--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: not judging truth to be in nature better…" description: "\"not judging truth to be in nature better than falsehood, but setting a value upon both according to interest.\" — John Dryden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/john-dryden-491_falsehood_not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better_2891105.jpg" --- # not judging truth to be in nature better than falsehood… ![“not judging truth to be in nature better than falsehood, but setting a value upon both according to interest.” quote by John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/john-dryden-491_falsehood_not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better_2891105.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/john-dryden-491_falsehood_not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better_2891105.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/john-dryden-491_falsehood_not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better_2891105.jpg) > “not judging truth to be in nature better than falsehood, but setting a value upon both according to interest.” [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests evaluating truth and falsehood based on personal relevance rather than inherent superiority. **In simple terms:** Assess ideas by usefulness, not absolute truth. Key Takeaway Prioritize what matters to you. Themes philosophy truth subjectivity Mood contemplative critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal decision making - debate - media analysis Key Concepts ethical relativism value theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what is valuable? - When does subjectivity become harmful? A Different Perspective May overlook objective facts that affect others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-falsehood-4061130/) [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Falsehood Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood-setting-4061131/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Judging Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging-truth-377802/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Not judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-judging/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Settings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settings/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-nature-807392/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [When happiness becomes our standard for judging truth, things that make us happy give us permission to do some things that otherwise would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/when-happiness-becomes-our-standard-for-judging-truth-things-that/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The Bible judges the church; the church does not judge the Bible. The Bible is the foundation for and the creator of the church;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-bible-judges-the-church-the-church-does-not-judge-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Because we are finite creatures who live in time, we cannot see things clearly. Be careful in judging others because the truth of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/because-we-are-finite-creatures-who-live-in-time-we-cannot-see-things/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [I try to get my subconscious to puke out as much stuff as I can because I'm really not judging myself while making music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arca/i-try-to-get-my-subconscious-to-puke-out-as-much-stuff-as-i-can/) [Arca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arca/) > [Enlightenment happens only in that moment when there is no complaint in you,when you are not going anywhere, not desiring, not condemning, not judging.You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/enlightenment-happens-only-in-that-moment-when-there-is-no-complaint/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I try not to live my life worrying about what others think. A core spiritual quality is nonjudgment, which is not just about not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/i-try-not-to-live-my-life-worrying-about-what-others-think-a-core/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Gluttony should be destroyed by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store; avarice by compassion for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-damascus/gluttony-should-be-destroyed-by-self-control-unchastity-by-desire-for/) [John of Damascus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-damascus/) > [If you're not judging what happens, then you're trusting what others are doing, what you're playing, and trusting what you're playing.And it can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/if-you-re-not-judging-what-happens-then-you-re-trusting-what-others/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-the-apostle/he-that-is-without-sin-among-you-let-him-first-cast-a-stone-at-her/) [John the Apostle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-the-apostle/) > [Do not judge, and you will never be mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/do-not-judge-and-you-will-never-be-mistaken/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I think closing-off is the most detrimental thing we can do as people. Also, the idea of not judging oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-closing-off-is-the-most-detrimental-thing-we-can-do-as-people/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Before we snap to judge someone who's done a horrible crime, is it possible that all of us in the worst possible circumstances could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-black/before-we-snap-to-judge-someone-who-s-done-a-horrible-crime-is-it/) [Jack Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-black/) > [Not judging people is the fastest way to peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-jackson/not-judging-people-is-the-fastest-way-to-peace/) [Jonathan Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-jackson/) > [The most important thing in playing any character is not judging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keira-knightley/the-most-important-thing-in-playing-any-character-is-not-judging/) [Keira Knightley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keira-knightley/) > [Honor your parents by not judging them. Give them the benefit of doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/honor-your-parents-by-not-judging-them-give-them-the-benefit-of-doubt/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) ## More by John Dryden > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Trust on and think To-morrow will repay; To-morrow's falser than the former day; Lies worse; and while it says, we shall be blest With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/trust-on-and-think-to-morrow-will-repay-to-morrow-s-falser-than-the/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [To