The Dreyfusards were trying to tell the truth, which is truthfulness, rather than acknowledging higher truths, as their opponents wanted them to. By “higher truths,” they meant that France comes first, or that the army must not be insulted, or that the collective purpose trumps individual interests. This distinction is what lies behind Zola’s letter: the point is simply to tell it as it is, rather than to find out what the higher truth is and then adhere to it.
