The investigation of the truth is in one way hard, in another easy. An indication of this is found in the fact that no one is able to attain the truth adequately, while, on the other hand, we do not collectively fail, but every one says something true about the nature of things, and while individually we contribute little or nothing to the truth, by the union of all a considerable amount is amassed. Therefore, since the truth seems to be like the proverbial door, which no one can fail to hit, in this respect it must be easy, but the fact that we can have a whole truth and not the particular part we aim at shows the difficulty of it.
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Aristotle, in Metaphysica, Book II. I ran across this while searching for something else. Yes, I found this instead of the truth I was looking for. But what strikes me is not the applicability to my own search. No, what strikes me is that Aristotle, when referring to the “proverbial door,” was clearly referring to a barn door, and “He couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn,” is actually an ancient insult. It is that which “no one can fail to hit.” Oh snap. |
