--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth is never simple. It’s only in…" description: "\"“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 takes time. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/henning-mankell-2068_time_the-truth-is-never-simple-it-s-only-in-t_961540.jpg" --- # The truth is never simple. It’s only in the Western world… ![“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 takes time. The truth never hurries.” quote by Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/henning-mankell-2068_time_the-truth-is-never-simple-it-s-only-in-t_961540.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/henning-mankell-2068_time_the-truth-is-never-simple-it-s-only-in-t_961540.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/henning-mankell-2068_time_the-truth-is-never-simple-it-s-only-in-t_961540.jpg) > ““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 takes time. The truth never hurries.”” [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth is complex, slow, and not easily obtained, especially in the West. **In simple terms:** Truth is complex and slow. Key Takeaway Patience is needed for truth. Themes knowledge truth culture patience Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - research - journalism - education - policy making Key Concepts epistemology Western bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify truth? - What slows the pursuit of truth? A Different Perspective May overlook rapid discoveries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“This is a book about questioning what others believe to be true, not accepting ideas just because famous people say they are right. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-aronson/this-is-a-book-about-questioning-what-others-believe-to-be-true-not/) Marc Aronson > [The immature think that knowledge and action are different, but the wise see them as the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagavad-gita/the-immature-think-that-knowledge-and-action-are-different-but-the/) [Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagavad-gita/) > [“To me, knowledge was power, and I wondered, if that was why adults kept it from children, why patricians kept it from plebeians. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karpov-kinrade/to-me-knowledge-was-power-and-i-wondered-if-that-was-why-adults-kept/) [Karpov Kinrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karpov-kinrade/) > [Experience is the main reason why we're here, I think, in the world to gain experience and from our experience we gain knowledge. Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/experience-is-the-main-reason-why-we-re-here-i-think-in-the-world-to/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/you-can-do-anything-you-think-you-can-this-knowledge-is-literally-the-2/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Some people still think knowledge is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-people-still-think-knowledge-is-power/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I got the idea in my head - and I could not get it out - that college was just one more dopey, inane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-got-the-idea-in-my-head-and-i-could-not-get-it-out-that-college-was/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“If you think you have enough knowledge,you are still ignorant; Be a learner always.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiva-negi/if-you-think-you-have-enough-knowledge-you-are-still-ignorant-be-a/) [Shiva Negi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiva-negi/) > [Never...stop at the boundaries of what you think your knowledge or training would suggest. If a problem grabs you, run with it and try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-rodin/never-stop-at-the-boundaries-of-what-you-think-your-knowledge-or/) [Judith Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-rodin/) > [You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/you-can-do-anything-you-think-you-can-this-knowledge-is-literally-the/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [It turns out that in order to think well, knowledge helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/it-turns-out-that-in-order-to-think-well-knowledge-helps/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [“Do you ever think about all the knowledge we pour into our brains and how soon they will turn into mush in the grave?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-waltke/do-you-ever-think-about-all-the-knowledge-we-pour-into-our-brains-and/) Bruce Waltke > [“That was the worst. What happened was, I got the idea in my head - and I could not get it out - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/that-was-the-worst-what-happened-was-i-got-the-idea-in-my-head-and-i/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [I just think knowledge makes the world go 'round, man. So, if that makes me a geek, then cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamillionaire/i-just-think-knowledge-makes-the-world-go-round-man-so-if-that-makes/) [Chamillionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamillionaire/) > [I tend to think that knowledge is preceded by power instead of the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/i-tend-to-think-that-knowledge-is-preceded-by-power-instead-of-the/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) ## More by Henning Mankell > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“If a policeman is serious about his profession but says he has time, he lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/if-a-policeman-is-serious-about-his-profession-but-says-he-has-time/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“There is a silence in empty houses that is unique... People have left and taken all the noise with them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/there-is-a-silence-in-empty-houses-that-is-unique-people-have-left/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [My father thought, and now I think too, that the system of democracy is entirely based upon the system of justice. If we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/my-father-thought-and-now-i-think-too-that-the-system-of-democracy-is/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-still-have-a-photo-on-my-wall-of-the-greatest-idol-i-will-ever-have/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“The experience he'd gained during his years in the police force had given him this unambiguous answer: there are no murderers. Only ordinary people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/the-experience-he-d-gained-during-his-years-in-the-police-force-had/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [We used to send whole flocks of birds shooting out of our mouths and never managed to grab them by their wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/we-used-to-send-whole-flocks-of-birds-shooting-out-of-our-mouths-and/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [He was so excessively polite that Wallendar suspected he had endured many humiliations in his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/he-was-so-excessively-polite-that-wallendar-suspected-he-had-endured/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“This is what Sweden is - quiet people leaning over the newspapers and coffee cups, each one with his own thoughts and destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/this-is-what-sweden-is-quiet-people-leaning-over-the-newspapers-and/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Working with keys is always meaningful. Locking and opening is, in a sense, man's very purpose on this earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/working-with-keys-is-always-meaningful-locking-and-opening-is-in-a/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“La plupart des voyages dont on rêve n'ont jamais lieu. Ou alors on les accomplit intérieurement. L'avantage, quand on emprunte ces vols intérieurs, c'est…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/la-plupart-des-voyages-dont-on-r-ve-n-ont-jamais-lieu-ou-alors-on-les/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Our exile organizations have been our way of replacing the cities and villages we have lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/our-exile-organizations-have-been-our-way-of-replacing-the-cities-and/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [What annoys a person who suicides? The life itself. Boredom. Tiredness that descends on every morning when you look at yourself at the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/what-annoys-a-person-who-suicides-the-life-itself-boredom-tiredness/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“Your memories will be a flock of birds, silently flying in the sky. You will see them flying in and see them flying away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/your-memories-will-be-a-flock-of-birds-silently-flying-in-the-sky-you/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“In the biological world children are the sole purpose. Nothing else matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/in-the-biological-world-children-are-the-sole-purpose-nothing-else/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Explore all 175 Henning Mankell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) ## 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 > [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": "“The truth is never simple. 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