--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is so simple that it is…" description: "\"The truth is so simple that it is regarded as a pretentious banality.\" — Dag Hammarskjold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_banality_the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regard_1031091.png" --- # The truth is so simple that it is regarded as a… ![“The truth is so simple that it is regarded as a pretentious banality.” quote by Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_banality_the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regard_1031091.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_banality_the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regard_1031091.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_banality_the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regard_1031091.png) > “The truth is so simple that it is regarded as a pretentious banality.” [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Simple truths are dismissed as trivial, yet they hold profound insight. **In simple terms:** Simplicity can be undervalued. Key Takeaway Value simple truths. Themes simplicity truth perception Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily decision making - leadership - education - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy spirituality Questions to Reflect On - Why do we overlook simple truths? - How can simplicity improve your work? A Different Perspective Complexity is often prized over clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Banality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banality/) [Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious/) [Pretentious Banality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious-banality-2356246/) [Regarded Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarded-pretentious-2356247/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) [Truth Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-simple-351851/) ## Related quotes > [Hume develops his arguments by a series of models. He doesn't call them models in the pretentious way in which we envelope, very often,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-robbins-baron-robbins/hume-develops-his-arguments-by-a-series-of-models-he-doesn-t-call/) [Lionel Robbins, Baron Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-robbins-baron-robbins/) > [Boiled down to its core, the truth is always a simple, solid thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/boiled-down-to-its-core-the-truth-is-always-a-simple-solid-thing/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [Truth is simple, requiring neither study nor art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammianus-marcellinus/truth-is-simple-requiring-neither-study-nor-art/) [Ammianus Marcellinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammianus-marcellinus/) > [The ultimate truth is so simple. It is nothing more than being in the pristine state. This is all that needs to be said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-ultimate-truth-is-so-simple-it-is-nothing-more-than-being-in-the/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“The instruments for the quest of truth are as simple as they are difficult. They may appear quite impossible to an arrogant person, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-gandhi/the-instruments-for-the-quest-of-truth-are-as-simple-as-they-are/) [M.K. Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-k-gandhi/) > [Truth, which is simple and one, admits of no variety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/truth-which-is-simple-and-one-admits-of-no-variety/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“The truth is never simple. It’s only in the Western world that you think knowledge is something you can acquire quickly and easily. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/the-truth-is-never-simple-it-s-only-in-the-western-world-that-you/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Truth is too simple for us: we do not like those who unmask our illusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/truth-is-too-simple-for-us-we-do-not-like-those-who-unmask-our/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we do take statements to be the primary bearers of truth, there seems to be a very simple answer to the question, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-mackie/if-we-do-take-statements-to-be-the-primary-bearers-of-truth-there/) [J. L. Mackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-mackie/) > [Truth Is Simple... But, The Moment You Try To Explain... It Becomes Difficult...!!.:-)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/truth-is-simple-but-the-moment-you-try-to-explain-it-becomes-difficult/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Truth is simple but difficult to explain… Loving is easy but difficult to express.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussain-rasheed/truth-is-simple-but-difficult-to-explain-loving-is-easy-but-difficult/) [Hussain Rasheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussain-rasheed/) > [There are numerous layers to truth, and the simple and superficial statement of facts cannot satisfy the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/there-are-numerous-layers-to-truth-and-the-simple-and-superficial/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [The words of truth are simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-words-of-truth-are-simple/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“Science and Truth are simple phenomenon of nature, but it is the known that is preventing us from mastering the unknown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandrakanth-natekar/science-and-truth-are-simple-phenomenon-of-nature-but-it-is-the-known/) [Chandrakanth Natekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandrakanth-natekar/) > [It is far from simple to show the truth, yet the truth is simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dziga-vertov/it-is-far-from-simple-to-show-the-truth-yet-the-truth-is-simple/) [Dziga Vertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dziga-vertov/) ## More by Dag Hammarskjold > [“Didst thou give me this inescapable loneliness so that it would be easier for me to give thee all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/didst-thou-give-me-this-inescapable-loneliness-so-that-it-would-be/) [Dag Hammarskjöld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Beneath the hush a whisper from long ago, promising peace of mind and a burden shared. No peace which is not peace for all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/beneath-the-hush-a-whisper-from-long-ago-promising-peace-of-mind-and/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [For the sacrificed, in the hour of sacrifice, only one thing counts: faith-alone among enemies and skeptics. Faith, in spite of the humiliation which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/for-the-sacrificed-in-the-hour-of-sacrifice-only-one-thing-counts/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Friendship needs no words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/friendship-needs-no-words/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [If even dying is to be made a social function, then, grant me the favor of sneaking out on tiptoe without disturbing the party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/if-even-dying-is-to-be-made-a-social-function-then-grant-me-the-favor/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Your position never gives you the right to command. It only imposes on you the duty of so living your life that others