---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By convention sweet and by convention…"
description: "\"“By convention sweet and by convention bitter, by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color; but in reality atoms and void.”\" — Democritus"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/democritus-4814_atoms_by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bi_2907939.png"
---

#  By convention sweet and by convention bitter, by…

![“By convention sweet and by convention bitter, by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color; but in reality atoms and void.” quote by Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/democritus-4814_atoms_by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bi_2907939.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/democritus-4814_atoms_by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bi_2907939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/democritus-4814_atoms_by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bi_2907939.png)

> ““By convention sweet and by convention bitter, by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color; but in reality atoms and void.””

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Sensory labels differ from underlying reality of atoms and void.

**In simple terms:** Names are conventions; reality is atomic.

Key Takeaway

Question assumptions about perceived categories.

Themes

philosophy science reality

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

philosophical scientific

When to use this quote

- education
- scientific research
- everyday perception

Key Concepts

atomism metaphysics epistemology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you distinguish appearance from essence?
- What assumptions limit your understanding?

A Different Perspective

May oversimplify complex phenomena.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Bitter Convention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-convention-4171299/) [Convention Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convention-bitter-4171298/) [Convention Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convention-cold-4171301/) [Convention Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convention-sweet-4171300/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sweet Convention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet-convention-4171302/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/)

## Related quotes

> [By convention sweet is sweet, by convention bitter is bitter, by convention hot is hot, by convention cold is cold, by convention color is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/by-convention-sweet-is-sweet-by-convention-bitter-is-bitter-by/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Sweet exists by convention, bitter by convention, color by convention; but in reality atoms and the void alone exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/sweet-exists-by-convention-bitter-by-convention-color-by-convention/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [According to convention there is a sweet and a bitter, a hot and a cold, and according to convention, there is an order. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/according-to-convention-there-is-a-sweet-and-a-bitter-a-hot-and-a/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [These differences, they say, are three: shape, arrangement, and position; because they hold that what is differs only in contour, inter-contact, inclination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/these-differences-they-say-are-three-shape-arrangement-and-position/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space; everything else is merely thought to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/the-first-principles-of-the-universe-are-atoms-and-empty-space/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Nothing exists but atoms and the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/nothing-exists-but-atoms-and-the-void/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/)

[Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/)

> [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/)

[Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/)

> [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/)

[Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/)

> [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/)

[Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/)

> [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/)

[Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/)

> [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/)

[Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/)

## More by Democritus

> [If your desires are not great, a little will seem much to you; for small appetite makes poverty equivalent to wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/if-your-desires-are-not-great-a-little-will-seem-much-to-you-for/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Men will cease to be fools only when they cease to be men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/men-will-cease-to-be-fools-only-when-they-cease-to-be-men/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Nothing exists but atoms and the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/nothing-exists-but-atoms-and-the-void/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [If thou suffer injustice, console thyself; the true unhappiness is in doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/if-thou-suffer-injustice-console-thyself-the-true-unhappiness-is-in/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Men have made an idol of luck as an excuse for their own thoughtlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/men-have-made-an-idol-of-luck-as-an-excuse-for-their-own/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/by-desiring-little-a-poor-man-makes-himself-rich/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [People sometimes rationalize their greed by saying that it is all for the good of their children but this is nothing but an excuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/people-sometimes-rationalize-their-greed-by-saying-that-it-is-all-for/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Beautiful objects are wrought by study through effort, but ugly things are reaped automatically without toil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/beautiful-objects-are-wrought-by-study-through-effort-but-ugly-things/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Nature and education are somewhat similar. The latter transforms man, and in so doing creates a second nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/nature-and-education-are-somewhat-similar-the-latter-transforms-man/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [The wise man’s home is the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/the-wise-man-s-home-is-the-universe/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [“Accept nothing pleasant unless it is beneficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/accept-nothing-pleasant-unless-it-is-beneficial/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Raising children is an uncertain thing; success is reached only after a life of battle and worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/raising-children-is-an-uncertain-thing-success-is-reached-only-after/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Nature . . . has buried truth deep in the bottom of the sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/nature-has-buried-truth-deep-in-the-bottom-of-the-sea/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [More men have become great through practice than by nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/more-men-have-become-great-through-practice-than-by-nature/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [Happiness resides not in possessions and not in golds; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/happiness-resides-not-in-possessions-and-not-in-golds-the-feeling-of/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

[Explore all 106 Democritus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

## More Atoms quotes

> [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/)

[Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/)

> [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/)

[Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/)

> [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/)

[Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/)

> [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/)

[Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/)

> [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/)

[Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/)

> [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/)

[Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/)

> [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/)

[Wilhelm Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-korner/)

> [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“An atom is mostly made up of empty space. If you remove the empty space from every atom, the entire world's human population could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weike-wang/an-atom-is-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-if-you-remove-the-empty/)

[Weike Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weike-wang/)

> [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/)

[Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/)

> [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

[Browse all 852 Atoms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“By convention sweet and by convention bitter, by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color; but in reality atoms and void.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Democritus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bitter-by-convention-hot-by/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Atoms"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bitter-by-convention-hot-by/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/democritus-4814_atoms_by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bi_2907939.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/democritus-4814_atoms_by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bi_2907939.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/democritus-4814_atoms_by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bi_2907939.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“By convention sweet and by convention bitter, by convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color…” — Democritus",
                "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": "Democritus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“By convention sweet and by convention...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bitter-by-convention-hot-by/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/by-convention-sweet-and-by-convention-bitter-by-convention-hot-by/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
