--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Contrary to what is generally believed…" description: "\"“Contrary to what is generally believed, meaning and sense were never the same thing, meaning shows itself at once, direct, literal, explicit, enclosed..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/jos-saramago-208_different-directions_contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-m_450495.png" --- # Contrary to what is generally believed, meaning and sense… ![“Contrary to what is generally believed, meaning and sense were never the same thing, meaning shows itself at once, direct, literal, explicit, enclosed in itself, univocal, if you like, while sense cannot stay still, it seethes with second, third and fourth senses, radiating out in different…” quote by José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/jos-saramago-208_different-directions_contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-m_450495.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/jos-saramago-208_different-directions_contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-m_450495.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/jos-saramago-208_different-directions_contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-m_450495.png) > ““Contrary to what is generally believed, meaning and sense were never the same thing, meaning shows itself at once, direct, literal, explicit, enclosed in itself, univocal, if you like, while sense cannot stay still, it seethes with second, third and fourth senses, radiating out in different directions that divide and subdivide into branches and branchlets, until they disappear from view, the sense of every word is like a star hurling spring tides out into space, cosmic winds, magnetic perturbations, afflictions.”” [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Meaning is fixed and explicit, while sense is fluid, branching, and constantly evolving. **In simple terms:** Meaning is static; sense is dynamic. Key Takeaway Recognize both fixed meaning and evolving interpretation. Themes meaning sense interpretation Mood curious analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - communication - education - creative writing Key Concepts semantics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance literal meaning with deeper sense? - What role does ambiguity play in understanding? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on fixed meaning can limit creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Different directions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-directions/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“My gramps is a lot like you. No sense of adventure. All he does is sit in his urn...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleo-peitsche/my-gramps-is-a-lot-like-you-no-sense-of-adventure-all-he-does-is-sit/) Cleo Peitsche > [I like that sense of we're all on the same page and trying to get the job done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peabo-bryson/i-like-that-sense-of-we-re-all-on-the-same-page-and-trying-to-get-the/) [Peabo Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peabo-bryson/) > [Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-souls-are-not-hungry-for-fame-comfort-wealth-or-power-our-souls/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/our-souls-are-hungry-for-meaning-for-the-sense-that-we-have-figured/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [I love you in the true sense of the word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-you-in-the-true-sense-of-the-word/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And this is the sense of the word "grammar" which our inaccurate student detests, and this is the sense of the word which every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-this-is-the-sense-of-the-word-grammar-which-our-inaccurate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The man has fucked me in every sense of the word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/the-man-has-fucked-me-in-every-sense-of-the-word/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [“It is a reckoning in every sense of the word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-wilkinson/it-is-a-reckoning-in-every-sense-of-the-word/) [Kerry Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-wilkinson/) > [I'm not a singer in the traditional sense of the word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/i-m-not-a-singer-in-the-traditional-sense-of-the-word/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [“in the best sense of the word—as if, for a hundred years, people had”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/in-the-best-sense-of-the-word-as-if-for-a-hundred-years-people-had/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'm a patriot in the truest sense of the word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/i-m-a-patriot-in-the-truest-sense-of-the-word/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [“How to tune your sixth sense and use it to improve your life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-talmage/how-to-tune-your-sixth-sense-and-use-it-to-improve-your-life/) Anthony Talmage > [“The fifth sense is "common sense"- either you have it or you don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-shong/the-fifth-sense-is-common-sense-either-you-have-it-or-you-don-t/) Jennifer Shong > [Habit is the 6th sense that overrules the other 5](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arab-proverb/habit-is-the-6th-sense-that-overrules-the-other-5/) Arab Proverb > [One, day all of this pain will make sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/one-day-all-of-this-pain-will-make-sense/) Unkown ## More by José Saramago > [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? 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Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Explore all 487 José Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More Different directions quotes > [My favorite job is the next one. Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [“Ever since the day of the mistake with my Match. I've never known which life is my true one. Even with the reassurances of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/ever-since-the-day-of-the-mistake-with-my-match-i-ve-never-known/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/early-on-i-was-very-involved-with-the-notion-of-the-painting-as-an/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [When things get heated, you are pulled in different directions, and you've to stand firm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nani/when-things-get-heated-you-are-pulled-in-different-directions-and-you/) [Nani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nani/) > [People pray in one direction but they walk in a different direction, and direction always determines where we end up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/people-pray-in-one-direction-but-they-walk-in-a-different-direction/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [I am dragged along by a strange new force. Desire and reason are pulling in different directions. I see the right way and approve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-am-dragged-along-by-a-strange-new-force-desire-and-reason-are/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [When many different voices send you in different directions, you can't listen to your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/when-many-different-voices-send-you-in-different-directions-you-can-t/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [“Returning back to self is a daily, intentional act. The world will attempt to pull you in many different directions. You've got to choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-alves/returning-back-to-self-is-a-daily-intentional-act-the-world-will/) Ash Alves > [It helps me rejuvenate when I use my energy in different directions and then come back to acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taapsee-pannu/it-helps-me-rejuvenate-when-i-use-my-energy-in-different-directions/) [Taapsee Pannu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taapsee-pannu/) > [That's what bands like Pink Floyd and bands like Rush and even the Metallica of this world have, which is long, ambitious songs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zacky-vengeance/that-s-what-bands-like-pink-floyd-and-bands-like-rush-and-even-the/) [Zacky Vengeance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zacky-vengeance/) > [One of the things that always was Fall Out Boy was trying new things and kind of pushing ourselves in different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/one-of-the-things-that-always-was-fall-out-boy-was-trying-new-things/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [“Since the atoms are indestructible, the disintegration of human body after death should be actually considered as the dispersion of the separate filaments (except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gamow/since-the-atoms-are-indestructible-the-disintegration-of-human-body/) [George Gamow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gamow/) > [“Ty laughed, a carefree, boyish sound, and glanced to his side, distracted by what he saw. “You moved the rug.” “I kitty-cornered it.” “Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/ty-laughed-a-carefree-boyish-sound-and-glanced-to-his-side-distracted/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [I think there are all sorts of ways of turning into an actor, and there are a vast variety of different actors. You know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/i-think-there-are-all-sorts-of-ways-of-turning-into-an-actor-and/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) [Browse all 300 Different directions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-directions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Contrary to what is generally believed, meaning and sense were never the same thing, meaning shows itself at once, direct, literal, explicit, enclosed in itself, univocal, if you like, while sense cannot stay still, it seethes with second, third and fourth senses, radiating out in different directions that divide and subdivide into branches and branchlets, until they disappear from view, the sense of every word is like a star hurling spring tides out into space, cosmic winds, magnetic perturbations, afflictions.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "José Saramago" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-meaning-and-sense-were-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Different directions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-meaning-and-sense-were-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/jos-saramago-208_different-directions_contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-m_450495.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/jos-saramago-208_different-directions_contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-m_450495.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/jos-saramago-208_different-directions_contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-m_450495.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Contrary to what is generally believed, meaning and sense were never the same thing, meaning shows itself at…” — José Saramago", "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": "José Saramago", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Contrary to what is generally believed,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-meaning-and-sense-were-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/contrary-to-what-is-generally-believed-meaning-and-sense-were-never/#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 } } ] } ```