---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you see anything, always deny that…"
description: "\"If you see anything, always deny that you've seen; or if perchance something pains you, deny that you're hurt.\" — Propertius"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/propertius-19432_deny_if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you_190014.jpg"
---

#  If you see anything, always deny that you've seen; or if…

![“If you see anything, always deny that you've seen; or if perchance something pains you, deny that you're hurt.” quote by Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/propertius-19432_deny_if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you_190014.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/propertius-19432_deny_if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you_190014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/propertius-19432_deny_if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you_190014.jpg)

> “If you see anything, always deny that you've seen; or if perchance something pains you, deny that you're hurt.”

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker advises denying perception of painful experiences to avoid vulnerability.

**In simple terms:** Denial of pain is suggested as self‑protection.

Key Takeaway

Consider confronting rather than denying pain.

Themes

denial pain self‑protection vulnerability

Mood

reflective cautious empathetic

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal trauma
- emotional coping
- relationship conflicts

Key Concepts

psychology Stoic philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How does denial affect emotional health?
- What are healthier ways to handle pain?

A Different Perspective

Denial can hinder healing and growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Deny Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny-hurt-2010436/) [Deny Ve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny-ve-2010438/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pains Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pains-deny-2010437/) [Perchance Pains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perchance-pains-2010439/)

## Related quotes

> [“Denial is how I cope. If I just deny everything, it can't hurt me right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/denial-is-how-i-cope-if-i-just-deny-everything-it-can-t-hurt-me-right/)

[Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/)

> [To deny your true feelings for the one you love will only cause them to have a broken heart, and will not allow your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-deny-your-true-feelings-for-the-one-you-love-will-only-cause-them/)

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

> [I'm saying that the domain of poetry includes both oral &amp; written forms, that poetry goes back to a pre-literate situation &amp; would survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-rothenberg/i-m-saying-that-the-domain-of-poetry-includes-both-oral-written-forms/)

[Jerome Rothenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-rothenberg/)

> [Peace in the struggle to find peace.. comfort on the way to comfort. And if I shed a tear I won't cage it I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/peace-in-the-struggle-to-find-peace-comfort-on-the-way-to-comfort-and/)

[Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/)

> [I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-do-not-believe-that-defending-traditional-marriage-between-one-man/)

[Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/)

> [“Just because you deny facts and science doesn't mean they aren't true”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-corn/just-because-you-deny-facts-and-science-doesn-t-mean-they-aren-t-true/)

[Johnny Corn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-corn/)

> [“I've tried to deny it even to myself... My heart and soul are filled with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-thacker/i-ve-tried-to-deny-it-even-to-myself-my-heart-and-soul-are-filled/)

[Shelly Thacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-thacker/)

> [Whether you face reality head on and make a life change, or deny your responsibility, you've made a choice. The way I see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-phillips/whether-you-face-reality-head-on-and-make-a-life-change-or-deny-your/)

[Shawn Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-phillips/)

> [Our life is half natural and half technological. Half-and-half is good. You cannot deny that high-tech is progress. We need it for jobs. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-june-paik/our-life-is-half-natural-and-half-technological-half-and-half-is-good/)

[Nam June Paik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-june-paik/)

> [Grace is ours. Let's live it! Deny it or debate it and we kill it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/grace-is-ours-let-s-live-it-deny-it-or-debate-it-and-we-kill-it/)

[Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/)

> [Not to fear a person with power--to profess, instead, one's love--is to deny that that person has power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lowen/not-to-fear-a-person-with-power-to-profess-instead-one-s-love-is-to/)

[Alexander Lowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lowen/)

> [One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-cannot-deny-the-humanity-of-another-without-diminishing-one-s-own/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [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/)

> [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/)

[Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

## More by Propertius

> [Cupid is naked and does not like artifices contrived by beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/cupid-is-naked-and-does-not-like-artifices-contrived-by-beauty/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Make room, Roman writers, make room for Greek writers; something greater than the Iliad is born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/make-room-roman-writers-make-room-for-greek-writers-something-greater/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Something greater than the Iliad now springs to birth -Nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/something-greater-than-the-iliad-now-springs-to-birth-nescio-quid/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Fickleness has always befriended the beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/fickleness-has-always-befriended-the-beautiful/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Beauty is fading, nor is fortune stable; sooner or later death comes to all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/beauty-is-fading-nor-is-fortune-stable-sooner-or-later-death-comes-to/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Always in absent lovers love's tide flows stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/always-in-absent-lovers-love-s-tide-flows-stronger/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [A cause breaks or exalts a soldier's strength; unless that cause is just, shame will make him throw his weapons away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/a-cause-breaks-or-exalts-a-soldier-s-strength-unless-that-cause-is/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Faith is not sure, if you cannot turn love to quarrel; may my enemies obtain a mild mistress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/faith-is-not-sure-if-you-cannot-turn-love-to-quarrel-may-my-enemies/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [If she is pleasing to one man, a girl is taken care of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/if-she-is-pleasing-to-one-man-a-girl-is-taken-care-of/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [You, O money, are the cause of a restless life! Because of you we journey toward a premature death; you provide cruel nourishment for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/you-o-money-are-the-cause-of-a-restless-life-because-of-you-we/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Allow me, whom Fortune always desires to bury, lay down my life in these final trivialities. Many have freely died in longlasting loves, among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/allow-me-whom-fortune-always-desires-to-bury-lay-down-my-life-in/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [Love presses my head with carefully placed feet, wretch that he is, until he has taught me to detest chaste girls, and to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/love-presses-my-head-with-carefully-placed-feet-wretch-that-he-is/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [To each man at his birth nature has given some fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/to-each-man-at-his-birth-nature-has-given-some-fault/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [In love, a verse of Mimnermus has more power than one of Homer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/in-love-a-verse-of-mimnermus-has-more-power-than-one-of-homer/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

> [The eyes are the pioneers that first announce the soft tale of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/the-eyes-are-the-pioneers-that-first-announce-the-soft-tale-of-love/)

[Propertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

[Explore all 32 Propertius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/)

## More Deny quotes

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/)

[Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/)

> [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/)

> [One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-cannot-deny-the-humanity-of-another-without-diminishing-one-s-own/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [Not to fear a person with power--to profess, instead, one's love--is to deny that that person has power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lowen/not-to-fear-a-person-with-power-to-profess-instead-one-s-love-is-to/)

[Alexander Lowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lowen/)

> [Grace is ours. Let's live it! Deny it or debate it and we kill it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/grace-is-ours-let-s-live-it-deny-it-or-debate-it-and-we-kill-it/)

[Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/)

> [Our life is half natural and half technological. Half-and-half is good. You cannot deny that high-tech is progress. We need it for jobs. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nam-june-paik/our-life-is-half-natural-and-half-technological-half-and-half-is-good/)

[Nam June Paik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nam-june-paik/)

> [Whether you face reality head on and make a life change, or deny your responsibility, you've made a choice. The way I see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-phillips/whether-you-face-reality-head-on-and-make-a-life-change-or-deny-your/)

[Shawn Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-phillips/)

> [“I've tried to deny it even to myself... My heart and soul are filled with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-thacker/i-ve-tried-to-deny-it-even-to-myself-my-heart-and-soul-are-filled/)

[Shelly Thacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-thacker/)

> [“Just because you deny facts and science doesn't mean they aren't true”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-corn/just-because-you-deny-facts-and-science-doesn-t-mean-they-aren-t-true/)

[Johnny Corn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-corn/)

> [I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-do-not-believe-that-defending-traditional-marriage-between-one-man/)

[Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/)

> [Peace in the struggle to find peace.. comfort on the way to comfort. And if I shed a tear I won't cage it I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/peace-in-the-struggle-to-find-peace-comfort-on-the-way-to-comfort-and/)

[Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/)

> [I'm saying that the domain of poetry includes both oral &amp; written forms, that poetry goes back to a pre-literate situation &amp; would survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-rothenberg/i-m-saying-that-the-domain-of-poetry-includes-both-oral-written-forms/)

[Jerome Rothenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-rothenberg/)

> [It is the night-black Massachusetts legendry which packs the really macabre "kick". Here is material for a really profound study in group-neuroticism; for certainly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-is-the-night-black-massachusetts-legendry-which-packs-the-really/)

[H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/)

> [Something very unique about Germany is that once you are suspected or accused of having worked for the Stassi, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-schwochow/something-very-unique-about-germany-is-that-once-you-are-suspected-or/)

[Christian Schwochow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-schwochow/)

[Browse all 2,237 Deny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you see anything, always deny that you've seen; or if perchance something pains you, deny that you're hurt.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Propertius"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you-ve-seen-or-if-perchance/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Deny"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you-ve-seen-or-if-perchance/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/propertius-19432_deny_if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you_190014.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/propertius-19432_deny_if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you_190014.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/propertius-19432_deny_if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you_190014.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you see anything, always deny that you've seen; or if perchance something pains you, deny that you're hurt.” — Propertius",
                "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": "Propertius",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/propertius/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you see anything, always deny...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you-ve-seen-or-if-perchance/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/propertius/if-you-see-anything-always-deny-that-you-ve-seen-or-if-perchance/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
