--- title: "6 Nature of Beauty Quotes By Marilynne Robinson" description: "6 Nature of Beauty quotes by Marilynne Robinson. Plus more from Marilynne Robinson and more Nature of Beauty sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/marilynne-robinson-602_god-grace_i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-tha_693486.png" --- > [“I’m writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you’ve done in your life, and everyone does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-that-if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-2/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/marilynne-robinson-602_god-grace_i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-tha_693486.png) > [Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grace-that-precedes-grace-itself/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg) > [“It has seemed to me sometimes as though the Lord breathes on this poor gray ember of Creation and it turns to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/it-has-seemed-to-me-sometimes-as-though-the-lord-breathes-on-this/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_it-has-seemed-to-me-sometimes-as-though_1072392.jpg) > [“Your mother asked him if he would like to say grace, and he did, with an elegant simplicity that seemed almost wasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/your-mother-asked-him-if-he-would-like-to-say-grace-and-he-did-with/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_your-mother-asked-him-if-he-would-like-t_2181352.png) > [...if you ever wonder what you've done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God's grace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-ve-done-in-your-life-and-everyone-does/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/marilynne-robinson-602_doe_if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-ve-done-in-y_2186111.png) > [Love is holy because it is like grace--the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/love-is-holy-because-it-is-like-grace-the-worthiness-of-its-object-is/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_love-is-holy-because-it-is-like-grace-th_3140414.png) ## Other authors on Nature of Beauty - [Lailah Gifty Akita 97 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/lailah-gifty-akita/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-william-shakespeare-95899.jpg) William Shakespeare 16 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/william-shakespeare/) - [Ralph Waldo Emerson 12 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/ralph-waldo-emerson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-victor-hugo-93504.jpg) Victor Hugo 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/victor-hugo/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-tullian-tchividjian-92416.jpg) Tullian Tchividjian 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/tullian-tchividjian/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b008/author-dietrich-bonhoeffer-29418.jpg) Dietrich Bonhoeffer 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-ann-voskamp-13597.jpg) Ann Voskamp 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/ann-voskamp/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-max-lucado-65870.jpg) Max Lucado 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/max-lucado/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b008/author-edmund-burke-31567.jpg) Edmund Burke 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/edmund-burke/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-calvin-51107.jpg) John Calvin 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/john-calvin/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-charles-spurgeon-22605.jpg) Charles Spurgeon 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/charles-spurgeon/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-dryden-51272.jpg) John Dryden 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/john-dryden/) ## More by Marilynne Robinson > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“I think sometimes there might be an advantage in making people aware how worn and stale these old transgressions are. It might take some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-think-sometimes-there-might-be-an-advantage-in-making-people-aware/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [There are two occasions when the sacred beauty of Creation becomes dazzlingly apparent, and they occur together. One is when we feel our mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/there-are-two-occasions-when-the-sacred-beauty-of-creation-becomes/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“You can know a thing to death and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it. A man can know his father, or his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/you-can-know-a-thing-to-death-and-be-for-all-purposes-completely/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-listen-to-bach-a-great-deal-in-general-i-like-to-listen-to-hymns/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Every writer I know, when asked how to become a writer, responds with one word:Read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/every-writer-i-know-when-asked-how-to-become-a-writer-responds-with/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Faith for her was habit and family loyalty, a reverence for the Bible which was also literary, admiration for her mother and father. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/faith-for-her-was-habit-and-family-loyalty-a-reverence-for-the-bible/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Prayer is a discipline in truthfulness, in honesty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/prayer-is-a-discipline-in-truthfulness-in-honesty/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.’ There are pleasures to be found where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/the-full-soul-loatheth-an-honeycomb-but-to-the-hungry-soul-every/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I sometimes am discouraged by what seems to be a sort of conventional disparagement of humankind. I think often people feel that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-sometimes-am-discouraged-by-what-seems-to-be-a-sort-of-conventional/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Now that I look back, it seems to me that in all that deep darkness a miracle was preparing. So I am right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/now-that-i-look-back-it-seems-to-me-that-in-all-that-deep-darkness-a/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“My grandfather once told her if you couldn't read with cold feet, there wouldn't be a literate soul in the state of Maine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-grandfather-once-told-her-if-you-couldn-t-read-with-cold-feet/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Cranky old Leviticus gave us—gave Christ—not only “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” but also the rather forgotten “Thou shalt love the stranger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/cranky-old-leviticus-gave-us-gave-christ-not-only-thou-shalt-love-thy/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/marilynne-robinson/#itemlist", "name": "6 Nature of Beauty Quotes By Marilynne Robinson", "numberOfItems": 6, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’m writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you’ve done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God’s grace to me...