The Power of Truth

by William George Jordan, Empowered Wealth

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 edition. Excerpt: ... filled promises; in detecting with the justice of a court of equity a technicality of speech that is virtually a lie. He will justify his own lapses from truth by appeal to some white lie told to a visitor, and unknown to be overheard by the little one, whose mental powers we ever underestimate in theory though we may overpraise in words. Q Teach the child in a thousand ways, directly and indirectly, the power of truth, the beauty of truth, and the sweetness and rest of companionship with truth. Q And if it be the rock-foundation of the child character, as a fact, not as a theory, the future of that child is as fully assured as it is possible for human prevision to guarantee. The power of Truth, in its highest, purest, and most exalted phases, stands squarely on four basic lines of relation, --the love of truth, the search for truth, faith in truth, and work for truth. 4 The love ofTruth is the cultivated hunger for it in itself and for itself, without any thought of what it may cost, what sacrifices it may entail, what theories or beliefs of a life-time may be laid desolate. In its supreme phase, this attitude of life is rare, but unless one can begin to put himself into harmony with this view, the individual will only creep in truth, when he might walk bravely. With the love of truth, the individual scorns to do a mean thing, no matter what be the gain, even if the whole world would approve. He would not sacrifice the sanction of his own high standard for any gain, he would not willingly deflect the needle of his thought and act from the true North, as he knows it, by the slightest possible variation. He himself would know of the deflection--that would be enough. What matters it what the world thinks if he have his own disapproval?..

Genres: Philosophy, Self Help

90 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1902

About the author

Editor of Book Chat magazine 1886-87 and The Saturday Evening Post 1898-99.

Reviews

[James Davis]

Here's a challenge. Open the book to any random page, place your finger anywhere, and read one line. You'll want to memorize whatever line you just read. The book is that good.

[Janene]

I liked it so much and flagged so many things that I went ahead and added it to my Amazon wish list. Especially valuable for me were passages that reminded me about doing my best with the portion I’ve been given, developing virtues such as tolerance and integrity, not squandering my most precious resource of all. TIME. I’m settling into a different phase of life and I need not flippant and trivial advice, but rock solid guidance that feels as deep as the feelings I’m having. This was a great read for me right now. It wasn’t too long. It didn’t feel preachy. Felt more like a collection of essays that related to and strengthened each other.

[Manoj Saha]

This is an amazing book written more than a century ago (1902). A very powerful guide to for individuals to stay away from common pitfalls and contribute more positively towards humanity and therefore for themselves. Folks do not need to become billionaires before they can do charity - truly lot more problems can be solved by collective effort to remove selfish causes.

[William Sant]

Man is usually loyal to what he most desires... (Some are) loyal to what he finds the heavier, that which he desires more - for example, money. But this is not truth. Truth is the heart's loyalty to abstract right, made manifest in concrete instances.

[Nate Riggle]

Wow. Written in 1902. Took me learning the hard way most of my life so far to learn a lot of this stuff. There is zero filler or fluff. As others have said, any page, any sentence has meaning that will make you get a better perspective.

[John]

It's old. And it's small. But it is still mighty strong.

[Karen Mosley]

It is in the trifles of daily life that truth should be our constant guide and inspiration. Truth is not a dress-suit, consecrated to special occasions, it is the strong, well-woven durable homespun for daily living. P.10
The man who has a certain religious belief and fears to discuss it, lest it may be proved wrong, is not loyal to his belief, he has but a coward’s faithfulness to his prejudices. If he were a lover of truth, he would be willing at any moment to surrender his belief for a higher, better, and truer faith. P.17
No real success, no lasting happiness can exist except it be founded on the rock of truth. P.19
The supreme folly of the world, the saddest depths to which the human mind can sink, is atheism. P. 71
It is Nature’s proclamation that, in the end, Right must triumph, Truth must conquer, and Justice must reign. P. 118

This book was in my father's library, a gift from Heber J. Grant when Dad was serving as a missionary. It is full of beautiful messages such as those in the above quotes. Very inspirational, uplifting and motivating.

[Nicholeen]

Looks incredible so far.

[Twig]

Wonderful

[Emily]

We (Joshua and I) LOVE anything and everything by William George Jordan, but this one is our favorite.

[Spencer Glancy]

Possibly the most influential non-religious text in my life so far

[Melissa Quezado]

Olha, eu acho que esse livro deveria ser lido por todo mundo. Tem muita coisa importante, muita reflexão. Ele é curtinho, da pra ler super rápido.

[Joy Bratton]

Impressive that the book was written in 1902. I can see links to recent self help books. I enjoyed the author’s vivid analogies. I underlined something on almost every page.