--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Myth embodies the nearest approach to…" description: "\"Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth that can be stated in words.\" — Ananda Coomaraswamy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ananda-coomaraswamy-30410_absolute-truth_myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-ab_1673993.png" --- # Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth that… ![“Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth that can be stated in words.” quote by Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ananda-coomaraswamy-30410_absolute-truth_myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-ab_1673993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ananda-coomaraswamy-30410_absolute-truth_myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-ab_1673993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ananda-coomaraswamy-30410_absolute-truth_myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-ab_1673993.png) > “Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth that can be stated in words.” [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Myths convey the closest approximation to ultimate truth that language can capture. **In simple terms:** Myths are near‑truths expressed in words. Key Takeaway Seek deeper meaning beyond literal statements. Themes myth truth language interpretation Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - literary analysis - religious study - cultural education Key Concepts symbolism metaphysics epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do myths shape our perception of truth? - Can a myth ever fully capture reality? A Different Perspective Myths may oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-truth/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Approach Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach-absolute-590024/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth Embodies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-embodies-889476/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Stated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-stated-889477/) ## Related quotes > [I approach everything as an absolute outsider. It is the only way I can break so many rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-nomi/i-approach-everything-as-an-absolute-outsider-it-is-the-only-way-i/) [Klaus Nomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-nomi/) > [Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/truth-can-be-stated-in-a-thousand-different-ways-yet-each-one-can-be/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Although the pure truth has never been stated, nevertheless it has never been lost. Its existence does not depend upon human statement but upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brunton/although-the-pure-truth-has-never-been-stated-nevertheless-it-has/) [Paul Brunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brunton/) > [“The absolute truth is the biggest myth in human history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/the-absolute-truth-is-the-biggest-myth-in-human-history/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“Leave science out of it and live in accordance with a non-scientific absolute truth. This has been the strategy of liberal humanism, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/leave-science-out-of-it-and-live-in-accordance-with-a-non-scientific/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Somehow I feel that a person who thinks he has discovered the absolute truth will not be someone I know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-joseph/somehow-i-feel-that-a-person-who-thinks-he-has-discovered-the/) [Manu Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-joseph/) > [ATTRIBUTES OF GOD Because God is spirit...I will seek intimate fellowship with Him. Because God is all-powerful...He can help me with anything. Because God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-william-r-bright/attributes-of-god-because-god-is-spirit-i-will-seek-intimate/) [Dr William R Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-william-r-bright/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... But...I do not venture to assume that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/when-i-say-that-a-thing-is-true-i-mean-that-i-cannot-help-believing/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Who can know what love means at the feet of the absolute truth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/who-can-know-what-love-means-at-the-feet-of-the-absolute-truth/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. I say cultivate, because to very few people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/let-every-one-of-us-cultivate-in-every-word-that-issues-from-our/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [The Absolute Truth of Knowledge is precisely non-Knowledge. If this Mirror called Knowledge remains in the phase where nothing is reflected in it, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/the-absolute-truth-of-knowledge-is-precisely-non-knowledge-if-this/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [“I think adults forget just how much faith teenagers can have in them, just how willing to believe that adults, by virtue of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-think-adults-forget-just-how-much-faith-teenagers-can-have-in-them/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-m-morris/the-bodily-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-from-the-dead-is-the-crowning/) [Henry M. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-m-morris/) > [“When you’ve tired of me,” she said softly, precisely, “Apollo will still be my brother. Will still be there for me.” “I’ll never tire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/when-you-ve-tired-of-me-she-said-softly-precisely-apollo-will-still/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More by Ananda Coomaraswamy > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [All that is best for us comes of itself into our hands-but if we strive to overtake it, it perpetually eludes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/all-that-is-best-for-us-comes-of-itself-into-our-hands-but-if-we/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Becoming is not a contradiction of being but the epiphany of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/becoming-is-not-a-contradiction-of-being-but-the-epiphany-of-being/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Industry without art is brutality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/industry-without-art-is-brutality/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [It is only when the maker of things is a maker of things by vocation, and not merely holding down a job, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/it-is-only-when-the-maker-of-things-is-a-maker-of-things-by-vocation/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [“There is then no sacred or profane, spiritual or sensual, but everything that lives is pure and void.