--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot know the whole truth, which…" description: "\"We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true. And if we offend gravely enough ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/wendell-berry-236_being-true_we-cannot-know-the-whole-truth-which-bel_1903605.jpg" --- # We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God… ![“We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true. And if we offend gravely enough against what we know to be true, as by failing badly enough to deal affectionately and responsibly with our land and our neighbors, truth will…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/wendell-berry-236_being-true_we-cannot-know-the-whole-truth-which-bel_1903605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/wendell-berry-236_being-true_we-cannot-know-the-whole-truth-which-bel_1903605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/wendell-berry-236_being-true_we-cannot-know-the-whole-truth-which-bel_1903605.jpg) > “We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true. And if we offend gravely enough against what we know to be true, as by failing badly enough to deal affectionately and responsibly with our land and our neighbors, truth will retaliate with ugliness, poverty, and disease.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth is divine and incomplete for humans; seeking truth responsibly prevents societal harm. **In simple terms:** Seek truth responsibly to avoid harm. Key Takeaway Pursue truth responsibly. Themes truth morality responsibility Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - public policy - environmental stewardship - community relations Key Concepts philosophy ethics social justice Questions to Reflect On - What truths are you ignoring? - How can you act responsibly on what you know? A Different Perspective Truth alone cannot solve all problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness/) ## Related quotes > [“We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-cannot-know-the-whole-truth-which-belongs-to-god-alone-but-our/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-cannot-know-the-whole-truth-which-belongs-to-god-alone-but-our-2/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [She believes that Tobias belongs to her now. She doesn't know the truth, that he belongs to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/she-believes-that-tobias-belongs-to-her-now-she-doesn-t-know-the/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [We are born to inquire after truth; it belongs to a greater power to possess it. It is not, as Democritus said, hid in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-are-born-to-inquire-after-truth-it-belongs-to-a-greater-power-to/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The truth belongs to those who seek it, not to those who claim to own it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-de-caritat-marquis-de-condorcet/the-truth-belongs-to-those-who-seek-it-not-to-those-who-claim-to-own/) [Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-de-caritat-marquis-de-condorcet/) > [If absolute truth belongs to anyone in this world, it certainly does not belong to the man or party that claims to possess it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/if-absolute-truth-belongs-to-anyone-in-this-world-it-certainly-does/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There is time, and there is beyond time. History belongs to time, but truth belongs to what is beyond time. In writing of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/there-is-time-and-there-is-beyond-time-history-belongs-to-time-but/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We are born to inquire into truth; it belongs to a greater to possess it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-are-born-to-inquire-into-truth-it-belongs-to-a-greater-to-possess/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Absolute truth belongs to Thee alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/absolute-truth-belongs-to-thee-alone/) [Gotthold Ephraim Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/) > [That we should have an agriculture based as much on petroleum as the soil-that we need petroleum exactly as much as we need food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-should-have-an-agriculture-based-as-much-on-petroleum-as-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [And having thoughtlessly polluted our streams and rivers, we have seen in recent years a rapidly growing market for bottled drinking water. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/and-having-thoughtlessly-polluted-our-streams-and-rivers-we-have-seen/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To think better, to think like the best humans, we are probably going to have to learn again to judge a person's intelligence, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-think-better-to-think-like-the-best-humans-we-are-probably-going/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [For us to know that the Book of Mormon is true, we must read it and make the choice found in Moroni: pray to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/for-us-to-know-that-the-book-of-mormon-is-true-we-must-read-it-and/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [To get to know a truth properly, one must polemicize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/to-get-to-know-a-truth-properly-one-must-polemicize-it/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Being true quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. 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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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true. 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