--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so…" description: "\"It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater nonsense inasmuch as the true interpretation of many dreams - not by any means of all dreams - ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/arthur-machen-11940_analysis_it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-muc_454276.jpg" --- # It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater… ![“It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater nonsense inasmuch as the true interpretation of many dreams - not by any means of all dreams - moves, it may be said, in the opposite direction to the method of psycho-analysis.” quote by Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/arthur-machen-11940_analysis_it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-muc_454276.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/arthur-machen-11940_analysis_it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-muc_454276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/arthur-machen-11940_analysis_it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-muc_454276.jpg) > “It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater nonsense inasmuch as the true interpretation of many dreams - not by any means of all dreams - moves, it may be said, in the opposite direction to the method of psycho-analysis.” [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dream interpretation often contradicts psychoanalytic methods, suggesting meaning may lie opposite to systematic analysis. **In simple terms:** Dreams can mean the opposite of what analysis predicts. Key Takeaway Question standard analysis. Themes dreams psychoanalysis interpretation Mood skeptical inquisitive Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - Therapy sessions - creative writing - personal dream journals - academic study of symbolism Key Concepts Freudian theory symbolic meaning subjective experience Questions to Reflect On - Do you trust your own dream insights over professional analysis? - Can opposing interpretations coexist? A Different Perspective Psychoanalysis may still offer useful frameworks despite contradictions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Analysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analysis/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) ## Related quotes > [A philosopher who says, 'There are no truths, only interpretations,' risks the retort: 'Is that true, or only an interpretation?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/a-philosopher-who-says-there-are-no-truths-only-interpretations-risks/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [All philosophies, if you ride them home, are nonsense, but some are greater nonsense than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/all-philosophies-if-you-ride-them-home-are-nonsense-but-some-are/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Every succeeding scientific discovery makes greater nonsense of old-time conceptions of sovereignty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-eden/every-succeeding-scientific-discovery-makes-greater-nonsense-of-old/) [Anthony Eden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-eden/) > [The interpretation of dreams is a great art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/the-interpretation-of-dreams-is-a-great-art/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [ \[Sigmund Freud\] makes the interpretation of dreams extremely simple: it deals in substance with discovering what unconscious desires, distorted but recognizable, are hid-den in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/sigmund-freud-makes-the-interpretation-of-dreams-extremely-simple-it/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I led the life of an intellectual up until a certain age. I remember Freud's 'Interpretation of Dreams' was a big favorite when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-led-the-life-of-an-intellectual-up-until-a-certain-age-i-remember/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [The ultimate lesson of The Interpretation of Dreams: reality is for those who cannot sustain the dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-lesson-of-the-interpretation-of-dreams-reality-is-for/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [I came to Freud for facts. I read 'The Interpretation of Dreams' and I thought- 'Oh, here is a man who is not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-came-to-freud-for-facts-i-read-the-interpretation-of-dreams-and-i/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-interpretation-of-dreams-is-the-royal-road-to-a-knowledge-of-the/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900. It introduced the notion that there existed certain predictable and identifiable processes by which dreams were formed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-reed/freud-published-the-interpretation-of-dreams-in-1900-it-introduced/) [Henry Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-reed/) > [“CESIA: /z mądrą minką/ Psycho-lo-giczna strona. Wiem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-august-kisielewski/cesia-z-m-dr-mink-psycho-lo-giczna-strona-wiem/) Jan August Kisielewski > [Let me tell you, if your marriage is in trouble, skip the therapist and find a psycho. Nothing brings people together faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edelstein/let-me-tell-you-if-your-marriage-is-in-trouble-skip-the-therapist-and/) [David Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edelstein/) > [“So that was it, then. She wasn't about to let me call her on anything. Not this psycho.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-wright/so-that-was-it-then-she-wasn-t-about-to-let-me-call-her-on-anything/) [Melissa Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-wright/) > [A lot of people ask: 'Will you play a psycho to really change your image and prove you can act?' But that's not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/a-lot-of-people-ask-will-you-play-a-psycho-to-really-change-your/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) > [As women, we are always taught never to let a man know of our affections towards him, lest he laugh, run away, or think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjoybell-c/as-women-we-are-always-taught-never-to-let-a-man-know-of-our/) CJoybell C ## More by Arthur Machen > [We both wondered whether these contradictions that one can't avoid if one begins to think of time and space may not really be proofs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-both-wondered-whether-these-contradictions-that-one-can-t-avoid-if/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [The saint endeavors to recover a gift which he has lost; the sinner tries to obtain something which was never his. In brief, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/the-saint-endeavors-to-recover-a-gift-which-he-has-lost-the-sinner/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“Happiness, said De Quincey, on his discovery of the paradise that he thought he had found in opium, could be sent down by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/happiness-said-de-quincey-on-his-discovery-of-the-paradise-that-he/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“He knew then how the dull flesh of man can be like fire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/he-knew-then-how-the-dull-flesh-of-man-can-be-like-fire/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“By what seemed then and still seems a chance, the suggestion of a moment’s idle thought followed up upon familiar lines and paths that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/by-what-seemed-then-and-still-seems-a-chance-the-suggestion-of-a/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“We