We can know only one thing about God - that he is what we are not. Our wretchedness alone is an image of this. The more we contemplate it, the more we contemplate him. [p.216]
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- We cannot know God directly, but we know God is unlike us; our own suffering and lack reflect this difference.
- In plain terms
- We cannot know God directly, but we know God is not like us.
- What can you take from it?
- God is known only through our own wretchedness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is God to you?
- Can you know the infinite?
Another view
This view limits knowledge of God strictly to negation and suffering.
More from Simone Weil
Truth is sought not because it is truth but because it is good. [p.213]
Permalink to quote #35 The recognition of human wretchedness is difficult for whoever is rich and powerful because he is almost invincibly led to believe that he is something. It is …
Permalink to quote #37 I also am other than what I imagine myself to be. To know this is forgiveness. [p.200]
Permalink to quote #34
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