--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought it was only in revealed…" description: "\"I thought it was only in revealed religion that a mistranslation improved the sense.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/w-somerset-maugham-237_atheism_i-thought-it-was-only-in-revealed-religi_242631.jpg" --- # I thought it was only in revealed religion that a… ![“I thought it was only in revealed religion that a mistranslation improved the sense.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/w-somerset-maugham-237_atheism_i-thought-it-was-only-in-revealed-religi_242631.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/w-somerset-maugham-237_atheism_i-thought-it-was-only-in-revealed-religi_242631.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/w-somerset-maugham-237_atheism_i-thought-it-was-only-in-revealed-religi_242631.jpg) > “I thought it was only in revealed religion that a mistranslation improved the sense.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mistranslation can unintentionally enhance meaning, suggesting that errors may reveal deeper truths. **In simple terms:** Errors can improve meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace happy accidents. Themes interpretation language error creativity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - literary analysis - translation work - creative writing Key Concepts semantic shift interpretive flexibility serendipity Questions to Reflect On - When has a mistake helped you? - Can distortion reveal hidden insight? A Different Perspective Not all errors are beneficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [As Negro voting increased, Congress got an improved sense of hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-negro-voting-increased-congress-got-an-improved-sense-of-hearing/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [But every time our ability to access information and to communicate it to others is improved, in some sense we have achieved an increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/but-every-time-our-ability-to-access-information-and-to-communicate/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [Geology has shared the fate of other infant sciences, in being for a while considered hostile to revealed religion; so like them, when fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-buckland/geology-has-shared-the-fate-of-other-infant-sciences-in-being-for-a/) [William Buckland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-buckland/) > [Yet this is trash that the Church imposes upon the world as the Word of God; this is the collection of lies and contradictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/yet-this-is-trash-that-the-church-imposes-upon-the-world-as-the-word/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [There are those who say that revealed religion and organic evolution can be harmonized. This is both false and devilish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-r-mcconkie/there-are-those-who-say-that-revealed-religion-and-organic-evolution/) [Bruce R. McConkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-r-mcconkie/) > [The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries, that have afflicted the human race have had their origin in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-most-detestable-wickedness-the-most-horrid-cruelties-and-the-2/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [I, personally, am unable to accept any revealed religion, Christian or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/i-personally-am-unable-to-accept-any-revealed-religion-christian-or/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [ I see no good reason why the views given this volume \[The Origin of Species\] should shock the religious feelings of any one. It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reason-why-the-views-given-this-volume-the-origin-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Revealed religion is one thing, revealed legislation, another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/revealed-religion-is-one-thing-revealed-legislation-another/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [I do not believe in revealed religion - I will have nothing to do with your immortality; we are miserable enough in this life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-do-not-believe-in-revealed-religion-i-will-have-nothing-to-do-with/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [One of the most important concepts of revealed religion is that of a sacred covenant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/one-of-the-most-important-concepts-of-revealed-religion-is-that-of-a/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [Revealed religion has no weight with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/revealed-religion-has-no-weight-with-me/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Is it not a species of blasphemy to call the New Testament revealed religion, when we see in it such contradictions and absurdities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/is-it-not-a-species-of-blasphemy-to-call-the-new-testament-revealed/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [I cannot believe that any religion has been revealed to Man by God. Because a revealed religion would be perfect but no known religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-blatchford/i-cannot-believe-that-any-religion-has-been-revealed-to-man-by-god/) [Robert Blatchford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-blatchford/) > [Judaism boasts of no exclusive revelation of eternal truths that are indispensable to salvation, of no revealed religion in the sense in which that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/judaism-boasts-of-no-exclusive-revelation-of-eternal-truths-that-are/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“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/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I thought it was only in revealed religion that a mistranslation improved the sense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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