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marilynne Robinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-that-if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/marilynne-robinson-602_god-grace_i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-tha_693486.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/marilynne-robinson-602_god-grace_i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-tha_693486.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/marilynne-robinson-602_god-grace_i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-tha_693486.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’m writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you’ve done in your life, and everyone…” — Marilynne Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave - that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them is to do great harm. And therefore, this courage allows us, as the old men said, to make ourselves useful. It allows us to be generous, which is another way of saying exactly the same thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marilynne Robinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grace-that-precedes-grace-itself/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/marilynne-robinson-602_accepting_theologians-talk-about-a-prevenient-grac_1013397.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think…” — Marilynne Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It has seemed to me sometimes as though the Lord breathes on this poor gray ember of Creation and it turns to radiance - for a moment or a year or the span of a life. And then it sinks back into itself again, and to look at it no one would know it had anything to do with fire, or light … Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration. You don't have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness to see. Only, who could have the courage to see it? … Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave - that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them is to do great harm.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marilynne Robinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/it-has-seemed-to-me-sometimes-as-though-the-lord-breathes-on-this/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_it-has-seemed-to-me-sometimes-as-though_1072392.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_it-has-seemed-to-me-sometimes-as-though_1072392.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_it-has-seemed-to-me-sometimes-as-though_1072392.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It has seemed to me sometimes as though the Lord breathes on this poor gray ember of Creation and it turns…” — Marilynne Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Your mother asked him if he would like to say grace, and he did, with an elegant simplicity that seemed almost wasted on macaroni and cheese.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marilynne Robinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/your-mother-asked-him-if-he-would-like-to-say-grace-and-he-did-with/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_your-mother-asked-him-if-he-would-like-t_2181352.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_your-mother-asked-him-if-he-would-like-t_2181352.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_your-mother-asked-him-if-he-would-like-t_2181352.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Your mother asked him if he would like to say grace, and he did, with an elegant simplicity that seemed…” — Marilynne Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...if you ever wonder what you've done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God's grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marilynne Robinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-ve-done-in-your-life-and-everyone-does/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/marilynne-robinson-602_doe_if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-ve-done-in-y_2186111.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/marilynne-robinson-602_doe_if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-ve-done-in-y_2186111.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/marilynne-robinson-602_doe_if-you-ever-wonder-what-you-ve-done-in-y_2186111.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...if you ever wonder what you've done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been…” — Marilynne Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love is holy because it is like grace--the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marilynne Robinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/love-is-holy-because-it-is-like-grace-the-worthiness-of-its-object-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_love-is-holy-because-it-is-like-grace-th_3140414.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_love-is-holy-because-it-is-like-grace-th_3140414.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/marilynne-robinson-602_grace_love-is-holy-because-it-is-like-grace-th_3140414.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love is holy because it is like grace--the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.” — Marilynne Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/marilynne-robinson/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/marilynne-robinson/", "name": "Nature of Beauty Quotes by Marilynne Robinson", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/marilynne-robinson/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/marilynne-robinson-602_god-grace_i-m-writing-this-in-part-to-tell-you-tha_693486.png" }, "description": "6 Nature of Beauty quotes by Marilynne Robinson. Plus more from Marilynne Robinson and more Nature of Beauty sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/marilynne-robinson/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/marilynne-robinson/#breadcrumb", "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": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nature Of Beauty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Marilynne Robinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/marilynne-robinson/" } ] }, { "@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 } } ] } ```