He who says “Better to go without belief forever than believe in a lie!” merely shows his own preponderant private horror of becoming a dupe… It is like a general informing his soldiers that it is better to keep out of battle forever than to risk a single wound. Not so are victories either over enemies or over nature gained. Our errors are surely not such awfully solemn things. In a world where we are so certain to incur them in spite of all our caution, a certain lightness of heart seems healthier than this excessive nervousness on their behalf.

Recommended reading: The Will to Believe.