--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men of broader intellect know that there…" description: "\"Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal\" — H. P. Lovecraft" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/h-p-lovecraft-1408_distinction_men-of-broader-intellect-know-that-there_958875.png" --- # Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp… ![“Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal” quote by H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/h-p-lovecraft-1408_distinction_men-of-broader-intellect-know-that-there_958875.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/h-p-lovecraft-1408_distinction_men-of-broader-intellect-know-that-there_958875.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/h-p-lovecraft-1408_distinction_men-of-broader-intellect-know-that-there_958875.png) > “Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal” [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellect that embraces both reality and imagination blurs the line between them. **In simple terms:** Broad minds see reality and imagination as linked. Key Takeaway Accept ambiguity in perception. Themes philosophy perception creativity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - literary analysis - creative writing - philosophical debate Key Concepts dualism ontological ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - How does blending reality and imagination affect judgment? - When is it useful to see beyond strict distinctions? A Different Perspective May overlook concrete facts when over‑valuing imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broader Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broader-intellect-1760018/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Intellect Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect-know-1760019/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Broader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-broader-1172227/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Unreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-unreal-326296/) [Sharp Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharp-distinction-1180055/) [Unreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreal/) ## Related quotes > [There is a sharp distinction between what is remembered, what is told and what is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/there-is-a-sharp-distinction-between-what-is-remembered-what-is-told/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“...The men of those days...were absolutely not the same people that we are now; it was not the same race as now, in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-men-of-those-days-were-absolutely-not-the-same-people-that-we-are/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [We take that which is unreal to be real and that which is real to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-spira/we-take-that-which-is-unreal-to-be-real-and-that-which-is-real-to-be/) [Rupert Spira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-spira/) > [The More Real you get, The More Unreal Things will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyga/the-more-real-you-get-the-more-unreal-things-will/) [Tyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyga/) > [I think there's more real in the unreal than there is in the real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-think-there-s-more-real-in-the-unreal-than-there-is-in-the-real/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [What is enquiry into the Truth? It is the firm conviction that the Self is real, and all, other than That, is unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adi-shankara/what-is-enquiry-into-the-truth-it-is-the-firm-conviction-that-the/) [Adi Shankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adi-shankara/) > [Once you are real you can't become unreal again. 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Nothing seems real except the unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/old-age-is-like-an-opium-dream-nothing-seems-real-except-the-unreal/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [The more real you get, the more unreal everything else is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/the-more-real-you-get-the-more-unreal-everything-else-is/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/there-are-no-hard-distinctions-between-what-is-real-and-what-is/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [“And what's the difference, after all, between real and unreal when people react precisely the same way to either?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-noyes/and-what-s-the-difference-after-all-between-real-and-unreal-when/) [Deborah Noyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-noyes/) ## More by H. P. Lovecraft > [It is the night-black Massachusetts legendry which packs the really macabre "kick". Here is material for a really profound study in group-neuroticism; for certainly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-is-the-night-black-massachusetts-legendry-which-packs-the-really/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“Sounds—possibly musical—heard in the night from other worlds or realms of being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/sounds-possibly-musical-heard-in-the-night-from-other-worlds-or/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Very few minds are strictly normal, and all religious fanatics are marked with abnormalities of various sorts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/very-few-minds-are-strictly-normal-and-all-religious-fanatics-are/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [It's not a bad idea to call this Cthulhuism & Yog-Sothothery of mine "The Mythology of Hastur" - although it was really from Machen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-s-not-a-bad-idea-to-call-this-cthulhuism-yog-sothothery-of-mine/) [H. P. 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Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Thus I began my systematic though half-bewildered tour of Innsmouth's narrow, shadow-blighted ways. Crossing the bridge and turning toward the roar of the lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/thus-i-began-my-systematic-though-half-bewildered-tour-of-innsmouth-s/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Of what use is it to please the herd? They are simply coarse animals - for all that is admirable in man is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/of-what-use-is-it-to-please-the-herd-they-are-simply-coarse-animals/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [“How little does the earth self know life and its extent! How little, indeed, ought it to know for its own tranquility!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/how-little-does-the-earth-self-know-life-and-its-extent-how-little/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [The trees grew too thickly, and their trunks were too big for any healthy New England wood. There was too much silence in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-trees-grew-too-thickly-and-their-trunks-were-too-big-for-any/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Plots may be simple or complex, but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to another, are essential. Every incident in a fictional work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/plots-may-be-simple-or-complex-but-suspense-and-climactic-progress/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/searchers-after-horror-haunt-strange-far-places/) [H. P. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [“In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. 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