Deception, flattering, lying, deluding, talking behind the back, putting up a false front, living in borrowed splendor, wearing a mask, hiding behind convention, playing a role for others and for oneself -- in short, a continuous fluttering around the solitary flame of vanity -- is so much the rule and the law among men that there is almost nothing which is less comprehensible than how an honest and pure drive for truth could have arisen among them

Honesty and truthfulness can be rare qualities in a world filled with deception and vanity. It is challenging to understand how a genuine desire for truth could emerge in a society where falsehoods and superficiality prevail.