Have you learned the alphabet of heaven and can count three? Do you know the number of God's family? Can you put mysteries into words? Do you presume to fable of the ineffable? Pray, what geographer are you, that speak of heaven's topography? Whose friend are you that speak of God's personality? ... Tell me of the height of the mountains of the moon, or of the diameter of space, and I may believe you, but of the secret history of the Almighty, and I shall pronounce thee mad.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Attempting to describe divine mysteries with human language is futile; claiming knowledge of God's secret history is madness.
- In plain terms
- Human language cannot capture divine mysteries.
- What can you take from it?
- Accept the limits of human understanding about the divine.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How can we respect mystery without despair?
- What role does metaphor play in spirituality?
Another view
Some argue that metaphor can convey aspects of the divine.
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