--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Autobiography is never entirely true. No…" description: "\"Autobiography is never entirely true. No one can get the right perspective on himself. Every fact is colored by imagination and dream.\" — Clarence Darrow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/clarence-darrow-1714_autobiography_autobiography-is-never-entirely-true-no_1149157.png" --- # Autobiography is never entirely true. No one can get the… ![“Autobiography is never entirely true. No one can get the right perspective on himself. Every fact is colored by imagination and dream.” quote by Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/clarence-darrow-1714_autobiography_autobiography-is-never-entirely-true-no_1149157.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/clarence-darrow-1714_autobiography_autobiography-is-never-entirely-true-no_1149157.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/clarence-darrow-1714_autobiography_autobiography-is-never-entirely-true-no_1149157.png) > “Autobiography is never entirely true. No one can get the right perspective on himself. Every fact is colored by imagination and dream.” [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑narratives are inherently biased; personal recollections mix fact with imagination, preventing a fully accurate self‑portrait. **In simple terms:** We can’t fully know ourselves because memory and imagination distort facts. Key Takeaway Accept that self‑knowledge is partial and seek external perspectives. Themes self‑awareness truth subjectivity Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal journaling - therapy - creative writing - historical biography Key Concepts cognitive bias memory reconstruction identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify your own memories? - What role does imagination play in shaping your life story? A Different Perspective Our perception is limited; external feedback can reveal blind spots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Autobiography Entirely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography-entirely-3238991/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination and dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-and-dreams/) [Imagination Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-dream-1103970/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Perspective Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective-fact-3238992/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [If I need a cause for celebration, Or a comfort I can use to ease my mind, I rely on my imagination, And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/if-i-need-a-cause-for-celebration-or-a-comfort-i-can-use-to-ease-my/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [Every day, through engagement in the arts, our children learn to open their imagination, to dream just a little bigger and to strive every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/every-day-through-engagement-in-the-arts-our-children-learn-to-open/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [The greatest gift you have been given is the gift of your imagination - what do you dream of wanting to do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lindhout/the-greatest-gift-you-have-been-given-is-the-gift-of-your-imagination/) [Amanda Lindhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lindhout/) > [The imagination is a dream factory of which realities are a by-product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilkins/the-imagination-is-a-dream-factory-of-which-realities-are-a-by-product/) [Richard Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilkins/) > [The Spanish voyager, as his caravel ploughed the adjacent seas, might give full scope to his imagination, and dream that beyond the long, low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-parkman/the-spanish-voyager-as-his-caravel-ploughed-the-adjacent-seas-might/) [Francis Parkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-parkman/) > [If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-one-advances-confidently-in-the-direction-of-his-dreams-and-3/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You see things and you say, 'Why?'. But I dream things and I say, 'Why not?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-see-things-and-you-say-why-but-i-dream-things-and-i-say-why-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [If you can dream it, you can do it. Your limits are all within yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-do-it-your-limits-are-all-within-yourself/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [If you can dream it, you can make it so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belva-davis/if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-make-it-so/) [Belva Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belva-davis/) > [The imagination disposes of everything. It creates beauty, justice, and happiness, which are the whole of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-imagination-disposes-of-everything-it-creates-beauty-justice-and/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Name it... and if you can dream it... you can achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/name-it-and-if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-achieve-it/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [fantasizing is one of the earliest languages in the child's mind. We are in touch with our imagination and dreams before we engage with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/fantasizing-is-one-of-the-earliest-languages-in-the-child-s-mind-we/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Dreams are more powerful than facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/dreams-are-more-powerful-than-facts/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Such tricks hath strong imagination, That, if it would but apprehend some joy, It comprehends some bringer of that joy; Or in the night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/such-tricks-hath-strong-imagination-that-if-it-would-but-apprehend/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) ## More by Clarence Darrow > [We know life is futile. A man who considers that his life is of very wonderful importance is awfully close to a padded cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/we-know-life-is-futile-a-man-who-considers-that-his-life-is-of-very/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Great wealth often curses all who touch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/great-wealth-often-curses-all-who-touch-it/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Punishment as punishment is not admissible unless the offender has had the free will to select his course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/punishment-as-punishment-is-not-admissible-unless-the-offender-has/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“One of the bravest, grandest champions of human liberty the world has ever seen. {Darrow on the great Robert Ingersoll }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/one-of-the-bravest-grandest-champions-of-human-liberty-the-world-has/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [I cannot tell and I shall never know how many words of mine might have given birth to cruelty in place of love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-cannot-tell-and-i-shall-never-know-how-many-words-of-mine-might/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and if no man rebelled, those wrongs would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/as-long-as-the-world-shall-last-there-will-be-wrongs-and-if-no-man/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-have-never-killed-a-man-but-i-have-read-many-obituaries-with-great/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/lost-causes-are-the-only-ones-worth-fighting-for/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [One believes in the truthfulness of a man because of his long experience with the man, and because the man has always told a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/one-believes-in-the-truthfulness-of-a-man-because-of-his-long/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Physical deformity, calls forth our charity. But the infinite misfortune of moral deformity calls forth nothing but hatred and vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/physical-deformity-calls-forth-our-charity-but-the-infinite/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Men have always been obliged to fight to preserve liberty. Constitutions and laws do not safeguard liberty. It can be preserved only by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/men-have-always-been-obliged-to-fight-to-preserve-liberty/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“ Robert G. Ingersoll was a great man. a wonderful intellect, a great soul of matchless courage, one of the great men of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/robert-g-ingersoll-was-a-great-man-a-wonderful-intellect-a-great-soul/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Everybody is a potential murderer. I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/everybody-is-a-potential-murderer-i-ve-never-killed-anyone-but-i/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [The first half of our lives are ruined by our parents and the second half by our children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/the-first-half-of-our-lives-are-ruined-by-our-parents-and-the-second/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [If there is a soul, what is it, and where did it come from, and where does it go? Can anyone who is guided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/if-there-is-a-soul-what-is-it-and-where-did-it-come-from-and-where/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) [Explore all 213 Clarence Darrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) ## More Autobiography quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/) [David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/) > [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/) [Craig Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-briggs/) > [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) [Linda Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-simon/) > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/) [Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/) > [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Autobiography is never entirely true. No one can get the right perspective on himself. 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