---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is easier to be mistaken about the…"
description: "\"It is easier to be mistaken about the true than the beautiful.\" — Joseph Joubert"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/joseph-joubert-1017_beautiful_it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-tr_724186.png"
---

#  It is easier to be mistaken about the true than the…

![“It is easier to be mistaken about the true than the beautiful.” quote by Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/joseph-joubert-1017_beautiful_it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-tr_724186.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/joseph-joubert-1017_beautiful_it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-tr_724186.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/joseph-joubert-1017_beautiful_it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-tr_724186.png)

> “It is easier to be mistaken about the true than the beautiful.”

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Mistaking truth for beauty is easier than the reverse.

**In simple terms:** Truth is harder to recognize than beauty.

Key Takeaway

Question appearances.

Themes

philosophy perception truth

Mood

contemplative thoughtful

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- art criticism
- scientific inquiry
- everyday decision making

Key Concepts

Epistemology aesthetic judgment

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you verify truth beyond appearance?
- When does beauty mislead judgment?

A Different Perspective

Beauty can mask falsehoods.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier/) [Easier Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier-mistaken-5685587/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistaken/) [Mistaken True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistaken-true-5685588/) [True Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-beautiful-1343896/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/)

## Related quotes

> [My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/my-work-always-tried-to-unite-the-true-with-the-beautiful-but-when-i/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Simplicity is the essence of the great, the true, and the beautiful in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/simplicity-is-the-essence-of-the-great-the-true-and-the-beautiful-in/)

[George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/)

> [Simplicity is the essence of the great, the true, the beautiful in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/simplicity-is-the-essence-of-the-great-the-true-the-beautiful-in-art/)

[George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/)

> [But if it's true it's beautiful. Truth is beautiful. And so my whole work is about what amounts to a reverence for life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-decarava/but-if-it-s-true-it-s-beautiful-truth-is-beautiful-and-so-my-whole/)

[Roy DeCarava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-decarava/)

> [“I'm good at the real and the true and the beautiful and can do With some skill and With or without flattery the Place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/i-m-good-at-the-real-and-the-true-and-the-beautiful-and-can-do-with/)

[Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/)

> [We must not only be True. We must be Beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/we-must-not-only-be-true-we-must-be-beautiful/)

[Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/)

> [I think that confidence and honesty and being true to yourself is the most beautiful thing that you can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-that-confidence-and-honesty-and-being-true-to-yourself-is-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [This is very true…everyone one of you are beautiful:)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-very-true-everyone-one-of-you-are-beautiful/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [What I'm driving at is let's not lose sight in our excitement of the democratization of the media that some things are bad, false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/what-i-m-driving-at-is-let-s-not-lose-sight-in-our-excitement-of-the/)

[Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/)

> [Beauty comes from within.Clinched but true.You're beautiful when you are nice,loving person and you're beautiful when you believe you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prescylayco/beauty-comes-from-within-clinched-but-true-you-re-beautiful-when-you/)

[Prescylayco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prescylayco/)

> [Politics is a romantic search for the good and the true and the beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-buchanan/politics-is-a-romantic-search-for-the-good-and-the-true-and-the/)

[James M. Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-buchanan/)

> [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/)

[Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/)

> [There's something about the air and the sky and the atmosphere in the South of France that must be very conducive to work, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/there-s-something-about-the-air-and-the-sky-and-the-atmosphere-in-the/)

[Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/)

> [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/)

[Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/)

## More by Joseph Joubert

> [Living requires but little life; doing requires much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/living-requires-but-little-life-doing-requires-much/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [A false mind is false in everything, just as a cross eye always looks askant. But one may err once, nay, a hundred times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/a-false-mind-is-false-in-everything-just-as-a-cross-eye-always-looks/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [What a man knows only through feeling can be explained only through enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/what-a-man-knows-only-through-feeling-can-be-explained-only-through/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Imagination is the eye of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/imagination-is-the-eye-of-the-soul/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [One man finds in religion his literature and his science, another finds in it his joy and his duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-man-finds-in-religion-his-literature-and-his-science-another/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Which is more misshapen,--religion without virtue, or virtue without religion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/which-is-more-misshapen-religion-without-virtue-or-virtue-without/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [How many people become abstract as a way of appearing profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-people-become-abstract-as-a-way-of-appearing-profound/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-books-there-are-whose-reputation-is-made-that-would-not/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [God has commanded Time to console the unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/god-has-commanded-time-to-console-the-unhappy/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [We shall always keep a spare corner in our heads to give passing hospitality to our friends' opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-shall-always-keep-a-spare-corner-in-our-heads-to-give-passing/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Agriculture engenders good sense, and good sense of an excellent kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/agriculture-engenders-good-sense-and-good-sense-of-an-excellent-kind/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [We may convince others by our arguements, but we can only persuade them by their own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguements-but-we-can-only-persuade/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [To teach is to learn twice. About all some parents accomplish in life is to send a child to Harvard. The purpose of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/to-teach-is-to-learn-twice-about-all-some-parents-accomplish-in-life/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

> [Grace is in garments, in movements, in manners; beauty in the nude, and in forms. This is true of bodies; but when we speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/grace-is-in-garments-in-movements-in-manners-beauty-in-the-nude-and/)

[Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

[Explore all 306 Joseph Joubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/)

## More Beautiful quotes

> [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/)

[Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/)

> [Being beautiful comes naturally!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-beautiful-comes-naturally/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/)

[Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/)

> [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/)

[Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/)

> [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/)

[Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/)

> [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/)

[Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/)

> [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/)

[Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/)

> [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/)

[Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/)

> [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/)

[Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/)

> [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/)

[Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/)

> [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/)

[Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/)

> [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/)

[Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/)

[Browse all 17,976 Beautiful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is easier to be mistaken about the true than the beautiful.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joseph Joubert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-true-than-the-beautiful/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beautiful"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-true-than-the-beautiful/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/joseph-joubert-1017_beautiful_it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-tr_724186.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/joseph-joubert-1017_beautiful_it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-tr_724186.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/joseph-joubert-1017_beautiful_it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-tr_724186.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is easier to be mistaken about the true than the beautiful.” — Joseph Joubert",
                "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": "Joseph Joubert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is easier to be mistaken...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-true-than-the-beautiful/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/it-is-easier-to-be-mistaken-about-the-true-than-the-beautiful/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
