--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A tree's shade is worth more than the…" description: "\"“A tree's shade is worth more than the knowledge of truth, my sons, for a tree's shade is true while it lasts, and the knowledge of truth is false in i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/fernando-pessoa-177_knowledge_a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-kn_273730.jpg" --- # A tree's shade is worth more than the knowledge of truth… ![“A tree's shade is worth more than the knowledge of truth, my sons, for a tree's shade is true while it lasts, and the knowledge of truth is false in its very truth. The leaves' greenness is worth more, for a right understanding, than a great thought, for the leaves, greenness is something you can…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/fernando-pessoa-177_knowledge_a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-kn_273730.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/fernando-pessoa-177_knowledge_a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-kn_273730.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/fernando-pessoa-177_knowledge_a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-kn_273730.jpg) > ““A tree's shade is worth more than the knowledge of truth, my sons, for a tree's shade is true while it lasts, and the knowledge of truth is false in its very truth. The leaves' greenness is worth more, for a right understanding, than a great thought, for the leaves, greenness is something you can show others, but you can never show them a great thought. We are born without knowing how to talk and we die without having known how to express ourselves. Our life runs its course between the silence of one who cannot speak and the silence of one who wasn't understood, and around it hovers — like a bee where there are no flowers — a useless, inscrutable destiny.”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts tangible, practical benefits of simple, observable things with abstract, elusive truths, emphasizing communication limits and life's ambiguous purpose. **In simple terms:** Simple things help more than abstract ideas; communication is limited and life feels uncertain. Key Takeaway Value concrete experiences and accept life's mystery. Themes practicality communication existentialism humility Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical poetic existential When to use this quote - daily work - teaching - personal relationships - creative pursuits - spiritual reflection Key Concepts epistemology symbolism existential angst Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance practical actions with deeper understanding? - What does it mean to be truly understood? A Different Perspective Abstract truths can be misleading if not grounded in lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greenness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greenness-370819/) [Greenness Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greenness-worth-2670494/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Leaves Greenness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaves-greenness-2670495/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Shade True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade-true-2670497/) [Shade Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade-worth-2670496/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [It is true that our skin is sort of more or less the same shade. But is it true that our skin color makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/it-is-true-that-our-skin-is-sort-of-more-or-less-the-same-shade-but/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“The wood was silent, still and secret in the evening drizzle of rain, full of the mystery of eggs and half-open buds, half unsheathed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/the-wood-was-silent-still-and-secret-in-the-evening-drizzle-of-rain/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [My mind was once the true survey Of all these meadows fresh and gay; And in the greenness of the grass Did see its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-marvell/my-mind-was-once-the-true-survey-of-all-these-meadows-fresh-and-gay/) [Andrew Marvell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-marvell/) > [The greenness of Ireland is a false greenness, after all. Not that it isn't green - the place can still make you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/the-greenness-of-ireland-is-a-false-greenness-after-all-not-that-it/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Across clearings, an eye, A widening deepening greenness, Brilliantly, concentratedly, Coming about its own business.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/across-clearings-an-eye-a-widening-deepening-greenness-brilliantly/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [“This view of a living nature where man is nothing is both odd and sad. Here, in a fertile land, in an eternal greenness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-von-humboldt/this-view-of-a-living-nature-where-man-is-nothing-is-both-odd-and-sad/) [Alexander von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-von-humboldt/) > [Who would have thought my shrivel'd heart could have recovered greenness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/who-would-have-thought-my-shrivel-d-heart-could-have-recovered/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“We'd never seen anything as green as these rice paddies. It was not just the paddies themselves: the surrounding vegetation - foliage so dense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/we-d-never-seen-anything-as-green-as-these-rice-paddies-it-was-not/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [Could have recovered greenness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/could-have-recovered-greenness/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Suddenly a mist of green on the trees, as quiet as thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-richardson/suddenly-a-mist-of-green-on-the-trees-as-quiet-as-thought/) [Dorothy Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-richardson/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [“Sitting at the old patio table she’d cleared of leaves, she smiled and leaned back. The stars looked twisted in the limbs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sitting-at-the-old-patio-table-she-d-cleared-of-leaves-she-smiled-and/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [I loved the game so much that even though our playing field was muddy and we had many trees on it, I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-clemente/i-loved-the-game-so-much-that-even-though-our-playing-field-was-muddy/) [Roberto Clemente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-clemente/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Knowledge quotes > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-would-rather-excel-others-in-the-knowledge-of-what-is-excellent/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [I am an aware citizen, so I want my characters to be aware, too. They should be aware of what's happening in the society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/i-am-an-aware-citizen-so-i-want-my-characters-to-be-aware-too-they/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Love is a vision,love carry our vision,and love by-step our vision. we carry our love to our by-step. once love is vision love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-vision-love-carry-our-vision-and-love-by-step-our-vision-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is an ignoramus athirst for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wagner/man-is-an-ignoramus-athirst-for-knowledge/) [Charles Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wagner/) [Browse all 13,227 Knowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A tree's shade is worth more than the knowledge of truth, my sons, for a tree's shade is true while it lasts, and the knowledge of truth is false in its very truth. The leaves' greenness is worth more, for a right understanding, than a great thought, for the leaves, greenness is something you can show others, but you can never show them a great thought. We are born without knowing how to talk and we die without having known how to express ourselves. Our life runs its course between the silence of one who cannot speak and the silence of one who wasn't understood, and around it hovers — like a bee where there are no flowers — a useless, inscrutable destiny.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-knowledge-of-truth-my-sons-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knowledge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-knowledge-of-truth-my-sons-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/fernando-pessoa-177_knowledge_a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-kn_273730.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/fernando-pessoa-177_knowledge_a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-kn_273730.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/75a/fernando-pessoa-177_knowledge_a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-kn_273730.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A tree's shade is worth more than the knowledge of truth, my sons, for a tree's shade is true while it…” — Fernando Pessoa", "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": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A tree's shade is worth more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-knowledge-of-truth-my-sons-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/a-tree-s-shade-is-worth-more-than-the-knowledge-of-truth-my-sons-for/#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 } } ] } ```