--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A knife is neither true nor false, but…" description: "\"A knife is neither true nor false, but anyone impaled on its blade is in error.\" — Rene Daumal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/ren-daumal-22451_blade_a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-an_3231831.jpg" --- # A knife is neither true nor false, but anyone impaled on… ![“A knife is neither true nor false, but anyone impaled on its blade is in error.” quote by Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/ren-daumal-22451_blade_a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-an_3231831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/ren-daumal-22451_blade_a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-an_3231831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/ren-daumal-22451_blade_a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-an_3231831.jpg) > “A knife is neither true nor false, but anyone impaled on its blade is in error.” [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses a knife as a metaphor for truth, indicating that being harmed by a tool reflects error, not the tool itself. **In simple terms:** Errors arise from misuse, not the instrument. Key Takeaway Use tools wisely, avoid misapplication. Themes philosophy metaphor error truth Mood critical analytical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - legal judgments - medical procedures - technology use - ethical decisions Key Concepts instrumentalism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What tools in your life need careful handling? - How do you distinguish tool fault from user fault? A Different Perspective Tools can be inherently harmful if designed poorly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blade/) [Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blades/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [False Impaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-impaled-6116680/) [Impaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impaled-245098/) [Impaled Blade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impaled-blade-6116681/) [Knife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knife/) [Knife True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knife-true-6116682/) [Knives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knives/) ## Related quotes > [Everything dies, from the smallest blade of grass to the biggest galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/everything-dies-from-the-smallest-blade-of-grass-to-the-biggest-galaxy/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [Blade Runner' is one of my favorite films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blade-runner-is-one-of-my-favorite-films/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Worry... is rust upon the blade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hughes/worry-is-rust-upon-the-blade/) [Simon Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hughes/) > [When I was a kid, 'Blade Runner' was my favorite movie. I remember seeing that when I was a little boy with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahmoh-penikett/when-i-was-a-kid-blade-runner-was-my-favorite-movie-i-remember-seeing/) [Tahmoh Penikett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahmoh-penikett/) > [Be tough in the way a blade of grass is: rooted, willing to lean, and at peace with what is around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/be-tough-in-the-way-a-blade-of-grass-is-rooted-willing-to-lean-and-at/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I stopped the blade two inches before it touched Andrea’s neck. Because she was my best friend, and sticking knives into your best friend’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-stopped-the-blade-two-inches-before-it-touched-andrea-s-neck/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [I really like Blade. I wish people would make hard R-rated fantasy movies again. It's completely irrelevant, but people should do that more. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-really-like-blade-i-wish-people-would-make-hard-r-rated-fantasy/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [Oh love and hate are two sides of the same blade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/oh-love-and-hate-are-two-sides-of-the-same-blade/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [Tell me that you don’t take that blade and drag it across your skin and pray for the courage to press down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/tell-me-that-you-don-t-take-that-blade-and-drag-it-across-your-skin/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [Make your blade a water-seeking missle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-allsopp/make-your-blade-a-water-seeking-missle/) [Christopher Allsopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-allsopp/) > [I'm hopelessly In love With the blade That causes All of my Insecurities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash/i-m-hopelessly-in-love-with-the-blade-that-causes-all-of-my/) [Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash/) > [Laser technology has fulfilled our people's ancient dream of a blade so fine that the person it cuts remains standing and alive until he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/laser-technology-has-fulfilled-our-people-s-ancient-dream-of-a-blade/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [The blade itself incites to deeds of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-blade-itself-incites-to-deeds-of-violence/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [FlashForward' was a dream come true. I had auditioned for David Goyer for 'Blade: Trinity' and didn't get the part, but I guess he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-knighton/flashforward-was-a-dream-come-true-i-had-auditioned-for-david-goyer/) [Zachary Knighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-knighton/) > [Every blade has two edges; he who wounds with one wounds himself with the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/every-blade-has-two-edges-he-who-wounds-with-one-wounds-himself-with/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More by Rene Daumal > [“Now, in my readings and in my travels I have heard, like you, about men of a superior type, possessing the keys to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/now-in-my-readings-and-in-my-travels-i-have-heard-like-you-about-men/) [René Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [The door to the invisible must be visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/the-door-to-the-invisible-must-be-visible/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [“I am dead because I lack desire, I lack desire because I think I possess, I think I possess because I do not try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/i-am-dead-because-i-lack-desire-i-lack-desire-because-i-think-i/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [In the mythic tradition, the Mountain is the bond between Earth and Sky. Its solitary summit reaches the sphere of eternity, and its base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/in-the-mythic-tradition-the-mountain-is-the-bond-between-earth-and/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [I am dead because I have no desire, I have no desire because I think I possess, I think I possess because I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/i-am-dead-because-i-have-no-desire-i-have-no-desire-because-i-think-i/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [Each time dawn appears, the mystery is there in its entirety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/each-time-dawn-appears-the-mystery-is-there-in-its-entirety/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [Definition: Alpinism is the art of going through the mountains confronting the greatest dangers with the biggest of cares. What we call art