--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are greater depths and obscurities…" description: "\"There are greater depths and obscurities, greater intricacies and perplexities, in an elaborate and well-written piece of nonsense, than in the most ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/joseph-addison-377_depth_there-are-greater-depths-and-obscurities_2540051.png" --- # There are greater depths and obscurities, greater… ![“There are greater depths and obscurities, greater intricacies and perplexities, in an elaborate and well-written piece of nonsense, than in the most abstruse and profound tract of school divinity.” quote by Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/joseph-addison-377_depth_there-are-greater-depths-and-obscurities_2540051.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/joseph-addison-377_depth_there-are-greater-depths-and-obscurities_2540051.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/joseph-addison-377_depth_there-are-greater-depths-and-obscurities_2540051.png) > “There are greater depths and obscurities, greater intricacies and perplexities, in an elaborate and well-written piece of nonsense, than in the most abstruse and profound tract of school divinity.” [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex, well‑crafted nonsense can be more intellectually stimulating than dense, serious theological writing. **In simple terms:** Nonsense can be deeper than scholarly text. Key Takeaway Appreciate cleverness in all writing. Themes literature intellect humor Mood playful thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic study - creative writing - literary criticism Key Concepts paradox complexity satire Questions to Reflect On - What makes nonsense intellectually rewarding? - How does humor affect comprehension? A Different Perspective Nonsense may lack factual value despite its depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Greater Intricacies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-intricacies-1424936/) [Intricacies Perplexities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intricacies-perplexities-1424938/) [Intricacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intricacy/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Obscurities Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurities-greater-1424939/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [Perplexities Elaborate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perplexities-elaborate-1424937/) [Perplexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perplexity/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-divinity-1424940/) [Well written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well-written/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [I debated between law school and divinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-debated-between-law-school-and-divinity/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [... the attempt to render visual intricacy makes words feel unwieldy, like sacks of meaning that must be lugged into place, dragged here and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/the-attempt-to-render-visual-intricacy-makes-words-feel-unwieldy-like/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [Sounds of daily life are musical. 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The geometry of a human life is too imperfect and complex, too distorted by the laughter of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/no-story-is-a-straight-line-the-geometry-of-a-human-life-is-too/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [James Baldwin is one of the greatest, North American writers of the second half of the Twentieth Century. A prolific writer and a brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/james-baldwin-is-one-of-the-greatest-north-american-writers-of-the/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [The intricacies, the problems, the trials and tribulations in relationships inspire me to give words to people's journeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-intricacies-the-problems-the-trials-and-tribulations-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My father - until the day that my dad died - didn't know how many points you scored in a touchdown. He could say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-lindelof/my-father-until-the-day-that-my-dad-died-didn-t-know-how-many-points/) [Damon Lindelof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-lindelof/) > [If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-nelson/if-we-human-beings-learn-to-see-the-intricacies-that-bind-one-part-of/) [Gaylord Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-nelson/) > [I want to engage people in an honest, enlightened, and provocative conversation about the nature of erotic desire and the intricacies of intimacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-want-to-engage-people-in-an-honest-enlightened-and-provocative/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [The northern ocean is beautiful, ... and beautiful the delicate intricacy of the snowflake before it melts and perishes, but such beauties are as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lighton-synge/the-northern-ocean-is-beautiful-and-beautiful-the-delicate-intricacy/) [John Lighton Synge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lighton-synge/) ## More by Joseph Addison > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. 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Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [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/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“depth of the riches both”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/depth-of-the-riches-both/) [A.W. 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But that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-van-patten/life-can-be-difficult-sometimes-it-gets-bumpy-what-with-family-and/) [Joyce Van Patten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-van-patten/) > [What really holds their marriage together are mutual respect of an awesome depth, a shared sense of humor, faith that they were brought together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/what-really-holds-their-marriage-together-are-mutual-respect-of-an/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. 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