Truth is on the march and nothing can stop it.

This line is widely associated with Émile Zola’s public intervention in the Dreyfus Affair, especially the period around his open letter “J’Accuse…!” (1898) and the subsequent trials, exile, and renewed political struggle over the wrongful conviction of Alfred Dreyfus. In that context, Zola framed the affair as a test of the French Republic’s commitment to justice, evidence, and civic courage against institutional secrecy and antisemitic agitation. The phrase is commonly cited as expressing Zola’s conviction that, despite temporary defeats and reprisals, the factual truth of the case and the moral truth of justice would ultimately prevail in public life.

The metaphor of truth “on the march” casts truth not as a static proposition but as a historical force advancing through time, propelled by inquiry, testimony, and public conscience. The claim “nothing can stop it” is both defiant and consolatory: it acknowledges resistance—censorship, propaganda, intimidation—while insisting such obstacles can only delay, not defeat, the eventual triumph of evidence and justice. In Zola’s political rhetoric, the statement functions as a moral rallying cry, urging persistence when institutions fail. More broadly, it reflects a modern faith that public reason and documented facts, once set in motion, accumulate momentum and reshape collective judgment.