--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That which we call substance and reality…" description: "\"That which we call substance and reality is shadow and illusion, and that which we call shadow and illusion is substance and reality.\" — H. P. Lovecraft" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/h-p-lovecraft-1408_illusion_that-which-we-call-substance-and-reality_1017621.png" --- # That which we call substance and reality is shadow and… ![“That which we call substance and reality is shadow and illusion, and that which we call shadow and illusion is substance and reality.” quote by H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/h-p-lovecraft-1408_illusion_that-which-we-call-substance-and-reality_1017621.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/h-p-lovecraft-1408_illusion_that-which-we-call-substance-and-reality_1017621.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/h-p-lovecraft-1408_illusion_that-which-we-call-substance-and-reality_1017621.png) > “That which we call substance and reality is shadow and illusion, and that which we call shadow and illusion is substance and reality.” [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. Reality and illusion are interchangeable; what we perceive as solid may be mere shadow, and vice versa. **In simple terms:** Reality and illusion can be the same thing. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about what is real. Themes philosophy perception reality illusion duality Mood thoughtful enigmatic introspective Type philosophical literary existential When to use this quote - philosophical debate - artistic creation - spiritual exploration - scientific inquiry Key Concepts metaphysics epistemology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What defines reality for you? - Can illusion be beneficial? A Different Perspective The view can lead to nihilism if not balanced with meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [A thought-form held in thinking substance is a reality; it is a real thing, whether it has yet become visible to mortal eye or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/a-thought-form-held-in-thinking-substance-is-a-reality-it-is-a-real/) [Wallace D. Wattles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-d-wattles/) > [Only the other world has substance and reality; only good deeds and holy learning have tangible worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cahan/only-the-other-world-has-substance-and-reality-only-good-deeds-and/) [Abraham Cahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cahan/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Behind the cliche that you create your own reality there is a shadow: if you don't create your own reality, it will be created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-the-cliche-that-you-create-your-own-reality-there-is-a-shadow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are shadows for the shadows of things, as a reflection seen in a mirror of a mirror. We know there are circles within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/there-are-shadows-for-the-shadows-of-things-as-a-reflection-seen-in-a/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [To sacrifice the moral to the physical, as is done in these days, is to sacrifice reality for a shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/to-sacrifice-the-moral-to-the-physical-as-is-done-in-these-days-is-to/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [Illusions are shadows moving endlessly across the ground. The shadows are quite real but they're shadows. They have very little substance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/illusions-are-shadows-moving-endlessly-across-the-ground-the-shadows/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-johnson-field/the-constitution-deals-with-substance-not-shadows/) Stephen Johnson Field > [“The shadow has become the substance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-shadow-has-become-the-substance/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Man is a torch borne in the wind; a dream But of a shadow, summed with all his substance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/man-is-a-torch-borne-in-the-wind-a-dream-but-of-a-shadow-summed-with/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [A myth is far truer than a history, for a history only gives a story of the shadows, whereas a myth gives a story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/a-myth-is-far-truer-than-a-history-for-a-history-only-gives-a-story/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [When a shadow flits across the landscape of the soul where is the substance?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-a-shadow-flits-across-the-landscape-of-the-soul-where-is-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of him is our proper; and is the only happiness with which our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/god-is-the-highest-good-of-the-reasonable-creature-the-enjoyment-of/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [The history of institutions is often a history of deception and illusions; for their virtue depends on the ideas that produce and on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-history-of-institutions-is-often-a-history-of-deception-and/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [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/) ## 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. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [The appeal of the spectrally macabre is generally narrow because it demands from the reader a certain degree of imagination and a capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-appeal-of-the-spectrally-macabre-is-generally-narrow-because-it/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [There are probably seven persons, in all, who really like my work; and they are enough. I should write even if I were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/there-are-probably-seven-persons-in-all-who-really-like-my-work-and/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Nothing is really typical of my efforts... I'm simply casting about for better ways to crystallise and capture certain strong impressions (involving the elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/nothing-is-really-typical-of-my-efforts-i-m-simply-casting-about-for/) [H. P. 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. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Cosmic terror appears as an ingredient of the earliest folklore of all races and is crystallised in the most archaic ballads, chronicles, and sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/cosmic-terror-appears-as-an-ingredient-of-the-earliest-folklore-of/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Truth is of no practical value to mankind save as it affects terrestrial phenomena, hence the discoveries of science should be concealed or glossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/truth-is-of-no-practical-value-to-mankind-save-as-it-affects/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) [Explore all 244 H. P. Lovecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) ## More Illusion quotes > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/things-aren-t-always-as-they-appear-i-ve-been-believing-things-to-be/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Browse all 3,604 Illusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That which we call substance and reality is shadow and illusion, and that which we call shadow and illusion is substance and reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H. P. 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