take up half on trust, and half to try, Name it not faith but bungling bigotry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/to-take-up-half-on-trust-and-half-to-try-name-it-not-faith-but/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Among our crimes oblivion may be set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/among-our-crimes-oblivion-may-be-set/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [And after hearing what our Church can say, If still our reason runs another way, That private reason 'tis more just to curb, Than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/and-after-hearing-what-our-church-can-say-if-still-our-reason-runs/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Happy, happy, happy pair! None but the brave deserves the fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/happy-happy-happy-pair-none-but-the-brave-deserves-the-fair/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [A coward is the kindest animal; 'Tis the most forgiving creature in a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/a-coward-is-the-kindest-animal-tis-the-most-forgiving-creature-in-a/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [God never made his work for man to mend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/god-never-made-his-work-for-man-to-mend/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Reason to rule, mercy to forgive: The first is law, the last prerogative. Life is an adventure in forgiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/reason-to-rule-mercy-to-forgive-the-first-is-law-the-last-prerogative/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Stiff opinion, always in the wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/stiff-opinion-always-in-the-wrong/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [He with a graceful pride, While his rider every hand survey'd, Sprung loose, and flew into an escapade; Not moving forward, yet with every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/he-with-a-graceful-pride-while-his-rider-every-hand-survey-d-sprung/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Men's virtues I have commended as freely as I have taxed their crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/men-s-virtues-i-have-commended-as-freely-as-i-have-taxed-their-crimes/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Virtue without success is a fair picture shown by an ill light; but lucky men are favorites of heaven; all own the chief, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/virtue-without-success-is-a-fair-picture-shown-by-an-ill-light-but/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/zeal-the-blind-conductor-of-the-will/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“Night came, but unattended with repose. Alone she came, no sleep their eyes to close. Alone and black she came; no friendly stars arose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/night-came-but-unattended-with-repose-alone-she-came-no-sleep-their/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) [Explore all 520 John Dryden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) ## More Falsehood quotes > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [falsehood is not more unjustifiable than unsafe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/falsehood-is-not-more-unjustifiable-than-unsafe/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Falsehood of a good man is better than truth of a bad one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/falsehood-of-a-good-man-is-better-than-truth-of-a-bad-one/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tangible language, which often tells more falsehoods than truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tangible-language-which-often-tells-more-falsehoods-than-truths/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Whether statistics be an art or a science... or a scientific art, we concern ourselves little. It is the basis of social and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolphe-quetelet/whether-statistics-be-an-art-or-a-science-or-a-scientific-art-we/) [Adolphe Quetelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolphe-quetelet/) > [Falsehood, like the dry-rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-the-dry-rot-flourishes-the-more-in-proportion-as-air/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“God is not as a man.” He thus shows that all men are indeed guilty of falsehood, inasmuch as they change from one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/god-is-not-as-a-man-he-thus-shows-that-all-men-are-indeed-guilty-of/) [The Church Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-fathers/) > [People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-have-been-gulled-into-thinking/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [One of the reasons, surely, why women have been credited with less perfect veracity than men is that the burden of conventional falsehood falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-reasons-surely-why-women-have-been-credited-with-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He had the unlucky capacity many men have of seeing and believing in the possibility of goodness and truth, but of seeing the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-had-the-unlucky-capacity-many-men-have-of-seeing-and-believing-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Browse all 724 Falsehood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "not judging truth to be in nature better than falsehood, but setting a value upon both according to interest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Dryden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better-than-falsehood-but-setting-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Falsehood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better-than-falsehood-but-setting-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/john-dryden-491_falsehood_not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better_2891105.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/john-dryden-491_falsehood_not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better_2891105.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45e/john-dryden-491_falsehood_not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better_2891105.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“not judging truth to be in nature better than falsehood, but setting a value upon both according to interest.” — John Dryden", "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": "John Dryden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "not judging truth to be in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better-than-falsehood-but-setting-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/not-judging-truth-to-be-in-nature-better-than-falsehood-but-setting-a/#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 } } ] } ```