There is a price for everything, and dealing in the truth is no exception. One of the articles about Upton Sinclair covers some aspects of this, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle too had something to say on the subject of facing up to the truth.
In Conan Doyle's horror story The Parasite, Austin Gilroy says something that is worth highlighting:
“At least, I have shown that my devotion to science is greater than to my own personal consistency. The eating of our own words is the greatest sacrifice which truth ever requires of us.”
Some sacrifices can be very painful indeed. People who put respect for the truth above all else need great courage and endurance as it often involves dealing with very unwelcome, unpalatable, horrific and agonising even, information, insights, implications and conclusions.
Conan Doyle knew how much courage it can take for someone to align themselves with objective, unvarnished truths by discarding ignorance, illusions and wrong ideas.
Sherlock Holmes says this in Laurie R. King's tribute novel The Beekeeper's Apprentice:
“...there is no treachery in the truth. There may be pain, but to face honestly all possible conclusions formed by a set of facts is the noblest route possible for a human being.”
This quotation is often attributed to Conan Doyle, but no source is given. I couldn't find it in the Sherlock Holmes Complete Collection. Whatever the origin, it is very true; it deserves to be better known.
