--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is why I think, in defiance of…" description: "\"That is why I think, in defiance of Plato, that there is at once error and vulgarity in saying that poetry is a lie, except in the sense that Cocteau w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jacques-maritain-8918_academic_that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato_435958.jpg" --- # That is why I think, in defiance of Plato, that there is… ![“That is why I think, in defiance of Plato, that there is at once error and vulgarity in saying that poetry is a lie, except in the sense that Cocteau wrote one day: I am a lie who always tells the truth. The only poetry which lies purely and simply is academic, pseudo-classical, conceptually…” quote by Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jacques-maritain-8918_academic_that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato_435958.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jacques-maritain-8918_academic_that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato_435958.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jacques-maritain-8918_academic_that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato_435958.jpg) > “That is why I think, in defiance of Plato, that there is at once error and vulgarity in saying that poetry is a lie, except in the sense that Cocteau wrote one day: I am a lie who always tells the truth. The only poetry which lies purely and simply is academic, pseudo-classical, conceptually repetitive poetry, and it is not poetry.” [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry that merely imitates truth is false; only poetry that reveals deeper truth, even if it seems false, is genuine. **In simple terms:** True poetry reveals truth beyond surface. Key Takeaway Seek depth over surface truth. Themes truth art philosophy Mood analytical curious Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - teaching literature - writing workshops - critical essays Key Concepts authenticity literary criticism conceptual art Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate authentic poetry? - What role does paradox play in art? A Different Perspective Academic poetry may be too detached. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Defiance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defiance/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Vulgarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing like poetry when you lie awake at night. It keeps the old brain limber. It washes away the mud and sand that keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/nothing-like-poetry-when-you-lie-awake-at-night-it-keeps-the-old/) [Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/) > [I have nothing to say, I am saying it, and that is poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/i-have-nothing-to-say-i-am-saying-it-and-that-is-poetry/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [I have nothing to say. And I am saying it. That's poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wain/i-have-nothing-to-say-and-i-am-saying-it-that-s-poetry/) [John Wain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wain/) > [“I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/i-have-nothing-to-say-and-i-am-saying-it-and-that-is-poetry-as-i-need/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Most of my poetry lies beyond the SF field, yet here I am corralled into 'SF poetry' as part of this poetry weekend. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/most-of-my-poetry-lies-beyond-the-sf-field-yet-here-i-am-corralled/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [I am suggesting that the radical of poetry lies not in the resolution of doubts but in their proliferation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-wright/i-am-suggesting-that-the-radical-of-poetry-lies-not-in-the-resolution/) [C.D. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-wright/) > [“I’ve had enough of chasing after poetry; I believe that poetry lies at one’s very door or perhaps in one’s very bed. I’m still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-rard-de-nerval/i-ve-had-enough-of-chasing-after-poetry-i-believe-that-poetry-lies-at/) [Gérard de Nerval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-rard-de-nerval/) > [Poetry lies its way to the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/poetry-lies-its-way-to-the-truth/) [John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/) > [All high truth is poetry. Take the results of science: they glow with beauty, cold and hard as are the methods of reaching them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-buxton/all-high-truth-is-poetry-take-the-results-of-science-they-glow-with/) [Charles Buxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-buxton/) > [History gives you insight of the same quality of truth as poetry or philosophy or a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/history-gives-you-insight-of-the-same-quality-of-truth-as-poetry-or/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Truth is poetry; it is the grandest poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/truth-is-poetry-it-is-the-grandest-poetry/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [“I cannot speak truth without poetry, because truth is beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/i-cannot-speak-truth-without-poetry-because-truth-is-beauty/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [You arrive at truth through poetry; I arrive at poetry through truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/you-arrive-at-truth-through-poetry-i-arrive-at-poetry-through-truth/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [“Whatever they may think and say about their "egoism", the great majority nonetheless do nothing for their ego their whole life long: what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/whatever-they-may-think-and-say-about-their-egoism-the-great-majority/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) ## More by Jacques Maritain > [It has never been recommended to confuse "loving" with "seeking to please"... ...Salome pleased Herod's guests; I can hardly believe she was burning with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/it-has-never-been-recommended-to-confuse-loving-with-seeking-to/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [A great philosopher in the wrong is like a beacon on the reefs which says to seamen: steer clear of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/a-great-philosopher-in-the-wrong-is-like-a-beacon-on-the-reefs-which/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [I don't see America as a mainland, but as a sea, a big ocean. Sometimes a storm arises, a formidable current develops, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/i-don-t-see-america-as-a-mainland-but-as-a-sea-a-big-ocean-sometimes/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [It is impossible for a Christian to be a relativist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/it-is-impossible-for-a-christian-to-be-a-relativist/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [The light of common sense is fundamentally the same light as that of science, that is to say, the natural light of the intellect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-light-of-common-sense-is-fundamentally-the-same-light-as-that-of/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [Absolute atheism starts in an act of faith in reverse gear and is a full-blown religious commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/absolute-atheism-starts-in-an-act-of-faith-in-reverse-gear-and-is-a/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [Poetry proceeds from the totality of man, sense, imagination, intellect, love, desire, instinct, blood and spirit together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/poetry-proceeds-from-the-totality-of-man-sense-imagination-intellect/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [The great and admirable strength of America consists in this, that America is truly the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-great-and-admirable-strength-of-america-consists-in-this-that/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [The first step to be taken by everyone who wishes to act morally is to decide not to act according to the general customs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-first-step-to-be-taken-by-everyone-who-wishes-to-act-morally-is/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [The only artist who does not deserve respect is the one who works to please the public, for commercial success or for official success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-only-artist-who-does-not-deserve-respect-is-the-one-who-works-to/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [Things are opaque to us, and we are opaque to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/things-are-opaque-to-us-and-we-are-opaque-to-ourselves/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [Thus society is born, as something required by nature, and (because this nature is human nature) as something accomplished through a work of reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/thus-society-is-born-as-something-required-by-nature-and-because-this/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [Poetic experience is distinct in nature from mystical experience. Because poetry emanates from the free creativity of the spirit,it is from the very start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/poetic-experience-is-distinct-in-nature-from-mystical-experience/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [We do not need a truth to serve us, we need a truth that we can serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/we-do-not-need-a-truth-to-serve-us-we-need-a-truth-that-we-can-serve/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [A single idea, if it is right, saves us the labor of an infinity of experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/a-single-idea-if-it-is-right-saves-us-the-labor-of-an-infinity-of/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) [Explore all 76 Jacques Maritain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/) [Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/) > [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That is why I think, in defiance of Plato, that there is at once error and vulgarity in saying that poetry is a lie, except in the sense that Cocteau wrote one day: I am a lie who always tells the truth. The only poetry which lies purely and simply is academic, pseudo-classical, conceptually repetitive poetry, and it is not poetry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jacques Maritain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato-that-there-is-at-once-error/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato-that-there-is-at-once-error/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jacques-maritain-8918_academic_that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato_435958.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jacques-maritain-8918_academic_that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato_435958.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/429/jacques-maritain-8918_academic_that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato_435958.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That is why I think, in defiance of Plato, that there is at once error and vulgarity in saying that poetry…” — Jacques Maritain", "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": "Jacques Maritain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That is why I think, in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato-that-there-is-at-once-error/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/that-is-why-i-think-in-defiance-of-plato-that-there-is-at-once-error/#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 } } ] } ```