosthenes-11463_quote_what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes_2149870.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/demosthenes-11463_quote_what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes_2149870.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What a man wishes he generally believes to be true” — Demosthenes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Demosthenes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What a man wishes he generally...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes-to-be-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/what-a-man-wishes-he-generally-believes-to-be-true/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```