--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since Quiggin’s books remained purely…" description: "\"“Since Quiggin’s books remained purely hypothetical entities, it seemed reasonable enough that their publisher should exist hypotheticaliy too. I was t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/anthony-powell-2659_books_since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hy_2097422.jpg" --- # Since Quiggin’s books remained purely hypothetical… ![“Since Quiggin’s books remained purely hypothetical entities, it seemed reasonable enough that their publisher should exist hypotheticaliy too. I was tempted to say as much, but thought it wiser to avoid risk of discord at this early stage.” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/anthony-powell-2659_books_since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hy_2097422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/anthony-powell-2659_books_since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hy_2097422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/anthony-powell-2659_books_since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hy_2097422.jpg) > ““Since Quiggin’s books remained purely hypothetical entities, it seemed reasonable enough that their publisher should exist hypotheticaliy too. I was tempted to say as much, but thought it wiser to avoid risk of discord at this early stage.”” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote humorously suggests that if fictional books are imagined, their publisher could also be imagined, highlighting the absurdity of treating hypothetical constructs as real. **In simple terms:** Imaginary books imply imaginary publishers, exposing logical inconsistency. Key Takeaway Question the reality of assumptions. Themes logic humor absurdity Mood playful thought‑provoking Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - academic discussion - creative writing - philosophical debate - publishing industry analysis Key Concepts meta‑fiction hypothetical reasoning Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you treat as real without evidence? - How does humor reveal hidden contradictions? A Different Perspective The joke may overlook that publishers are real entities, so the analogy can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Sometimes I make very selfish choices; like I did 'Once Upon A Time' for my inner 8-year-old and my hypothetical future child. I've done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/sometimes-i-make-very-selfish-choices-like-i-did-once-upon-a-time-for/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [“after a while you start to think the body is nothing but a hypothetical construct”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/after-a-while-you-start-to-think-the-body-is-nothing-but-a/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“As a hypothetical illustration, let us assume a conflict involving us in Afghanistan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-wylie/as-a-hypothetical-illustration-let-us-assume-a-conflict-involving-us/) [J.C. Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-wylie/) > [In my acting class there was this acting exercise going on, and I remember asking a buddy, "Do you ever do this at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-olsen/in-my-acting-class-there-was-this-acting-exercise-going-on-and-i/) [Elizabeth Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-olsen/) > [“Arthur shook his head. "You'd be an appalling mother, Morgana. You're a terrible example, you know," he said, handing her the bottle. "God help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fayjay/arthur-shook-his-head-you-d-be-an-appalling-mother-morgana-you-re-a/) FayJay > [If art doesn't require an audience, can an intimate conversation be a work of art? Can a thought be a work of art? Maybe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/if-art-doesn-t-require-an-audience-can-an-intimate-conversation-be-a/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [The alternative of hypothetical universalism, according to which Christ's work is sufficient for all but efficient only for the elect, was alive and well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/the-alternative-of-hypothetical-universalism-according-to-which/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [If ergonomists have their way, future products won't be built for some hypothetical average person but will conform to the biomechanical needs of whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/if-ergonomists-have-their-way-future-products-won-t-be-built-for-some/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Certainly in order to understand the natural world one needs clarity, logic, and the capacity for theory building. But that understanding tends to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/certainly-in-order-to-understand-the-natural-world-one-needs-clarity/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [“Well did you call the hypothetical hardware store and buy a theoretical chainsaw?-- Pam to Jessica, True Blood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/well-did-you-call-the-hypothetical-hardware-store-and-buy-a/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [Now everything is wonderful and hazardous and nothing's hypothetical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/now-everything-is-wonderful-and-hazardous-and-nothing-s-hypothetical/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. They love tragedy, and they love surface beauty. You just watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-think-it-s-sort-of-the-hypothetical-point-where-communism-and/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [I will not discuss future hypothetical situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-barak/i-will-not-discuss-future-hypothetical-situations/) [Ehud Barak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-barak/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Her expression was oafish, but it was on the whole this quality that gave her face a certain retentive efficacy. She had the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/her-expression-was-oafish-but-it-was-on-the-whole-this-quality-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Enormous simplifications were possibly necessary to carry a deeper truth than lay on the surface of a mass of unsorted detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/enormous-simplifications-were-possibly-necessary-to-carry-a-deeper/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I hate anything superficial. But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Since Quiggin’s books remained purely hypothetical entities, it seemed reasonable enough that their publisher should exist hypotheticaliy too. I was tempted to say as much, but thought it wiser to avoid risk of discord at this early stage.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Powell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hypothetical-entities-it-seemed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hypothetical-entities-it-seemed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/anthony-powell-2659_books_since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hy_2097422.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/anthony-powell-2659_books_since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hy_2097422.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/anthony-powell-2659_books_since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hy_2097422.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since Quiggin’s books remained purely hypothetical entities, it seemed reasonable enough that their…” — Anthony Powell", "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": "Anthony Powell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Since Quiggin’s books remained purely hypothetical...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hypothetical-entities-it-seemed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/since-quiggin-s-books-remained-purely-hypothetical-entities-it-seemed/#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 } } ] } ```