--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is never vulgarity in a whole…" description: "\"There is never vulgarity in a whole truth, however commonplace. It may be unimportant or painful. It cannot be vulgar. Vulgarity is only in concealment..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/john-ruskin-314_commonplace_there-is-never-vulgarity-in-a-whole-trut_2880123.jpg" --- # There is never vulgarity in a whole truth, however… ![“There is never vulgarity in a whole truth, however commonplace. It may be unimportant or painful. It cannot be vulgar. Vulgarity is only in concealment of truth, or in affectation.” quote by John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/john-ruskin-314_commonplace_there-is-never-vulgarity-in-a-whole-trut_2880123.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/john-ruskin-314_commonplace_there-is-never-vulgarity-in-a-whole-trut_2880123.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/john-ruskin-314_commonplace_there-is-never-vulgarity-in-a-whole-trut_2880123.jpg) > “There is never vulgarity in a whole truth, however commonplace. It may be unimportant or painful. It cannot be vulgar. Vulgarity is only in concealment of truth, or in affectation.” [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth, even if simple or painful, is never vulgar; vulgarity lies in hiding or distorting truth. **In simple terms:** Truth is always respectable; only concealment is vulgar. Key Takeaway Value honesty over comfort. Themes truth integrity communication Mood serious thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - media reporting - personal relationships - educational settings Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - When should truth be softened for kindness? - How to present uncomfortable facts responsibly? A Different Perspective Sometimes truth can cause unnecessary harm if delivered insensitively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commonplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonplace/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Painful Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful-vulgar-3986568/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Unimportant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimportant/) [Vulgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar/) [Vulgar Vulgarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgar-vulgarity-3986567/) [Vulgarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity/) [Vulgarity Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity-truth-3747929/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [The movie cheerfully offends all civilized notions of taste, decorum, manners and hygiene... The movie is vulgar? Vulgarity is when we don't laugh. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/the-movie-cheerfully-offends-all-civilized-notions-of-taste-decorum/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [No crime is vulgar, but all vulgarity is crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-crime-is-vulgar-but-all-vulgarity-is-crime/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Lies always come first, dragging fools along by their irreparable vulgarity. Truth always lags last, limping along on the arm of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/lies-always-come-first-dragging-fools-along-by-their-irreparable/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [A conservative, I take it, is a man who despises vulgarity; but the argument which is concerned exclusively with calculations of success, and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/a-conservative-i-take-it-is-a-man-who-despises-vulgarity-but-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [Vulgarity in a king flatters the majority of the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/vulgarity-in-a-king-flatters-the-majority-of-the-nation/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Godlessness invariably produces vulgarity. Civilization is the product of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/godlessness-invariably-produces-vulgarity-civilization-is-the-product/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“She represents the beauty of the common people in all its vulgarity and provocativeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/she-represents-the-beauty-of-the-common-people-in-all-its-vulgarity/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [There is in the world only the choice between loneliness and vulgarity. All young people should be taught now to put up with loneliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-is-in-the-world-only-the-choice-between-loneliness-and/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Vulgarity is the conduct of other people, just as falsehoods are the truths of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/vulgarity-is-the-conduct-of-other-people-just-as-falsehoods-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Put your point across respectfully and convincingly. Those who become vulgar, angry or violent usually do not have a valid point to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mufti-ismail-menk/put-your-point-across-respectfully-and-convincingly-those-who-become/) [Mufti Ismail Menk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mufti-ismail-menk/) > [It is the fine souls who serve us, and not what is called fine society. Fine society is only a self-protection against the vulgarities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-the-fine-souls-who-serve-us-and-not-what-is-called-fine-society/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A lot of warm vulgarity is incomparably preferable to a little bit of pinched niceness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-thomas/a-lot-of-warm-vulgarity-is-incomparably-preferable-to-a-little-bit-of/) [Caitlin Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-thomas/) > [For every one pupil who needs to be guarded against a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-every-one-pupil-who-needs-to-be-guarded-against-a-weak-excess-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyric/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) > [In some sort of crude sense, which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin; and this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/in-some-sort-of-crude-sense-which-no-vulgarity-no-humor-no/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) ## More by John Ruskin > [“Occult Theft,--Theft which hides itself even from itself, and is legal, respectable, and cowardly,--corrupts the body and soul of man, to the last fibre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/occult-theft-theft-which-hides-itself-even-from-itself-and-is-legal/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Mighty of heart, mighty of mind, magnanimous-to be this is indeed to be great in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/mighty-of-heart-mighty-of-mind-magnanimous-to-be-this-is-indeed-to-be/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Life is a magic vase filled to the brim, so made that you cannot dip from it nor draw from it; but it overflows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/life-is-a-magic-vase-filled-to-the-brim-so-made-that-you-cannot-dip/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I am far more provoked at being thought foolish by foolish people, than pleased at being thought sensible by sensible people; and the average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/i-am-far-more-provoked-at-being-thought-foolish-by-foolish-people/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [When we build ... let it not be for present delights nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/when-we-build-let-it-not-be-for-present-delights-nor-for-present-use/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [It is far more difficult to be simple than to be complicated; far more difficult to sacrifice skill and easy execution in the proper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-far-more-difficult-to-be-simple-than-to-be-complicated-far-more/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [It is a good and safe rule to sojourn in every place as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-good-and-safe-rule-to-sojourn-in-every-place-as-if-you-meant/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“You may trust to the truth of my sympathy; but you must remember that I am engaged in the investigation of enormous religious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/you-may-trust-to-the-truth-of-my-sympathy-but-you-must-remember-that/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [And remember, child, that nothing is ever done beautifully, which is done in rivalship; or nobly, which is done in pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/and-remember-child-that-nothing-is-ever-done-beautifully-which-is/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-s-unwise-to-pay-too-much-but-it-s-worse-to-pay-too-little/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [The world is full of vulgar Purists, who bring discredit on all selection by the silliness of their choice; and this the more, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-world-is-full-of-vulgar-purists-who-bring-discredit-on-all/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Like other beautiful things in this world, its end (that of a shaft) is to be beautiful; and, in proportion to its beauty, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/like-other-beautiful-things-in-this-world-its-end-that-of-a-shaft-is/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [All are to be men of genius in their degree,--rivulets or rivers, it does not matter, so that the souls be clear and pure;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/all-are-to-be-men-of-genius-in-their-degree-rivulets-or-rivers-it/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [The art of drawing which is of more real importance to the human race than that of writing...should be taught to every child just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-art-of-drawing-which-is-of-more-real-importance-to-the-human-race/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) [Explore all 696 John Ruskin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) ## More Commonplace quotes > [It was just the sort of yatch you'd expect a rock promoter to have. 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Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/) [Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [To be original is to discover the commonplace of a thousand years--to face at first the sneer that no one would have thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/to-be-original-is-to-discover-the-commonplace-of-a-thousand-years-to/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [Ever since childhood I have scorned the commonplace limits so often set upon human ambition. 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