--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was not a matter of believing or…" description: "\"It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of feeling something new, of being affected by something that made the look of the wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/richard-wright-4088_believe_it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disb_1983517.jpg" --- # It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I… ![“It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of feeling something new, of being affected by something that made the look of the world different.” quote by Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/richard-wright-4088_believe_it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disb_1983517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/richard-wright-4088_believe_it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disb_1983517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/richard-wright-4088_believe_it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disb_1983517.jpg) > “It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of feeling something new, of being affected by something that made the look of the world different.” [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading's power lies not in belief but in the emotional transformation it provokes, altering perception of the world. **In simple terms:** Reading changes how we see the world. Key Takeaway Seek experiences that shift your perspective. Themes growth perception emotional impact Mood thoughtful inspired Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - education - travel - art appreciation - personal development Key Concepts literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What recent reading altered your view? - How can we sustain transformative insights? A Different Perspective Emotional change may be fleeting without reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [But I so want to walk that razor's edge, Take feeling to a whole new level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/but-i-so-want-to-walk-that-razor-s-edge-take-feeling-to-a-whole-new/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [By liberty of conscience, we understand not only a mere liberty of the mind, in believing or disbelieving this or that principle or doctrine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/by-liberty-of-conscience-we-understand-not-only-a-mere-liberty-of-the/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. It is impossible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/infidelity-does-not-consist-in-believing-or-in-disbelieving-it-2/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-is-necessary-to-the-happiness-of-man-that-he-be-mentally-faithful-2/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/infidelity-does-not-consist-in-believing-or-in-disbelieving-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“I feel like I should clean the house, so I a going to read until the feeling passes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/i-feel-like-i-should-clean-the-house-so-i-a-going-to-read-until-the/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [I want to write something so simply about love or about pain that even as you are reading you feel it and as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-want-to-write-something-so-simply-about-love-or-about-pain-that/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Somebody who is purified with life enough would be able to read your feeling before it becomes a word in your mouth. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-bajaj/somebody-who-is-purified-with-life-enough-would-be-able-to-read-your/) [Karan Bajaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-bajaj/) > [Going to the library was the one place we got to go without asking for permission. And they let us choose what we wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/going-to-the-library-was-the-one-place-we-got-to-go-without-asking/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Everything is tedious when one does not read with the feeling of the Author.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/everything-is-tedious-when-one-does-not-read-with-the-feeling-of-the/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [You read something and you just feel this makes sense. And sometimes before you even read it you have a feeling that yeah, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/you-read-something-and-you-just-feel-this-makes-sense-and-sometimes/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [Sometimes life is very mean: a person can spend days, weeks, months and years without feeling new. Then, when a door opens - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/sometimes-life-is-very-mean-a-person-can-spend-days-weeks-months-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I love working on new stuff. I love the feeling of a new idea and watching it evolve. That's one of my favorite parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-valensi/i-love-working-on-new-stuff-i-love-the-feeling-of-a-new-idea-and/) [Nick Valensi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-valensi/) > [I love the international feeling In New Yokk. Different foods. Different people. There's everything here. Museums, theatre, there's so much to do I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-weisz/i-love-the-international-feeling-in-new-yokk-different-foods/) [Rachel Weisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-weisz/) > [“The truth is that feelings aren't always comfortable, but feeling them is the only way to get comfortable with feeling something new.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-viramontez/the-truth-is-that-feelings-aren-t-always-comfortable-but-feeling-them/) [Jackie Viramontez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-viramontez/) ## More by Richard Wright > [“My days and nights were one long, quiet, continuously contained dream of teror, tension, and anxiety. I wondered how long I could bear it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/my-days-and-nights-were-one-long-quiet-continuously-contained-dream/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [It made me love talk that sought answers to questions that could help nobody, that could only keep alive in me that enthralling sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-made-me-love-talk-that-sought-answers-to-questions-that-could-help/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“Having been thrust out of the world because of my race, I had accepted my destiny by not being curious about what shaped it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/having-been-thrust-out-of-the-world-because-of-my-race-i-had-accepted/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [He had lived and acted on the assumption that he was alone, and now he saw that he had not been. What he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/he-had-lived-and-acted-on-the-assumption-that-he-was-alone-and-now-he/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [Reading was like a drug, a dope. The novels created moods in which I lived for days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/reading-was-like-a-drug-a-dope-the-novels-created-moods-in-which-i/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [It would have been impossible for me to have told anyone what I derived from these novels, for it was nothing less than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-would-have-been-impossible-for-me-to-have-told-anyone-what-i/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“If you've a notion of what man's heart is, wouldn't you say that maybe the whole effort of man on earth to build a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/if-you-ve-a-notion-of-what-man-s-heart-is-wouldn-t-you-say-that-maybe/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“From far beyond the horizons that bound this bleak plantation there had come to me through my living the knowledge that my father was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/from-far-beyond-the-horizons-that-bound-this-bleak-plantation-there/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“Color hate defined the place of black life as below that of white life; and the black man, responding to the same dreams as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/color-hate-defined-the-place-of-black-life-as-below-that-of-white/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“These fantasies were no longer a reflection of my reaction to the white people, they were a part of my living, of my emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/these-fantasies-were-no-longer-a-reflection-of-my-reaction-to-the/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“Their constant outward-looking, their mania for radios, cars, and a thousand other trinkets made them dream and fix their eyes upon the trash of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/their-constant-outward-looking-their-mania-for-radios-cars-and-a/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“absolute power is corrupting”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/absolute-power-is-corrupting/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“In me was shaping a yearning for a kind of consciousness, a mode of being that the way of life about me had said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/in-me-was-shaping-a-yearning-for-a-kind-of-consciousness-a-mode-of/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [The impulse to dream was slowly beaten out of me by experience. Now it surged up again and I hungered for books, new ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/the-impulse-to-dream-was-slowly-beaten-out-of-me-by-experience-now-it/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“..when I tried to talk to him I realized that, though ties of blood made us kin, though I could see a shadow of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/when-i-tried-to-talk-to-him-i-realized-that-though-ties-of-blood-made/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) [Explore all 116 Richard Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of feeling something new, of being affected by something that made the look of the world different.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Wright" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disbelieving-what-i-read-but-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disbelieving-what-i-read-but-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/richard-wright-4088_believe_it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disb_1983517.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/richard-wright-4088_believe_it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disb_1983517.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/956/richard-wright-4088_believe_it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disb_1983517.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of feeling something new, of being…” — Richard Wright", "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": "Richard Wright", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It was not a matter of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disbelieving-what-i-read-but-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-was-not-a-matter-of-believing-or-disbelieving-what-i-read-but-of/#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 } } ] } ```