--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but…" description: "\"Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but it will never arrive at maturity unless sound sense be the trunk and truth the root. CHARLES CALEB COLTON, La..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a11/charles-caleb-colton-270_antithesis_antithesis-may-be-the-blossom-of-wit-but_887247.png" --- # Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but it will never… ![“Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but it will never arrive at maturity unless sound sense be the trunk and truth the root. CHARLES CALEB COLTON, Lacon; Or, Many Things in a Few Words Light, whether it be material or moral, is the best reformer; for it prevents those disorders which other…” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a11/charles-caleb-colton-270_antithesis_antithesis-may-be-the-blossom-of-wit-but_887247.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a11/charles-caleb-colton-270_antithesis_antithesis-may-be-the-blossom-of-wit-but_887247.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a11/charles-caleb-colton-270_antithesis_antithesis-may-be-the-blossom-of-wit-but_887247.png) > “Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but it will never arrive at maturity unless sound sense be the trunk and truth the root. CHARLES CALEB COLTON, Lacon; Or, Many Things in a Few Words Light, whether it be material or moral, is the best reformer; for it prevents those disorders which other remedies sometimes cure, but sometimes confirm.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wit needs a solid base of sense and truth to mature; otherwise it remains immature. **In simple terms:** Wit needs sense and truth to mature. Key Takeaway Build ideas on solid truth and sense. Themes wisdom wit truth Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - debate - education Key Concepts philosophy logic critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How to balance wit with truth? - When is flexibility more valuable than strict truth? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on truth may stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antithesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithesis/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Reformer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformer/) [Reformers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformers/) [Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remedy/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [Light, whether it be material or moral, is the best reformer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/light-whether-it-be-material-or-moral-is-the-best-reformer/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but it will never arrive at maturity unless sound sense be the trunk and truth the root.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/antithesis-may-be-the-blossom-of-wit-but-it-will-never-arrive-at/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Light, whether it be material or moral, is the best reformer; for it prevents those disorders which other remedies sometimes cure, but sometimes confirm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/light-whether-it-be-material-or-moral-is-the-best-reformer-for-it/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Afflictions sent by providence melt the constancy of the noble minded, but confirm the obduracy of the vile, as the same furnace that liquefies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/afflictions-sent-by-providence-melt-the-constancy-of-the-noble-minded-2/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“He was an awkward mixture of strong moral impulse and restless aesthetic curiosity, and yet he would have made a most ineffective reformer and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/he-was-an-awkward-mixture-of-strong-moral-impulse-and-restless/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [We will meet our challenges head on and we will do it by rejecting the politics of mediocrity and corruption. You voted for change;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-blagojevich/we-will-meet-our-challenges-head-on-and-we-will-do-it-by-rejecting/) [Rod Blagojevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-blagojevich/) > [King Abdullah is a reformer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-waleed-bin-talal/king-abdullah-is-a-reformer/) [Al-Waleed bin Talal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-waleed-bin-talal/) > [A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/a-reformer-is-one-who-sets-forth-cheerfully-toward-sure-defeat/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Power in the hands of the reformer is no less potentially corrupting than in the hands of the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-bell/power-in-the-hands-of-the-reformer-is-no-less-potentially-corrupting/) [Derrick Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-bell/) > [The first generation of school reformers I talk about - nineteenth century education reformer Horace Mann, Catharine Beecher - they are true believers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goldstein/the-first-generation-of-school-reformers-i-talk-about-nineteenth/) [Dana Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goldstein/) > [If we like a man's dream, we call him a reformer; if we don't like his dream, we call him a crank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/if-we-like-a-man-s-dream-we-call-him-a-reformer-if-we-don-t-like-his/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [“Injustice is not allowed on my watch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/injustice-is-not-allowed-on-my-watch/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“The history of progress is a history of freaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-history-of-progress-is-a-history-of-freaks/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/the-reformer-has-enemies-in-all-who-profit-by-the-old-order-and-only/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/none-are-so-fond-of-secrets-as-those-who-do-not-mean-to-keep-them/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Ignorance lies at the bottom of all human knowledge, and the deeper we penetrate, the nearer we arrive unto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/ignorance-lies-at-the-bottom-of-all-human-knowledge-and-the-deeper-we/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-ought-not-to-be-over-anxious-to-encourage-innovation-in-cases-of/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-owe-almost-all-our-knowledge-not-to-those-who-have-agreed-but-to/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Metaphysicians have been learning their lessons for the last four thousand years, and it is high time that they should now begin to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/metaphysicians-have-been-learning-their-lessons-for-the-last-four/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Faith and works are necessary to our spiritual life as Christians, as soul and body are to our natural life as men; for faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/faith-and-works-are-necessary-to-our-spiritual-life-as-christians-as/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Explore all 778 Charles Caleb Colton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More Antithesis quotes > [Christie led the way - with a bulldozer. The governor is blunt, brash, and self-consciously authentic, the antithesis to what turns off today's voters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/christie-led-the-way-with-a-bulldozer-the-governor-is-blunt-brash-and/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [... Michael Bloomfield was the antithesis of a collector ... he didn't care how old a guitar was; all he wanted was something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gravenites/michael-bloomfield-was-the-antithesis-of-a-collector-he-didn-t-care/) Nick Gravenites > [“All this waiting. Waiting for the rain to stop. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for the bill. Waiting at the airport for an old friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/all-this-waiting-waiting-for-the-rain-to-stop-waiting-in-traffic/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [One of the goals of philosophy is wage theoretical battle. That is why we can say that every thesis is always, by its very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/one-of-the-goals-of-philosophy-is-wage-theoretical-battle-that-is-why/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Everything contains its antithesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-stevenson/everything-contains-its-antithesis/) [Juliet Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-stevenson/) > [I'm unhappy with the President Trump. I don't like his behavior, and I'm a Republican, and I don't like his policies because they're almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-wexner/i-m-unhappy-with-the-president-trump-i-don-t-like-his-behavior-and-i/) [Les Wexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-wexner/) > [the overwhelming majority of people who are engaged in the processes of thought and expression are Democrats because the essence of thought is exploration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/the-overwhelming-majority-of-people-who-are-engaged-in-the-processes/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Free will appears unfettered, deliberate; it is boundlessly free, wandering, the spirit. But fate is a necessity; unless we believe that world history is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/free-will-appears-unfettered-deliberate-it-is-boundlessly-free/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I am so stupid that I cannot understand philosophy; the antithesis of this is that philosophy is so clever that it cannot comprehend my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-am-so-stupid-that-i-cannot-understand-philosophy-the-antithesis-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/communism-forgets-that-life-is-individual-capitalism-forgets-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Composing computer programs to solve scientific problems is like writing poetry. You must choose every word with care and link it with the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/composing-computer-programs-to-solve-scientific-problems-is-like/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [Don't seek happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-seek-happiness-if-you-seek-it-you-won-t-find-it-because-seeking/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Without making any moral judgements whatsoever, one can say that self-indulgence and excessive self-preoccupation are the antithesis of genuine awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-rolheiser/without-making-any-moral-judgements-whatsoever-one-can-say-that-self/) [Ronald Rolheiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-rolheiser/) > [I am not a hoarder, but my wardrobe is the antithesis of fast fashion. I buy clothes - beautiful in looks and make -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-menkes/i-am-not-a-hoarder-but-my-wardrobe-is-the-antithesis-of-fast-fashion/) [Suzy Menkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-menkes/) [Browse all 152 Antithesis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithesis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Antithesis may be the blossom of wit, but it will never arrive at maturity unless sound sense be the trunk and truth the root. 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