---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Two elements are needed to form a truth…"
description: "\"Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction\" — Remy de Gourmont"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/remy-de-gourmont-7554_abstraction_two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth_12347.jpg"
---

#  Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an…

![“Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction” quote by Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/remy-de-gourmont-7554_abstraction_two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth_12347.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/remy-de-gourmont-7554_abstraction_two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth_12347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/remy-de-gourmont-7554_abstraction_two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth_12347.jpg)

> “Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction”

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

## About This Quote

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

Truth arises when concrete data is lifted into a conceptual framework, linking reality to interpretation.

**In simple terms:** Fact plus abstraction yields truth.

Key Takeaway

Truth needs both observation and conceptualization.

Themes

Epistemology Philosophy of Language Cognition Ontology Logic

Mood

Analytical Reflective Inquisitive

Type

Aphorism Philosophical statement Observation

When to use this quote

- Scientific research
- Legal analysis
- Literary criticism
- Strategic planning
- Education

Key Concepts

Fact Abstraction Truth Conceptualization

Practical Applications

- Developing theories
- Evaluating evidence

Questions to Reflect On

- How does abstraction shape our perception of facts?
- Can a fact be true without an interpretive lens?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact/) [Fact Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-abstraction-371107/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-truth-371108/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-fact-371109/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/)

## Related quotes

> [“to let the light of the world flood back-to say this has not happened! But why turn one's head hither and thither? This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-let-the-light-of-the-world-flood-back-to-say-this-has-not-happened/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Truth is what is true, and it's not necessarily factual. Truth and fact are not the same thing. Truth does not contradict or deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/truth-is-what-is-true-and-it-s-not-necessarily-factual-truth-and-fact/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [“There is a difference between the fact and the truth. The fact is what you may be experiencing at any particular point in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-difference-between-the-fact-and-the-truth-the-fact-is-what/)

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

> [“Facts are relative to the knowledge man possesses at the present time. Truth however, is absolute and transcends the present, past, and future times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atom-tate/facts-are-relative-to-the-knowledge-man-possesses-at-the-present-time/)

[Atom Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atom-tate/)

> [Fable has strong shoulders that carry far more truth than fact can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-hughart/fable-has-strong-shoulders-that-carry-far-more-truth-than-fact-can/)

[Barry Hughart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-hughart/)

> [“Fiction here is likely to contain more truth than fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fiction-here-is-likely-to-contain-more-truth-than-fact/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Because always,’ he thinks, ‘when anything gets to be a habit, it also manages to get a right good distance away from truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/because-always-he-thinks-when-anything-gets-to-be-a-habit-it-also/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-kill-an-error-is-as-good-a-service-as-and-sometimes-even-better/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [I cling to depression, thinking it a form of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-cling-to-depression-thinking-it-a-form-of-truth/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [“all true art is in fact nothing but an attempt to transmit the sensation of ecstasy...evil always consists in the transforming of something great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-true-art-is-in-fact-nothing-but-an-attempt-to-transmit-the/)

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

> [The form of truth will bear exposure, as well as that of beauty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-form-of-truth-will-bear-exposure-as-well-as-that-of-beauty-herself/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/our-society-finds-truth-too-strong-a-medicine-to-digest-undiluted-in/)

[Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/)

> [“The will to truth is enshrined in the mind. It is undeniable, inescapable, mutable only if one’s humanity itself is rejected, itself muted. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-panzer/the-will-to-truth-is-enshrined-in-the-mind-it-is-undeniable/)

[Jeffrey Panzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-panzer/)

> [Excuses are lies disguised in the form of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/excuses-are-lies-disguised-in-the-form-of-truth/)

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

> [There isnt just one truth out there. Everyone involved carries their own form of the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-isnt-just-one-truth-out-there-everyone-involved-carries-their/)

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

## More by Remy de Gourmont

> [“La Nebuleuse is a poem of lovely &amp; deep perspective, where, symboloized by artless beings, are seen the successive generations of men following each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/la-nebuleuse-is-a-poem-of-lovely-deep-perspective-where-symboloized/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Art includes everything that stimulates the desire to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/art-includes-everything-that-stimulates-the-desire-to-live/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [“The little girl expects no declaration of tenderness from her doll. She loves it, &amp; that's all. It is thus that we should love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/the-little-girl-expects-no-declaration-of-tenderness-from-her-doll/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Science is the only truth and it is the great lie. It knows nothing, and people think it knows everything. It is misrepresented. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/science-is-the-only-truth-and-it-is-the-great-lie-it-knows-nothing/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [“Those men who live with the greatest intensity are often the ones who seem to take least interest in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/those-men-who-live-with-the-greatest-intensity-are-often-the-ones-who/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [“The man of genius may dwell unknown, but one always may recognize the path he has followed into the forest. It was a giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/the-man-of-genius-may-dwell-unknown-but-one-always-may-recognize-the/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Nothing exists except by virtue of a disequilibrium, an injustice. All existence is a theft paid for by other existences; no life flowers except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/nothing-exists-except-by-virtue-of-a-disequilibrium-an-injustice-all/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Money is the sign of liberty. To curse money is to curse liberty- to curse life, which is nothing, if it be not free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/money-is-the-sign-of-liberty-to-curse-money-is-to-curse-liberty-to/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [“It is a communion at once mystic &amp; real, in the guise of metal. Money which is liberty, is also fecundation. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/it-is-a-communion-at-once-mystic-real-in-the-guise-of-metal-money/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Man is the inventor of stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/man-is-the-inventor-of-stupidity/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion. Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/aesthetic-emotion-puts-man-in-a-state-favorable-to-the-reception-of/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Since art is the expression of beauty and beauty can be understood only in the form of the material elements of the true idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/since-art-is-the-expression-of-beauty-and-beauty-can-be-understood/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [The human mind is so complex and things are so tangled up with each other that, to explain a blade of straw, one would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/the-human-mind-is-so-complex-and-things-are-so-tangled-up-with-each/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [“Tears flow and smiles fade to the same rhythm of life, to disappear together in the bottomless abyss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/tears-flow-and-smiles-fade-to-the-same-rhythm-of-life-to-disappear/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [“It is undefinable; and moreover, if it were defined it would lose all its value. God is not all that exists; God is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/it-is-undefinable-and-moreover-if-it-were-defined-it-would-lose-all/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

[Explore all 90 Remy de Gourmont quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

## More Abstraction quotes

> [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/)

[Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/)

> [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/)

[Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/)

> [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/)

[Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/)

> [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/)

[Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/)

> [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/)

[Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/)

> [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/)

[June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/)

> [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/)

[Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/)

> [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/)

[Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/)

> [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/)

[Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/)

> [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/)

[Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/)

> [“our perceptions of the external world are habitually clouded by the verbal notions in terms of which we do our thinking. We are for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/our-perceptions-of-the-external-world-are-habitually-clouded-by-the/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

[Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Remy de Gourmont"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abstraction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/remy-de-gourmont-7554_abstraction_two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth_12347.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/remy-de-gourmont-7554_abstraction_two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth_12347.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/remy-de-gourmont-7554_abstraction_two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth_12347.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction” — Remy de Gourmont",
                "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": "Remy de Gourmont",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Two elements are needed to form...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
