“ Falsehood derives its plausibility from truth.'Tis the desire of right that makes men buy wrong ”
Rumi, Masnavi (1273). copy citation
| Author | Rumi |
|---|---|
| Source | Masnavi |
| Topic | falsehood truth |
| Date | 1273 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | Masnavi, Book II |
| Note | Translated by Edward Henry Whinfield |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Masnavi_I_Ma'navi/Book_II |
Context
“Fools buy base coins from their likeness to real coins.
If there were no genuine coins current in the world,
How could coiners succeed in passing false coins?
If there were no truth, how could falsehood exist?
Falsehood derives its plausibility from truth.
'Tis the desire of right that makes men buy wrong;
Let poison be mixed with sugar, and they eat it at once.
If wheat were not valued as sweet and good for food,
The cheat who shows wheat and sells barley would make no profit!
Say not, then, that all these creeds are false,”
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