What phrase summarizes the Assassin philosophy in the Assassin's Creed series?

“Nothing is true, everything is permitted” summarizes the Assassin philosophy in the Assassin's Creed series.

The phrase appears throughout the franchise as a reminder that accepted beliefs and institutions should be questioned. It is associated with the historical Nizari Ismaili community in popular accounts of the Assassins, although the games adapt and fictionalize that history extensively.

Within the series, the maxim does not simply mean that characters can act without consequences. Assassin mentors use it to emphasize skepticism, personal responsibility, and the danger of treating authority or ideology as unquestionable truth.

The words are often paired with the Assassins' broader pursuit of free will. Their opponents, the Templars, generally seek stability and control, creating the series' recurring philosophical conflict. The exact wording can vary slightly in translations and adaptations, but this is the canonical English form most associated with the games.