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All vital truth contains the memory of all that for which it is not true.
D. H. Lawrence
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Truth is often intertwined with falsehood, as understanding one requires acknowledging the other.

This quote by D. H. Lawrence suggests that every truth we hold can only be understood in the context of what it is not. It implies that truths are shaped by their oppositions and that recognizing falsehoods or alternative perspectives is essential for a deeper comprehension of reality. This philosophical insight encourages us to embrace complexity rather than oversimplifying our understanding of truth.

Themes

TruthFalsehoodUnderstandingPhilosophyMemory

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about ethical dilemmas, this quote could highlight the complexity of moral truths.

More from D. H. Lawrence

God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
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A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
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And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
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The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
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The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
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... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
D. H. LawrenceRead

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