--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the truth, he knows, is otherwise…" description: "\"But the truth, he knows, is otherwise. His pleasure in living has been snuffed out. Like a leaf on a stream, like a puffball on a breeze, he has begun ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/anonymous-1_blood_but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his_2928564.jpg" --- # But the truth, he knows, is otherwise. His pleasure in… ![“But the truth, he knows, is otherwise. His pleasure in living has been snuffed out. Like a leaf on a stream, like a puffball on a breeze, he has begun to float towards his end. He sees it quite clearly, and it fills him with (the word will not go away) despair. The blood of life is leaving his…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/anonymous-1_blood_but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his_2928564.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/anonymous-1_blood_but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his_2928564.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/anonymous-1_blood_but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his_2928564.jpg) > “But the truth, he knows, is otherwise. His pleasure in living has been snuffed out. Like a leaf on a stream, like a puffball on a breeze, he has begun to float towards his end. He sees it quite clearly, and it fills him with (the word will not go away) despair. The blood of life is leaving his body and despair is taking its place, despair that is like a gas, odourless, tasteless, without nourishment. You breathe it in, your limbs relax, you cease to care, even at the moment when the steel touches your throat.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person feels deep, pervasive despair as life drains away, likened to an invisible gas that numbs caring. **In simple terms:** Despair drains life and numbs caring. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden despair. Themes despair existential nihilism mental health Mood somber reflective Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - terminal illness - grief counseling - mental health crisis - existential reflection Key Concepts existential crisis psychological decay nihilistic outlook Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate hidden despair? - How can one find meaning amid numbness? A Different Perspective Despair may be mitigated by seeking connection or purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-despair-4304763/) [Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-despair-3561758/) [Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe/) [Breeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breeze/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-blood-4304764/) [Despair Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-taking-4304762/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gas/) [Going away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-away/) [Leafs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leafs/) [Leaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Limbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limbs/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Nourishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nourishment/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Relax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relax/) [Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steel/) [Streams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streams/) [Throat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throat/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [When trouble haunts me, need I sigh?No, rather smile away despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/when-trouble-haunts-me-need-i-sigh-no-rather-smile-away-despair/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [I feel like a blonde nothingness, alone in my own body … Today it's not drugs that fill my body, its despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-fawcett/i-feel-like-a-blonde-nothingness-alone-in-my-own-body-today-it-s-not/) [Farrah Fawcett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-fawcett/) > [“Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/who-can-listen-to-a-story-of-loneliness-and-despair-without-taking/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Consider this: all the ants on the planet, taken together, have a biomass greater than that of humans. Ants have been incredibly industrious for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consider-this-all-the-ants-on-the-planet-taken-together-have-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What nourishes me also destroys me in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-nourishes-me-also-destroys-me-in-the-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jesus never commanded believers to produce fruit. Fruit is the purpose of the branch, but it is not the responsibility of the branch. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jesus-never-commanded-believers-to-produce-fruit-fruit-is-the-purpose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The search for a "suitable" church makes the man a critic where God wants him to be a pupil. What he wants from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-search-for-a-suitable-church-makes-the-man-a-critic-where-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's so funny being a Christian musician. It always scares me when people think so highly of Christian music, Contemporary Christian music especially. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-so-funny-being-a-christian-musician-it-always-scares-me-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [From women's eyes this doctrine I derive: They sparkle still the right Promethean fire; They are the books, the arts, the academes, That show,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-women-s-eyes-this-doctrine-i-derive-they-sparkle-still-the-right/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The nourishment of body is food, while the nourishment of the soul is feeding others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-nourishment-of-body-is-food-while-the-nourishment-of-the-soul-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Making art now means working in the face of uncertainty; it means living with doubt and contradiction, doing something no one much cares whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/making-art-now-means-working-in-the-face-of-uncertainty-it-means/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Laughter is the nourishment of our soul!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laughter-is-the-nourishment-of-our-soul/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am God, says Love, for Love is God and God is Love, and this Soul is God by the condition of Love. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-god-says-love-for-love-is-god-and-god-is-love-and-this-soul-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are realities we all share, regardless of our nationality, language, or individual tastes. As we need food, so do we need emotional nourishment:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-realities-we-all-share-regardless-of-our-nationality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A breeze discovered my open book And began to flutter the leaves to look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-breeze-discovered-my-open-book-and-began-to-flutter-the-leaves-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Blood quotes > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Don't trust everyone, because one day you will shed tears of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-trust-everyone-because-one-day-you-will-shed-tears-of-blood/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [I have no intention of retiring. Even my blood sugar is better when I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-even-my-blood-sugar-is-better-when-i/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [What about you three, where are you going?" Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [A day without blood is like a day without sunshine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/a-day-without-blood-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Browse all 6,234 Blood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the truth, he knows, is otherwise. His pleasure in living has been snuffed out. Like a leaf on a stream, like a puffball on a breeze, he has begun to float towards his end. He sees it quite clearly, and it fills him with (the word will not go away) despair. The blood of life is leaving his body and despair is taking its place, despair that is like a gas, odourless, tasteless, without nourishment. You breathe it in, your limbs relax, you cease to care, even at the moment when the steel touches your throat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his-pleasure-in-living-has-been/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his-pleasure-in-living-has-been/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/anonymous-1_blood_but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his_2928564.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/anonymous-1_blood_but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his_2928564.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fe/anonymous-1_blood_but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his_2928564.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But the truth, he knows, is otherwise. His pleasure in living has been snuffed out. Like a leaf on a stream…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But the truth, he knows, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his-pleasure-in-living-has-been/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-the-truth-he-knows-is-otherwise-his-pleasure-in-living-has-been/#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 } } ] } ```