ABSTRACT
Truthfulness is essentially a moral obligation; but it obviously ceases to be an obligation when its consequences would be immoral. Occasions often arise when truthfulness comes into conflict with some other moral obligation. Truth is one of the pillars of the world; human society would be impossible without it. The reverence of the Rabbins for truth is often expressed in striking form. Truth, then, is a debt due from each man to his neighbour. With all its profound reverence for truth—to go back to that subject—it perceives that there are circumstances in which the claims even of truth must yield to higher demands. Absolute fidelity to truth is the general rule, and only under the strongest compulsion, only under a profound sense of duty, must we venture to depart from it. The truth deserves to be remembered even in regard to far smaller matters.
