Meaning & Analysis
Truth possesses great power and, in the end, overcomes opposition and triumphs.
Insights
Alignment with reality
Because truth corresponds to how things actually are, it carries structural leverage; over time, facts erode fictions the way tide wears down sandcastles.
Moral authority
Truth binds conscience even when force suppresses it; its ‘might’ is the inward compulsion that makes lies feel unstable and unjust.
Eventual vindication
The proverb promises a long-run victory: records, memory, and outcomes converge so that concealed realities re-emerge and wrongs are exposed.
Civic cohesion
Shared truths enable reliable cooperation; communities that prize truth outcompete those built on deception, so truth ‘prevails’ by practical success.
Resilience under persecution
Attempts to muzzle truth are brittle and costly; censorship, spin, and intimidation require constant upkeep, whereas truth endures without props.
Biblical pedigree
The maxim echoes 1 Esdras—“Great is Truth, and mighty above all things”—giving it a sacred imprimatur: truth’s might is second only to the divine, grounding the proverb in a venerable scriptural tradition.
Temporal realism
‘Will prevail’ implies delay: truth’s triumph is often gradual, not immediate. The saying motivates patience and endurance rather than guaranteeing quick success.
Institutional conditions
Truth’s might manifests where inquiry is protected—free press, open courts, archives. The proverb thus doubles as a design brief: build safeguards that let truth’s inherent advantage surface.
Counterpoint to backlash
Set against darker twins—‘Truth begets hatred,’ ‘Truth has a scratched face’—this line supplies hope: though truth draws enemies and wounds, its deeper strength outlasts hostility.
Operational payoff
In commerce, science, and governance, accurate maps beat flattering myths. Systems aligned with truth waste less energy on self-deception, so they ‘prevail’ by performance as well as by principle.
Rhetorical Devices
Personification
Truth is cast as a combatant with ‘might’ who can ‘prevail,’ animating an abstraction into a protagonist in moral struggle.
Superlative assurance
The absolute promise (‘will prevail’) gives the aphorism prophetic lift, turning an observation into a vow.
Parallelism
Balanced halves (‘is mighty’ / ‘will prevail’) create rhythmic confidence and mnemonic force.
Antithesis (implied)
By asserting truth’s strength, the proverb implicitly downgrades the durability of lies, sharpening the evaluative contrast.
Biblical register
Elevated diction (‘mighty,’ ‘prevail’) echoes scriptural cadence, lending the saying liturgical gravitas.
Transcription
Quotations
Trueth in the ende shall preuayle.
Great is the truth, and it will preuaile.
(and preuaileth).
Bible Citations
Great is Truth, and mighty above all things.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan

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