--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the essence of truth that it is…" description: "\"It is the essence of truth that it is never excessive. Why should it exaggerate? There is that which should be destroyed and that which should be simpl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/victor-hugo-32_benevolent_it-is-the-essence-of-truth-that-it-is-ne_672144.jpg" --- # It is the essence of truth that it is never excessive. Why… ![“It is the essence of truth that it is never excessive. Why should it exaggerate? There is that which should be destroyed and that which should be simply illuminated and studied. How great is the force of benevolent and searching examination! We must not resort to the flame where only light is…” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/victor-hugo-32_benevolent_it-is-the-essence-of-truth-that-it-is-ne_672144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/victor-hugo-32_benevolent_it-is-the-essence-of-truth-that-it-is-ne_672144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/victor-hugo-32_benevolent_it-is-the-essence-of-truth-that-it-is-ne_672144.jpg) > “It is the essence of truth that it is never excessive. Why should it exaggerate? There is that which should be destroyed and that which should be simply illuminated and studied. How great is the force of benevolent and searching examination! We must not resort to the flame where only light is required.” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth should be measured, not overstated; illuminate what can be understood, destroy what cannot. **In simple terms:** Truth is balanced, not excessive. Key Takeaway Seek clarity, avoid over‑exaggeration. Themes truth moderation knowledge clarity Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - science - education - journalism - policy making Key Concepts Epistemology critical inquiry ethical reasoning Questions to Reflect On - When is it better to simplify than to elaborate? - How do you decide what to reveal? A Different Perspective Excessive truth can mislead or cause harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benevolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolent/) [Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyed/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Essence Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence-truth-1438666/) [Exaggerate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggerate/) [Exaggerating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggerating/) [Exaggeration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggeration/) [Exaggeration is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggeration-is/) [Examination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/examination/) [Excessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessive/) [Excessive Exaggerate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessive-exaggerate-5333703/) [Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Excessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-excessive-3118509/) ## Related quotes > [It is the essence of truth that it is never excessive… We must not resort to the flame where only light is required.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-the-essence-of-truth-that-it-is-never-excessive-we-must-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [It is human to exaggerate the merits of the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-human-to-exaggerate-the-merits-of-the-dead/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is no one who does not exaggerate!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-no-one-who-does-not-exaggerate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It is only a short step from exaggerating what we can find in the world to exaggerating our power to remake the world. Expecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/it-is-only-a-short-step-from-exaggerating-what-we-can-find-in-the-2/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [It is only a short step from exaggerating what we can find in the world to exaggerating our power to remake the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/it-is-only-a-short-step-from-exaggerating-what-we-can-find-in-the/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Thought is a process of exaggeration. The refusal to exaggerate is not infrequently an alibi for the disinclination to think or praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/thought-is-a-process-of-exaggeration-the-refusal-to-exaggerate-is-not/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Every vice is only an exaggeration of a necessary and virtuous function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-vice-is-only-an-exaggeration-of-a-necessary-and-virtuous/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“41 Never exaggerate. It isn’t wise to use superlatives. They offend the truth and cast doubt on your judgment. By exaggerating, you squander your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/41-never-exaggerate-it-isn-t-wise-to-use-superlatives-they-offend-the/) [Baltasar Gracián](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“Sadly, it seems that I have the proclivity to create plenty of devils, but most of the time I don’t even go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/sadly-it-seems-that-i-have-the-proclivity-to-create-plenty-of-devils/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [In the absence of truth there is confusion, the essence of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-watts/in-the-absence-of-truth-there-is-confusion-the-essence-of-truth/) [Reggie Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-watts/) > [In the essence of truth lies deceit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/in-the-essence-of-truth-lies-deceit/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [The very essence of truth is plainness and brightness; the darkness and crookedness is our own. The wisdom of God created understanding, fit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-very-essence-of-truth-is-plainness-and-brightness-the-darkness/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [The genuine essence of truth never dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-genuine-essence-of-truth-never-dies/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [His words are the essence of truth...Jesus never uttered opinions. He never guessed; He knew, and He knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/his-words-are-the-essence-of-truth-jesus-never-uttered-opinions-he/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“To make of "the truth" a goddess amounts to turning the mere notion of something, namely the concept of the essence of truth, into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/to-make-of-the-truth-a-goddess-amounts-to-turning-the-mere-notion-of/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The peasants of the Asturias believe that in every litter of wolves there is one pup that is killed by the mother for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peasants-of-the-asturias-believe-that-in-every-litter-of-wolves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“For love is like a tree; it grows of itself; it send its roots deep into our being, and often continues to grow green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/for-love-is-like-a-tree-it-grows-of-itself-it-send-its-roots-deep/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Blacheville smiles with the self-satisfied smugness of a man whose vanity is tickled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/blacheville-smiles-with-the-self-satisfied-smugness-of-a-man-whose/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Loving in ignorance, she loved with all the more passion. She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Benevolent quotes > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Intelligent Design opens the whole possibility of us being created in the image of a benevolent God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/intelligent-design-opens-the-whole-possibility-of-us-being-created-in/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [The soul of the truly benevolent man does not seem to reside much in his own body. Its life, to a great extent, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-soul-of-the-truly-benevolent-man-does-not-seem-to-reside-much-in/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [If Despotism failed only for want of a capable benevolent despot, what chance has Democracy, which requires a whole population of capable voters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-despotism-failed-only-for-want-of-a-capable-benevolent-despot-what/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [A universal peace, it is to be feared, is in the catalogue of events, which will never exist but in the imaginations of visionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/a-universal-peace-it-is-to-be-feared-is-in-the-catalogue-of-events/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I worship nothing. Not a good lie nor a dark one. If nature is proof of God's amazing creation then I have truly seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/i-worship-nothing-not-a-good-lie-nor-a-dark-one-if-nature-is-proof-of/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [What am I writing for anyway? Is it like dreaming? Is it a benevolent process? Something that moves the past forward? And what about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/what-am-i-writing-for-anyway-is-it-like-dreaming-is-it-a-benevolent/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [The Jews looked for a special savior, a messiah, who was to redeem mankind by the agreeable process of restoring the fabulous glories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-jews-looked-for-a-special-savior-a-messiah-who-was-to-redeem/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [“It’s okay, buddy!” I shade my eyes and look up at the sky. “Luckily for you, I am both stunningly good-looking and benevolent. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-wolf/it-s-okay-buddy-i-shade-my-eyes-and-look-up-at-the-sky-luckily-for/) [Sara Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-wolf/) > [Nature is not benevolent; Nature is just, gives pound for pound, measure for measure, makes no exceptions, never tempers her decrees with mercy, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/nature-is-not-benevolent-nature-is-just-gives-pound-for-pound-measure/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“My creed on the subject of slavery is short. Slavery per se is not sin. It is a social condition ordained from the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-morse/my-creed-on-the-subject-of-slavery-is-short-slavery-per-se-is-not-sin/) [Samuel Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-morse/) > [The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: “Merry Christmas”-not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-charming-aspect-of-christmas-is-the-fact-that-it-expresses-good/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [... so large a portion of those who hold much capital, instead of using their various advantages for the greatest good of those around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-beecher/so-large-a-portion-of-those-who-hold-much-capital-instead-of-using/) [Catharine Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-beecher/) [Browse all 289 Benevolent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is the essence of truth that it is never excessive. Why should it exaggerate? There is that which should be destroyed and that which should be simply illuminated and studied. How great is the force of benevolent and searching examination! 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