can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/your-position-never-gives-you-the-right-to-command-it-only-imposes-on/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [I have only my own burden to bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/i-have-only-my-own-burden-to-bear/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Life yields only to the conqueror. Never accept whatcan be gained by giving in. You will be living off stolen goods, and your muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/life-yields-only-to-the-conqueror-never-accept-whatcan-be-gained-by/) [Dag Hammarskjöld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [I never discuss discussions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/i-never-discuss-discussions/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/we-all-have-within-us-a-center-of-stillness-surrounded-by-silence/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [There is a point at which everything becomes simple and there is no longer any question of choice, because all you have staked will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/there-is-a-point-at-which-everything-becomes-simple-and-there-is-no/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/god-does-not-die-on-the-day-when-we-cease-to-believe-in-a-personal/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [The concept of loyalty is distorted when it is understood to mean blind acceptance. It is correctly interpreted when it is assumed to cover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-concept-of-loyalty-is-distorted-when-it-is-understood-to-mean/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Those who invoke history will certainly be heard by history. And they will have to accept its verdict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/those-who-invoke-history-will-certainly-be-heard-by-history-and-they/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Your body must become familiar with its death - in all its possible forms and degrees - as a self-evident, imminent, and emotionally neutral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/your-body-must-become-familiar-with-its-death-in-all-its-possible/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) [Explore all 155 Dag Hammarskjold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) ## More Banality quotes > [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Spirituality can be severed from both vicious sectarianism and thoughtless banalities. Spirituality, I have come to see, is nothing less than the thoughtful love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-c-solomon/spirituality-can-be-severed-from-both-vicious-sectarianism-and/) [Robert C. Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-c-solomon/) > [Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/honest-criticism-and-sensitive-appreciation-are-directed-not-upon-the/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [My life is short. I can't listen to banality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/my-life-is-short-i-can-t-listen-to-banality/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [“A plain circular bullet is widely disdained for its banality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolina-de-bartolo/a-plain-circular-bullet-is-widely-disdained-for-its-banality/) [Carolina de Bartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolina-de-bartolo/) > [The great work of art is the complete banality, and the fault with most banalities is that they are not banal enough. Banality here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-great-work-of-art-is-the-complete-banality-and-the-fault-with/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Understanding a people's culture exposes their normalness without reducing their particularity...It renders them accessible: setting them in the frame of their own banalities, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/understanding-a-people-s-culture-exposes-their-normalness-without/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) > [I was filled with angst in college, that I struggled with the question of my future, the meaning of my life - spoiled sheltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-was-filled-with-angst-in-college-that-i-struggled-with-the-question/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Language is in decline. Not only has eloquence departed but simple, direct speech as well, though pomposity and banality have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-newman/language-is-in-decline-not-only-has-eloquence-departed-but-simple/) [Edwin Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-newman/) > [I really like the idea of banality and repetition being used to generate the image, which are simple and unobstructed and not captivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-aitken/i-really-like-the-idea-of-banality-and-repetition-being-used-to/) [Doug Aitken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-aitken/) > [“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/) > [On the subway today, a man came up to me to start a conversation. He made small talk, a lonely man talking about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-doe/on-the-subway-today-a-man-came-up-to-me-to-start-a-conversation-he/) [John Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-doe/) > [Fight fire with fire. If you must have bores, always put them together or at the same table ... bores have an effervescent chemical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-maxwell/fight-fire-with-fire-if-you-must-have-bores-always-put-them-together/) [Elsa Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-maxwell/) > [What concerns me most is the horrible degradation our notions of truth, civility, and decency have undergone. Also the way that language has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-concerns-me-most-is-the-horrible-degradation-our-notions-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Once you start rewriting, you're not able to stop. With each draft the fundamental banality and worthlessness of the material becomes more evident even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-n-malzberg/once-you-start-rewriting-you-re-not-able-to-stop-with-each-draft-the/) [Barry N. Malzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-n-malzberg/) [Browse all 124 Banality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truth is so simple that it is regarded as a pretentious banality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dag Hammarskjold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regarded-as-a-pretentious-banality/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Banality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regarded-as-a-pretentious-banality/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_banality_the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regard_1031091.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_banality_the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regard_1031091.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_banality_the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regard_1031091.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth is so simple that it is regarded as a pretentious banality.” — Dag Hammarskjold", "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": "Dag Hammarskjold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The truth is so simple that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regarded-as-a-pretentious-banality/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-truth-is-so-simple-that-it-is-regarded-as-a-pretentious-banality/#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 } } ] } ```