"Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'"
About this Quote
Certainty is the most seductive form of vanity, and Gibran punctures it with a single article. Swapping “the” for “a” turns truth from a conquered territory into a lived encounter - provisional, partial, and shaped by the finder. The line is a gentle rebuke aimed at prophets, ideologues, and anyone who confuses a personal breakthrough with a final verdict on reality. It flatters the seeker while disarming the would-be owner.
The intent is ethical as much as philosophical: hold your insight without turning it into a weapon. “I have found the truth” is a power move; it implies closure, hierarchy, and the right to instruct or correct. “I have found a truth” keeps the door open. It suggests that truths can be plural without collapsing into mushy relativism. Your truth may be real - and still not exhaustive.
Gibran’s subtext also reflects his position as a diasporic writer straddling Arabic and English literary worlds, Christianity and Sufi-inflected mysticism, East and West. In that borderland, absolutism isn’t just intellectually suspect; it’s socially combustible. The quote anticipates modern fights over certainty: the way people brandish “facts” as identity badges, or use moral clarity as a substitute for curiosity.
What makes it work is its restraint. No scolding, no manifesto, just a small grammatical correction that exposes how quickly spiritual confidence becomes spiritual arrogance. It’s humility disguised as syntax.
The intent is ethical as much as philosophical: hold your insight without turning it into a weapon. “I have found the truth” is a power move; it implies closure, hierarchy, and the right to instruct or correct. “I have found a truth” keeps the door open. It suggests that truths can be plural without collapsing into mushy relativism. Your truth may be real - and still not exhaustive.
Gibran’s subtext also reflects his position as a diasporic writer straddling Arabic and English literary worlds, Christianity and Sufi-inflected mysticism, East and West. In that borderland, absolutism isn’t just intellectually suspect; it’s socially combustible. The quote anticipates modern fights over certainty: the way people brandish “facts” as identity badges, or use moral clarity as a substitute for curiosity.
What makes it work is its restraint. No scolding, no manifesto, just a small grammatical correction that exposes how quickly spiritual confidence becomes spiritual arrogance. It’s humility disguised as syntax.
Quote Details
| Topic | Truth |
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