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/there-is-then-no-sacred-or-profane-spiritual-or-sensual-but/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Beauty is the attractive power of perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/beauty-is-the-attractive-power-of-perfection/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [“Those who think of their house as only a ‘machine to live in’ should judge their point of view by that Neolithic man, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/those-who-think-of-their-house-as-only-a-machine-to-live-in-should/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [From one point of view becoming is a humiliation, and from another a royal procession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/from-one-point-of-view-becoming-is-a-humiliation-and-from-another-a/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Man's activity consists in either a making or doing. Both of these aspects of the active life depend for their correction upon the contemplative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/man-s-activity-consists-in-either-a-making-or-doing-both-of-these/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [The vocation, whether it be that of the farmer or the architect, is a function; the exercise of this function as regards the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/the-vocation-whether-it-be-that-of-the-farmer-or-the-architect-is-a/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [The artist is not a special kind of man, but every man is a special kind of artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/the-artist-is-not-a-special-kind-of-man-but-every-man-is-a-special/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [The most awkward means are adequate to the communication of authentic experience, and the finest words no compensation for lack of it. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/the-most-awkward-means-are-adequate-to-the-communication-of-authentic/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [The man incapable of contemplation cannot be an artist, but only a skillful workman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/the-man-incapable-of-contemplation-cannot-be-an-artist-but-only-a/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [We have come to think of art and work as incompatible, or at least independent categories and have for the first time in history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/we-have-come-to-think-of-art-and-work-as-incompatible-or-at-least/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) [Explore all 17 Ananda Coomaraswamy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) ## More Absolute truth quotes > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“When you’ve tired of me,” she said softly, precisely, “Apollo will still be my brother. Will still be there for me.” “I’ll never tire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/when-you-ve-tired-of-me-she-said-softly-precisely-apollo-will-still/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-m-morris/the-bodily-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-from-the-dead-is-the-crowning/) [Henry M. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-m-morris/) > [“I think adults forget just how much faith teenagers can have in them, just how willing to believe that adults, by virtue of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-think-adults-forget-just-how-much-faith-teenagers-can-have-in-them/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [The Absolute Truth of Knowledge is precisely non-Knowledge. If this Mirror called Knowledge remains in the phase where nothing is reflected in it, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/the-absolute-truth-of-knowledge-is-precisely-non-knowledge-if-this/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. I say cultivate, because to very few people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/let-every-one-of-us-cultivate-in-every-word-that-issues-from-our/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Who can know what love means at the feet of the absolute truth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/who-can-know-what-love-means-at-the-feet-of-the-absolute-truth/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... But...I do not venture to assume that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/when-i-say-that-a-thing-is-true-i-mean-that-i-cannot-help-believing/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [ATTRIBUTES OF GOD Because God is spirit...I will seek intimate fellowship with Him. Because God is all-powerful...He can help me with anything. Because God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-william-r-bright/attributes-of-god-because-god-is-spirit-i-will-seek-intimate/) [Dr William R Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-william-r-bright/) > [“Somehow I feel that a person who thinks he has discovered the absolute truth will not be someone I know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-joseph/somehow-i-feel-that-a-person-who-thinks-he-has-discovered-the/) [Manu Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-joseph/) > [“Leave science out of it and live in accordance with a non-scientific absolute truth. This has been the strategy of liberal humanism, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/leave-science-out-of-it-and-live-in-accordance-with-a-non-scientific/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [If I'd written all the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people - including me - would be rotting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-i-d-written-all-the-truth-i-knew-for-the-past-ten-years-about-600/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Only when we realize that there is no eternal, unchanging truth or absolute truth can we arouse in ourselves a sense of intellectual responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/only-when-we-realize-that-there-is-no-eternal-unchanging-truth-or/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [Nobody in this world possesses absolute truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nobody-in-this-world-possesses-absolute-truth/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It isn’t the absolute truth about life and death, but the thing that helps us to live and confront the challenges of day-to-day life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-isn-t-the-absolute-truth-about-life-and-death-but-the-thing-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Browse all 317 Absolute truth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-truth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth that can be stated in words.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ananda Coomaraswamy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-absolute-truth-that-can-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolute truth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-absolute-truth-that-can-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ananda-coomaraswamy-30410_absolute-truth_myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-ab_1673993.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ananda-coomaraswamy-30410_absolute-truth_myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-ab_1673993.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/ananda-coomaraswamy-30410_absolute-truth_myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-ab_1673993.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Myth embodies the nearest approach to absolute truth that can be stated in words.” — Ananda Coomaraswamy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ananda Coomaraswamy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Myth embodies the nearest approach to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-absolute-truth-that-can-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/myth-embodies-the-nearest-approach-to-absolute-truth-that-can-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```