"It is a enduring truth that the distance between ambition and reality is bridged solely by consistent effort."

Truth

Create & Download Quote Image

Customize Design

Theme Color

Insight & Reflection

This reflection on truth by James Baldwin resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in truth is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About James Baldwin

James Arthur Baldwin was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain has been ranked by Time magazine as one of the top 100 English-language novels. His 1955 essay collection Notes of a Native Son helped establish his reputation as a voice for human equality. His 1965 debate with William Buckley is regarded as one of the most influential debates on race in the United States. Baldwin was an influential public figure and orator, especially during the civil rights movement in the United States.

More quotes by James Baldwin →
Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the ShortQuote Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by James Baldwin

"Wisdom principle 48 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 18."

— James Baldwin
Read more →

"The river of time washes away kings and empires, leaving only virtue intact. In this truth lies the bedrock of all virtue — an essential principle for the reflective life."

— James Baldwin
Read more →

"If you're treated a certain way you become a certain kind of person. If certain things are described to you as being real they're real for you whether they're real or not."

— James Baldwin
Read more →

"Wisdom principle 68 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 30."

— James Baldwin
Read more →

More about Truth

"It is a steadfast truth that a quiet mind perceives the subtle truths that noisy ambitions constantly drown out."

— Sandra Fenichel Asher
Read more →

"True love doesn't happen right away it's an ever-growing process. It develops after you've gone through many ups and downs, when you've suffered together, cried together, laughed together."

— Ricardo Montalban
Read more →

"A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations."

— Ezra Pound
Read more →

"I have not been that wise. Health I have taken for granted. Love I have demanded, perhaps too much and too often. As for money, I have only realized its true worth when I didn't have it."

— Hedy Lamarr
Read more →
View all Truth quotes →