have just begun to navigate a strange region; we must expect to encounter strange adventures, strange perils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-have-just-begun-to-navigate-a-strange-region-we-must-expect-to/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-know-what-happened-to-those-who-chanced-to-meet-the-great-god-pan/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [There are strange things lost and forgotten in obscure corners of the newspaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/there-are-strange-things-lost-and-forgotten-in-obscure-corners-of-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“Here, I could see, was choice matter on which the expert and art critic could exercise their knowledge and judgment. As I had neither,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/here-i-could-see-was-choice-matter-on-which-the-expert-and-art-critic/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [Very softly, but very swiftly, Last, the man with the grey face and the staring eyes, bolted for his life, down and away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/very-softly-but-very-swiftly-last-the-man-with-the-grey-face-and-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-was-better-he-thought-to-fail-in-attempting-exquisite-things-than/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [And it is utterly true that he who cannot find wonder, mystery, awe, the sense of a new world and an undiscovered realm in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/and-it-is-utterly-true-that-he-who-cannot-find-wonder-mystery-awe-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [Every branch of human knowledge, if traced up to its source and final principles, vanishes into mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/every-branch-of-human-knowledge-if-traced-up-to-its-source-and-final/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [silence is not weakness and decency is not pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/silence-is-not-weakness-and-decency-is-not-pride/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [ “It appears to me that it \[sin\] is simply an attempt to penetrate into another and higher sphere in a forbidden manner. You can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-appears-to-me-that-it-sin-is-simply-an-attempt-to-penetrate-into/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) [Explore all 55 Arthur Machen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) ## More Analysis quotes > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-h-t-rhodes/combining-the-experience-of-a-seasoned-university-president-with-the/) Frank H. T. Rhodes > [International friendly games are not worth the lives of the silk worms who perish to make the pennants. They do not even have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/international-friendly-games-are-not-worth-the-lives-of-the-silk/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [Demographically, I'm a hippie from San Francisco and I'm not culturally inclined to be sympathetic to states' rights. My cultural heritage is FDR and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/demographically-i-m-a-hippie-from-san-francisco-and-i-m-not/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Democracy is not being well served as we're accustomed to. There is less information, there's less investigation, there's less analysis, there's less accountability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-greenspon/democracy-is-not-being-well-served-as-we-re-accustomed-to-there-is/) Edward Greenspon > [As long as the human race is able to concern itself with more than mere survival, soccer will have its place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-morris/as-long-as-the-human-race-is-able-to-concern-itself-with-more-than/) [Desmond Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-morris/) > [The capitalistic social order, therefore, is an economic democracy in the strictest sense of the word. In the last analysis, all decisions are dependent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-capitalistic-social-order-therefore-is-an-economic-democracy-in/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“You will do one of two things as soon as you’ve exhausted what you can determine mathematically in the case: (1) Refine your hypothesis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cheng/you-will-do-one-of-two-things-as-soon-as-you-ve-exhausted-what-you/) [Victor Cheng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cheng/) > [Atheism Explained is a gem. It is clear, informative, well-argued, provocative, often witty, and unfailingly interesting. David Ramsay Steele ranges over so many issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-shearmur/atheism-explained-is-a-gem-it-is-clear-informative-well-argued/) Jeremy Shearmur > [Class is entirely intangible, and the way it affects things isn't subject to scientific analysis, and it's not supposed to be real but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/class-is-entirely-intangible-and-the-way-it-affects-things-isn-t/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [I've always made my decisions based on two factors: intellectual analysis and my gut. And when they meet, that's a go from me. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ovitz/i-ve-always-made-my-decisions-based-on-two-factors-intellectual/) [Michael Ovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ovitz/) > [Analysis of opponents is something I like doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/analysis-of-opponents-is-something-i-like-doing/) [Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/) > [What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/what-matters-supremely-therefore-is-not-in-the-last-analysis-the-fact/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [We are well aware that he spent many hours recently tape recording various messages... we need to do a little more analysis of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-hoon/we-are-well-aware-that-he-spent-many-hours-recently-tape-recording/) [Geoff Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-hoon/) [Browse all 1,547 Analysis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analysis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater nonsense inasmuch as the true interpretation of many dreams - not by any means of all dreams - moves, it may be said, in the opposite direction to the method of psycho-analysis.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Machen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-much-the-greater-nonsense/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Analysis" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-much-the-greater-nonsense/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/arthur-machen-11940_analysis_it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-muc_454276.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/arthur-machen-11940_analysis_it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-muc_454276.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/arthur-machen-11940_analysis_it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-muc_454276.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater nonsense inasmuch as the true interpretation of many…” — Arthur Machen", "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": "Arthur Machen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is all nonsense, to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-much-the-greater-nonsense/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-much-the-greater-nonsense/#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 } } ] } ```