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The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
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“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.”

William Shakespeare

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Source
The Merchant of Venice
Date
c. 1596
Local voice
Fictional character · Antonio
Meaning

Meaning of “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.”

Even respected language can be quoted selectively, so a citation should be judged by context and purpose rather than authority alone.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 3.

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Speaker context

Why the local voice matters

Antonio comments on Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 3.

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Ideas connected with this quotation

CommunicationDeepHonestyMindShortThinking Quotes About Reasoning, Reflection & JudgmentThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionTruthUnderstandingWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellWords of Wisdom: Practical & Philosophical Counsel
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Source identified
To define is to limit.
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“To define is to limit.”

Oscar Wilde · The Picture of Dorian Gray — 1891 edition · 1891
Voice: Fictional character · Lord Henry Wotton
Meaning & context

Definitions clarify ideas but can also narrow them, especially when a label is treated as the complete reality of a person or experience.

Source details

The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891 edition, Chapter 17; Lord Henry answers the Duchess of Monmouth’s question “What are you?” with “To define is to limit.”

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We must know the truth; and we must avoid error.
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“We must know the truth; and we must avoid error.”

William James · The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy · 1897
Meaning & context

James separates two intellectual duties—seeking truth and avoiding falsehood—to show that prioritizing one over the other can produce different habits of belief and inquiry.

Source details

The Will to Believe, essay “The Will to Believe”; Project Gutenberg #26659. James immediately argues that truth-seeking and error-avoidance are distinct laws rather than two phrasings of one command.

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He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.
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“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.”

John Stuart Mill · On Liberty · 1859
Meaning & context

Understanding a position requires serious contact with competing arguments; familiarity with only one side can produce confidence without real comprehension.

Source details

On Liberty, Chapter 2; Mill argues for open discussion because opposing views expose weaknesses and sharpen understanding.

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Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.
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“Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.”

Francis Bacon · Of Studies · 1625
Meaning & context

Bacon describes reading as active judgment rather than passive agreement or reflexive opposition, making careful consideration the central habit of serious study.

Source details

Of Studies, in Bacon’s instructions for how different kinds of books should be read.

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If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.
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“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.”

Francis Bacon · The Advancement of Learning · 1605
Meaning & context

Intellectual confidence can be improved by beginning with questions rather than pretending certainty too early.

Source details

The Advancement of Learning, First Book, Project Gutenberg #5500, transcribed from the 1893 Cassell & Company edition. Bacon contrasts impatience of doubt with mature suspension of judgment and then sets out two ways of contemplation before saying that beginning with certainties ends in doubts while beginning with doubts can end in certainties. It remains early-modern epistemological argument rather than a modern experimental rule for scientific method.

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