---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether this tale be true or false, none…"
description: "\"Whether this tale be true or false, none can tell, for none were there to witness it themselves.\" — Marjane Satrapi"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/marjane-satrapi-1702_being-true_whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none_1175715.jpg"
---

#  Whether this tale be true or false, none can tell, for…

![“Whether this tale be true or false, none can tell, for none were there to witness it themselves.” quote by Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/marjane-satrapi-1702_being-true_whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none_1175715.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/marjane-satrapi-1702_being-true_whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none_1175715.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/marjane-satrapi-1702_being-true_whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none_1175715.jpg)

> “Whether this tale be true or false, none can tell, for none were there to witness it themselves.”

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote reflects on the impossibility of verifying truth without direct witness.

**In simple terms:** Truth is hard to confirm without seeing.

Key Takeaway

Seek evidence before belief.

Themes

truth history epistemology

Mood

skeptical inquisitive

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

- historical research
- journalism
- legal testimony
- personal storytelling
- science experiments

Key Concepts

subjectivity memory narrative

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you evaluate unverified claims?
- What sources can you trust?

A Different Perspective

Eyewitness accounts can be biased or absent.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Being true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/) [False Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-tell-3427452/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Tale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tale/) [Tale True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tale-true-685799/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Tell Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-witness-1802219/) [True or false](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-or-false/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witness/)

## Related quotes

> [We often see a temper of the times connection, and it's just like a fairy tale. It's not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/we-often-see-a-temper-of-the-times-connection-and-it-s-just-like-a/)

[Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/)

> [“Now, then, that is the tale. Some of it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/now-then-that-is-the-tale-some-of-it-is-true/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen rather than watch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-tell-whether-a-witness-was/)

[Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/)

> [“I be here for the tellin' to be ensurin' that the tellin' be true. The truth mus' be told an' I be here to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-baer/i-be-here-for-the-tellin-to-be-ensurin-that-the-tellin-be-true-the/)

[Tim Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-baer/)

> [Nothing in the world, no object or event, would be true or false if there were not thinking creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-davidson/nothing-in-the-world-no-object-or-event-would-be-true-or-false-if/)

[Donald Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-davidson/)

> [Whether religion be true or false, it must be necessarily granted to be the only wise principle and safe hypothesis for a man to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/whether-religion-be-true-or-false-it-must-be-necessarily-granted-to/)

[John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/)

> [You can talk about a caption underneath a photograph being true or false, because there is a linguistic element. You can claim that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/you-can-talk-about-a-caption-underneath-a-photograph-being-true-or/)

[Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/)

> [What signifies protesting so against flattery when a person speaks well of one, it must either be true or false, you know if true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/what-signifies-protesting-so-against-flattery-when-a-person-speaks/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/there-are-no-hard-distinctions-between-what-is-real-and-what-is/)

[Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/)

> [All the martyrs in the history of the world are not sufficient to establish the correctness of an opinion. Martyrdom, as a rule, establishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/all-the-martyrs-in-the-history-of-the-world-are-not-sufficient-to/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [The statesman cannot govern without stability of belief, true or false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-statesman-cannot-govern-without-stability-of-belief-true-or-false/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [True or False? Their are so many girls that I love, I just have to choose one! True! I cannot date 50,000,000,000 girls akak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dub-tepper/true-or-false-their-are-so-many-girls-that-i-love-i-just-have-to/)

[DUB$TEPPER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dub-tepper/)

> [The wrong question to ask of a myth is whether it is true or false. The right question is whether it is living or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holloway/the-wrong-question-to-ask-of-a-myth-is-whether-it-is-true-or-false/)

[Richard Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holloway/)

> [“…the war about the genocide was truly a postmodern war: a battle between those who believed that because the realities we inhabit are constructs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gourevitch/the-war-about-the-genocide-was-truly-a-postmodern-war-a-battle/)

[Philip Gourevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gourevitch/)

> [“You have information for us? No, you have all the information you need in your head, what you want, what you need, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v/you-have-information-for-us-no-you-have-all-the-information-you-need/)

[V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v/)