here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/definition-alpinism-is-the-art-of-going-through-the-mountains/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [“I'm very much aware I can't think. I'm a poet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/i-m-very-much-aware-i-can-t-think-i-m-a-poet/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [Words are made for a certain exactness of thought, as tears are for a certain degree of pain. What is least distinct cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/words-are-made-for-a-certain-exactness-of-thought-as-tears-are-for-a/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [When feet doesn't want to hold you, you climb with your head. Maybe it isn't the natural order of things, but isn't it better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/when-feet-doesn-t-want-to-hold-you-you-climb-with-your-head-maybe-it/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/you-cannot-stay-on-the-summit-forever-you-have-to-come-down-again-so/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [Philosophy teaches how man thinks he thinks; but drinking shows how he really thinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/philosophy-teaches-how-man-thinks-he-thinks-but-drinking-shows-how-he/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [“I am dead because I have no desire, I have no desire because I think I possess, I think I possess because I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/i-am-dead-because-i-have-no-desire-i-have-no-desire-because-i-think-i-2/) [René Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [“Eternity He who binds himself to a joy Does the winged life destroy But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/eternity-he-who-binds-himself-to-a-joy-does-the-winged-life-destroy/) [René Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [“Most of you,' he went on, 'already know how I have been able to limit the area of investigation in a first approximation. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/most-of-you-he-went-on-already-know-how-i-have-been-able-to-limit-the/) [René Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) [Explore all 26 Rene Daumal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) ## More Blade quotes > [Cutting myself at school people staring at my blood digging my razor and fingernails deep down in my pale white skin people callin me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/cutting-myself-at-school-people-staring-at-my-blood-digging-my-razor/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [Worry is only rust on the blade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-hughes/worry-is-only-rust-on-the-blade/) [Henry Ward Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-hughes/) > [“Anger dulls the blade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hollow/anger-dulls-the-blade/) [Hollow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hollow/) > [As I stare at myself in the mirror, I wonder what I did to be this miserable. But, shake it off and pick up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-heideman/as-i-stare-at-myself-in-the-mirror-i-wonder-what-i-did-to-be-this/) [Bailey Heideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-heideman/) > [How the world looks from my suicidal eyes razor: you can slit your wrists with me bridge: you can jump off me and fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-the-world-looks-from-my-suicidal-eyes-razor-you-can-slit-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember going to the cinema to watch 'Blade Runner' when I was 14 or 15. It was a huge flop when it came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-stephens/i-remember-going-to-the-cinema-to-watch-blade-runner-when-i-was-14-or/) [Toby Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-stephens/) > [Sorry, the knife just slipped, I didn't mean to cut my wrists. I was just thinking of all the bad things that happened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sorry-the-knife-just-slipped-i-didn-t-mean-to-cut-my-wrists-i-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't know what to do anymore. It's like every time someone tells me I'm not good enough or I'm doing something the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiana-webb/i-don-t-know-what-to-do-anymore-it-s-like-every-time-someone-tells-me/) [Tiana Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiana-webb/) > [And with a shattered mirror And a bleeding 0 up And with a shattered mirror And a bleeding fist You hold that blade Against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fading-scars/and-with-a-shattered-mirror-and-a-bleeding-0-up-and-with-a-shattered/) [Fading\_scars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fading-scars/) > [My cuts have spread from my wrists to my thighs. One day I'll be covered in red ribbons of blood, but the only cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/my-cuts-have-spread-from-my-wrists-to-my-thighs-one-day-i-ll-be/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [Everything dies, from the smallest blade of grass to the biggest galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/everything-dies-from-the-smallest-blade-of-grass-to-the-biggest-galaxy/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [“Oh, hell, no. We want you,” Blade declared. A jolt of pure need slammed into her, knocking every sane thought out of her head.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hayes/oh-hell-no-we-want-you-blade-declared-a-jolt-of-pure-need-slammed/) [Susan Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hayes/) > [You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isoroku-yamamoto/you-cannot-invade-the-mainland-united-states-there-would-be-a-rifle/) [Isoroku Yamamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isoroku-yamamoto/) > [FlashForward' was a dream come true. I had auditioned for David Goyer for 'Blade: Trinity' and didn't get the part, but I guess he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-knighton/flashforward-was-a-dream-come-true-i-had-auditioned-for-david-goyer/) [Zachary Knighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-knighton/) > [“She likes me. The shock of it sent a jolt of wild joy through him that stole his breath and robbed him momentarily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaelen-foley/she-likes-me-the-shock-of-it-sent-a-jolt-of-wild-joy-through-him-that/) [Gaelen Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaelen-foley/) [Browse all 238 Blade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blade/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A knife is neither true nor false, but anyone impaled on its blade is in error.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rene Daumal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-anyone-impaled-on-its-blade-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blade" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-anyone-impaled-on-its-blade-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/ren-daumal-22451_blade_a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-an_3231831.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/ren-daumal-22451_blade_a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-an_3231831.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/ren-daumal-22451_blade_a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-an_3231831.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A knife is neither true nor false, but anyone impaled on its blade is in error.” — Rene Daumal", "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": "Rene Daumal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A knife is neither true nor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-anyone-impaled-on-its-blade-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/a-knife-is-neither-true-nor-false-but-anyone-impaled-on-its-blade-is/#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 } } ] } ```