--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Truth and mercy require the exertion…" description: "\"Truth and mercy require the exertion - never the suppression, of man's noble rights and powers.\" — Gerrit Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/gerrit-smith-18986_compassion_truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-nev_2592029.png" --- # Truth and mercy require the exertion - never the… ![“Truth and mercy require the exertion - never the suppression, of man's noble rights and powers.” quote by Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/gerrit-smith-18986_compassion_truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-nev_2592029.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/gerrit-smith-18986_compassion_truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-nev_2592029.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/gerrit-smith-18986_compassion_truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-nev_2592029.png) > “Truth and mercy require the exertion - never the suppression, of man's noble rights and powers.” [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth and mercy require exercising, not suppressing, humanity’s noble rights. **In simple terms:** Uphold rights, not suppress them. Key Takeaway Defend human rights. Themes human rights justice compassion Mood hopeful determined Type political ethical When to use this quote - legal reform - community advocacy - education programs Key Concepts Moral philosophy civil rights activism Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect rights today? - What role does mercy play? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Suppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppression/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [When you're working for yourself and your own obsession with finding the truth, you're at your own mercy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/when-you-re-working-for-yourself-and-your-own-obsession-with-finding/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [“Love and justice mingle, truth and mercy meet”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eddison/love-and-justice-mingle-truth-and-mercy-meet/) John Eddison > [The truth doesn't have to do with cruelty, the truth has to do with mercy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-truth-doesn-t-have-to-do-with-cruelty-the-truth-has-to-do-with/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [Truly we are passing through disastrous times, when we may well make our own the lamentation of the Prophet: "There is no truth, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/truly-we-are-passing-through-disastrous-times-when-we-may-well-make/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [Let the Saints remember that great things depend on their individual exertion, and that they are called to be co-workers with us and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/let-the-saints-remember-that-great-things-depend-on-their-individual/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [Perhaps there is no gift of nature that requires as little exertion on the part of the owner as personal beauty. I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/perhaps-there-is-no-gift-of-nature-that-requires-as-little-exertion/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [customary interruptions are not only gratifying and cheering, but they are also really necessary in order to gain breath and voice to carry one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-siddons/customary-interruptions-are-not-only-gratifying-and-cheering-but-they/) [Sarah Siddons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-siddons/) > [Perhaps the chief cause which has retarded the progress of poetry in America, is the want of that exclusive cultivation, which so noble a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/perhaps-the-chief-cause-which-has-retarded-the-progress-of-poetry-in/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Before thou callest a man hero or genius, investigate whether his exertion has features of indelibility; for all that is celestial, all genius, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/before-thou-callest-a-man-hero-or-genius-investigate-whether-his/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [Nowledge is not a passion from without the mind, but an active exertion of the inward strength, vigor and power of the mind, displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-cudworth/nowledge-is-not-a-passion-from-without-the-mind-but-an-active/) [Ralph Cudworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-cudworth/) > [“He was dangerous. And difficult. And he was all mine. Sometimes in the morning, when he worked in the gym one floor below, I’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-was-dangerous-and-difficult-and-he-was-all-mine-sometimes-in-the/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [All that the Y.M.C.A.'s horse and rings really accomplished was to fill me with an ineradicable distaste, not only for Christian endeavor in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/all-that-the-y-m-c-a-s-horse-and-rings-really-accomplished-was-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/used-with-due-abstinence-hope-acts-as-a-healthful-tonic-intemperately/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“It is not the actual, physical exertion that counts towards one’s progress, not the nature of the task but by the spirit of faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-the-actual-physical-exertion-that-counts-towards-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Gerrit Smith > [The only ground on which a neutral State can claim respect at the hands of belligerents is, that, so far as she is concerned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/the-only-ground-on-which-a-neutral-state-can-claim-respect-at-the/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [God cannot approve of a system of servitude, in which the master is guilty of assuming absolute power - of assuming God's place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/god-cannot-approve-of-a-system-of-servitude-in-which-the-master-is/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [It is manifestly vital to the success of the anti-slavery cause, that the authority and influence of proslavery, especially of slaveholding, ministers should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/it-is-manifestly-vital-to-the-success-of-the-anti-slavery-cause-that/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [True liberty acknowledges and defends the equal rights of all men, and all nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/true-liberty-acknowledges-and-defends-the-equal-rights-of-all-men-and/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [It, sometimes, suits the slaveholders to claim, that their slavery is an exclusively State concern; and that the North has, therefore, nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/it-sometimes-suits-the-slaveholders-to-claim-that-their-slavery-is-an/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [To no human charter am I indebted for my rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/to-no-human-charter-am-i-indebted-for-my-rights/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [I welcomed the organization of the Anti-slavery Society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/i-welcomed-the-organization-of-the-anti-slavery-society/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [When a good man lends himself to the advocacy of slavery, he must, at least for a time, feel himself to be any where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/when-a-good-man-lends-himself-to-the-advocacy-of-slavery-he-must-at/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [My rights all spring front an infinitely nobler source - from favor and grace of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/my-rights-all-spring-front-an-infinitely-nobler-source-from-favor-and/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [I need say no more, to prove that slavery is entirely unlike the servitude in the patriarchal families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/i-need-say-no-more-to-prove-that-slavery-is-entirely-unlike-the/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [I trust, that your readers will not construe my words to mean, that I would not have gone to a 3 o'clock in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/i-trust-that-your-readers-will-not-construe-my-words-to-mean-that-i/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [I prefer, in a word, the republican system, because it comes up more nearly to God's system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/i-prefer-in-a-word-the-republican-system-because-it-comes-up-more/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [Our concern, however, is with slavery as it is, and not with any theory of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/our-concern-however-is-with-slavery-as-it-is-and-not-with-any-theory/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [We must continue to judge of slavery by what it is, and not by what you tell us it will, or may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/we-must-continue-to-judge-of-slavery-by-what-it-is-and-not-by-what/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [But, although America cannot be justly charged with violating the rights of Turkey, Turkey nevertheless can be justly charged with violating the rights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/but-although-america-cannot-be-justly-charged-with-violating-the/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) [Explore all 33 Gerrit Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) Segun Magbagbeola > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) Talib al Habib > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Truth and mercy require the exertion - never the suppression, of man's noble rights and powers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerrit Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-never-the-suppression-of-man-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-never-the-suppression-of-man-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/gerrit-smith-18986_compassion_truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-nev_2592029.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/gerrit-smith-18986_compassion_truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-nev_2592029.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/gerrit-smith-18986_compassion_truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-nev_2592029.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Truth and mercy require the exertion - never the suppression, of man's noble rights and powers.” — Gerrit Smith", "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": "Gerrit Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Truth and mercy require the exertion...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-never-the-suppression-of-man-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/truth-and-mercy-require-the-exertion-never-the-suppression-of-man-s/#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 } } ] } ```