## More by Marjane Satrapi

> [I became the voice of a generation in a very surprising way, because many Iranians recognize themselves in it. But that is not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-became-the-voice-of-a-generation-in-a-very-surprising-way-because/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [With live-action I think we'd have lost the universal appeal of the Persepolis story. With live-action, it would have turned into a story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/with-live-action-i-think-we-d-have-lost-the-universal-appeal-of-the/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [I don't think that I have ever been rebellious. The thing is that I don't believe in people - what people tell me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-think-that-i-have-ever-been-rebellious-the-thing-is-that-i/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [Drawing is the first language of the human being before writing. It's a transcription of how the human being sees reality, not reality itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/drawing-is-the-first-language-of-the-human-being-before-writing-it-s/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [I was a westerner in Iran, an Iranian in the West. I had no identity. I didn't even know anymore why I was living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-was-a-westerner-in-iran-an-iranian-in-the-west-i-had-no-identity-i/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [I'm not a politician. I don't know how to solve the problems of the world. But as an artist, I have one duty: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-m-not-a-politician-i-don-t-know-how-to-solve-the-problems-of-the/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [A cat can never be well-trained because they're too independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/a-cat-can-never-be-well-trained-because-they-re-too-independent/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [It's fear that makes us lose our conscience. It's also what transforms us into cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/it-s-fear-that-makes-us-lose-our-conscience-it-s-also-what-transforms/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [I am absolutely not a feminist, I am against stupidity, and if it comes from males or females, it doesn't change anything. If it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-am-absolutely-not-a-feminist-i-am-against-stupidity-and-if-it-comes/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [I was a child who had a life, who had hopes, and I wished that a bomb would not fall on my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-was-a-child-who-had-a-life-who-had-hopes-and-i-wished-that-a-bomb/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [There are things that I love in Iranian cinema and things that I don't. In Iranian cinema, you have to use metaphor because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/there-are-things-that-i-love-in-iranian-cinema-and-things-that-i-don/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [I had learned that you should always shout louder than your aggressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-had-learned-that-you-should-always-shout-louder-than-your-aggressor/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [In the West, people don't have any real problems. It's all based on bad conscience, a very Christian notion. I don't have any bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/in-the-west-people-don-t-have-any-real-problems-it-s-all-based-on-bad/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [When we're afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/when-we-re-afraid-we-lose-all-sense-of-analysis-and-reflection-our/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

[Explore all 204 Marjane Satrapi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

## More Being true quotes

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/)

[Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/)

> [Some article called me the most feared man in Silicon Valley. Good Lord! Why? My teenage boys got a kick out of it: 'Dad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/some-article-called-me-the-most-feared-man-in-silicon-valley-good/)

[Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/)

> [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Intuitionists think that there are cases in which, say, some identity statement between real numbers is neither true nor false, even though we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-f-heck/intuitionists-think-that-there-are-cases-in-which-say-some-identity/)

[Richard F. Heck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-f-heck/)

> [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [There is no normal. I've never met a normal person. The concept is flawed. It implies that there is only one way people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/there-is-no-normal-i-ve-never-met-a-normal-person-the-concept-is/)

[Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/)

> [I learned a tremendous amount about what was important to me as a head coach in that I was not in charge. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-carroll/i-learned-a-tremendous-amount-about-what-was-important-to-me-as-a/)

[Pete Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-carroll/)

> [Life is all about being true to yourself and what you believe in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-biersack/life-is-all-about-being-true-to-yourself-and-what-you-believe-in/)

[Andy Biersack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-biersack/)

> [I have spent most of my life unlearning things that were proved not to be true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/i-have-spent-most-of-my-life-unlearning-things-that-were-proved-not/)

[R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/)

> [It seemed too good to be true. That's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-smith/it-seemed-too-good-to-be-true-that-s-grace/)

[Judah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-smith/)

> [You create the happiness and the balance that you have, and your own power. This is one thing that I know to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/you-create-the-happiness-and-the-balance-that-you-have-and-your-own/)

[Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/)

> [Being true to yourself means living in truth with each person in your life. It means refusing to say or do something that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/being-true-to-yourself-means-living-in-truth-with-each-person-in-your/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [It is not the responsibility of the enlightened teacher to bring the student to enlightenment. That may be true in the classroom, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/it-is-not-the-responsibility-of-the-enlightened-teacher-to-bring-the/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

[Browse all 1,447 Being true quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-true/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Whether this tale be true or false, none can tell, for none were there to witness it themselves.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marjane Satrapi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none-can-tell-for-none-were-there/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Being true"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none-can-tell-for-none-were-there/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/marjane-satrapi-1702_being-true_whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none_1175715.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/marjane-satrapi-1702_being-true_whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none_1175715.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/marjane-satrapi-1702_being-true_whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none_1175715.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Whether this tale be true or false, none can tell, for none were there to witness it themselves.” — Marjane Satrapi",
                "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": "Marjane Satrapi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Whether this tale be true or...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none-can-tell-for-none-were-there/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none-can-tell-for-none-were-there/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
