--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only truths which are universal are…" description: "\"The only truths which are universal are those gross enough to be thought so.\" — Paul Valery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/paul-valery-1464_enough_the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are_1475145.jpg" --- # The only truths which are universal are those gross enough… ![“The only truths which are universal are those gross enough to be thought so.” quote by Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/paul-valery-1464_enough_the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are_1475145.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/paul-valery-1464_enough_the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are_1475145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/paul-valery-1464_enough_the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are_1475145.jpg) > “The only truths which are universal are those gross enough to be thought so.” [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only the most obvious, universally accepted truths survive scrutiny; subtler truths require deeper contemplation. **In simple terms:** Obvious truths are universal. Key Takeaway Look beyond the surface for hidden insights. Themes philosophy truth perception Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - scientific research - personal reflection Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - What hidden truths are you overlooking? - How do you test widely accepted beliefs? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on obviousness can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths/) ## Related quotes > [“I don’t have enough gross words in my gross vocabulary to describe how gross that gross thought is. Gross.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-king/i-don-t-have-enough-gross-words-in-my-gross-vocabulary-to-describe/) [A.S. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-king/) > [The most useful truths are always universal, and unconnected with accidents and customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-most-useful-truths-are-always-universal-and-unconnected-with/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“One way or another, I think we are all destined to learn the same lessons in life. Universal truths are universal truths. They cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/one-way-or-another-i-think-we-are-all-destined-to-learn-the-same/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [The truths are universal: Every kid knows fear. Every kid knows family and friendship. Loss, love, laughter. Everything else is just detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reynolds/the-truths-are-universal-every-kid-knows-fear-every-kid-knows-family/) [Jason Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reynolds/) > [Historically whoever advocates truth always suffers. I am just a fighter for the truth. Our truths are universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merve-kavakc/historically-whoever-advocates-truth-always-suffers-i-am-just-a/) Merve Kavakc > [It's more like can I build a group of characters and can I tell some universal truths that feel real and aren't formulaic in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-crowe/it-s-more-like-can-i-build-a-group-of-characters-and-can-i-tell-some/) [Cameron Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-crowe/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/love-is-a-gross-exaggeration-of-the-difference-between-one-person-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I'm such a fitness freak that I eat so plain, it's gross. 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As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) ## More by Paul Valery > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“O Socrates, the universe cannot for one instant endure to be only what it is. It is strange to think that that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/o-socrates-the-universe-cannot-for-one-instant-endure-to-be-only-what/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [It seems to me that the soul, when alone with itself and speaking to itself, uses only a small number of words, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/it-seems-to-me-that-the-soul-when-alone-with-itself-and-speaking-to/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-with-ideas-are-never-serious/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“I am now going to make an admission. I confess, I agree, that all these good people who protested, who laughed, who did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/i-am-now-going-to-make-an-admission-i-confess-i-agree-that-all-these/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Degas is one of the very few painters who have given the floor its true importance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/degas-is-one-of-the-very-few-painters-who-have-given-the-floor-its/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Politics is the art of preventing people from busying themselves with what is their own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/politics-is-the-art-of-preventing-people-from-busying-themselves-with/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [God created man and, finding him not sufficiently alone, gave him a companion to make him feel his solitude more keenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/god-created-man-and-finding-him-not-sufficiently-alone-gave-him-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The most ridiculous were those who, on their own authority, made themselves the judges and justices of the tribe. They seemed never to suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-most-ridiculous-were-those-who-on-their-own-authority-made/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The folly of mistaking oneself for an oracle is built right into us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-folly-of-mistaking-oneself-for-an-oracle-is-built-right-into-us/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Thought must be hidden in the verse like nutritional virtue in a fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/thought-must-be-hidden-in-the-verse-like-nutritional-virtue-in-a-fruit/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [To be sincere means to be the same person when one is with oneself; that is to say, alone - but that is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/to-be-sincere-means-to-be-the-same-person-when-one-is-with-oneself/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [No work of art is ever completed, it is only abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/no-work-of-art-is-ever-completed-it-is-only-abandoned/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Interruption, incoherence, surprise are the ordinary conditions of our life. They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/interruption-incoherence-surprise-are-the-ordinary-conditions-of-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) [Explore all 215 Paul Valery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More Enough quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I've been lucky enough to, for the most part, surround myself with a lot of people who are more talented than me and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franco/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-for-the-most-part-surround-myself-with-a/) [Dave Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franco/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) Rena Kornreich Gelissen > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [The vast majority of organizations today have more than enough intelligence, experience and knowledge to be successful. What they lack is organizational health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-vast-majority-of-organizations-today-have-more-than-enough/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murphy/i-ve-been-to-manchester-enough-to-know-it-s-a-real-place-it-s-not/) [James Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murphy/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/sam-dropped-me-off-when-she-was-too-far-away-to-see-me-i-started-to/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) Browse all 23,898 Enough quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only truths which are universal are those gross enough to be thought so.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Valery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are-those-gross-enough-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enough" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are-those-gross-enough-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/paul-valery-1464_enough_the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are_1475145.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/paul-valery-1464_enough_the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are_1475145.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/paul-valery-1464_enough_the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are_1475145.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only truths which are universal are those gross enough to be thought so.” — Paul Valery", "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": "Paul Valery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only truths which are universal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are-those-gross-enough-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-only-truths-which-are-universal-are-those-gross-enough-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```