--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Divinity is not playful. The universe was…" description: "\"“Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn, incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/annie-dillard-509_quote_divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was_580398.jpg" --- # Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest… ![“Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn, incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet. There is nothing to be done about it, but ignore it, or see. And then you walk fearlessly, eating what you must, growing wherever you…” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/annie-dillard-509_quote_divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was_580398.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/annie-dillard-509_quote_divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was_580398.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/annie-dillard-509_quote_divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was_580398.jpg) > ““Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn, incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet. There is nothing to be done about it, but ignore it, or see. And then you walk fearlessly, eating what you must, growing wherever you can, like the monk on the road who knows precisely how vulnerable he is, who takes no comfort among death-forgetting men, and who carries his vision of vastness and might around in his tunic like a live coal which neither burns nor warms him, but with which he will not part.”” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that divine reality is serious, mysterious, and beyond human control; acceptance leads to fearless living despite vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Divine seriousness demands acceptance and fearless action. Key Takeaway Embrace the mystery, act without fear. Themes spirituality existence vulnerability courage Mood reflective serene determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - creative work - adversity - leadership Key Concepts theology existentialism mysticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance reverence for mystery with taking purposeful action? - What does fearless living look like in your daily life? A Different Perspective It may overlook the need for active engagement with the world beyond passive acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Divinity Playful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity-playful-4743309/) [Like Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-monk-566927/) [Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monk/) [Vastness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vastness/) ## Related quotes > [Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn incomprehensibl e earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was-not-made-in-jest-but-in/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The first thing I think about is music, and the last thing I think about is music. I'm like some Monk. I don't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-zimmer/the-first-thing-i-think-about-is-music-and-the-last-thing-i-think/) [Hans Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-zimmer/) > [“I’m like a praying mantis, except not so devout. And I make love like a monk in meditation, which can often be confused with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-m-like-a-praying-mantis-except-not-so-devout-and-i-make-love-like-a/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [But I really want to be an artist, so therefore I have to live a little bit like a monk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lone/but-i-really-want-to-be-an-artist-so-therefore-i-have-to-live-a/) [John Lone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lone/) > [I'm like a monk with a taste for hookers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-m-like-a-monk-with-a-taste-for-hookers/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Without sounding too pretentious, I feel my job is almost like becoming a monk or a nun - it's a calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/without-sounding-too-pretentious-i-feel-my-job-is-almost-like/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [I think I would like to be a monk. I really considered Catholicism a few years ago, but there were some things that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-think-i-would-like-to-be-a-monk-i-really-considered-catholicism-a/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [When I went to the moon I was a pragmatic test pilot. But when I saw the planet Earth floating in the vastness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/when-i-went-to-the-moon-i-was-a-pragmatic-test-pilot-but-when-i-saw/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“There weren't any promises of a future life together, either, but he didn't need to live like a monk anymore. Two years was more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-york/there-weren-t-any-promises-of-a-future-life-together-either-but-he/) [Zoe York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-york/) > [“I was surprised at how much the genuine clothes made me feel like a monk. I would remember that—that the details mattered, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-was-surprised-at-how-much-the-genuine-clothes-made-me-feel-like-a/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [Being an actor is like being a monk: you have got to be dedicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/being-an-actor-is-like-being-a-monk-you-have-got-to-be-dedicated/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [“The man lived like a monk. And made love like a sinner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/the-man-lived-like-a-monk-and-made-love-like-a-sinner/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [I think I would like to be a monk. I really considered Catholicism a few years ago, but there were some things that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-think-i-would-like-to-be-a-monk-i-really-considered-catholicism-a-2/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [“I’m the impulse before the language, I’m the reason before the science, I’m the pulse before the poetry, I’m the kernel before the divinity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-m-the-impulse-before-the-language-i-m-the-reason-before-the-science/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Indian monks were the first to choose the garden as the proper setting for their lives, which were devoted to the contemplation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-luise-gothein/indian-monks-were-the-first-to-choose-the-garden-as-the-proper/) [Marie-Luise Gothein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-luise-gothein/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Divinity quotes > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [Were you indeed not blinded by the Curse Of Self-exile, that still grows worse and worse, Yourselves would know that, though you see him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farid-al-din-attar/were-you-indeed-not-blinded-by-the-curse-of-self-exile-that-still/) [Farid al-Din Attar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farid-al-din-attar/) > [It is through the body that everything comes to the mind. It is through and with your body that you have to reach realization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/it-is-through-the-body-that-everything-comes-to-the-mind-it-is/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [The end product of mixing your ability with Divinity is to better humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mbuko/the-end-product-of-mixing-your-ability-with-divinity-is-to-better/) [Michael Mbuko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mbuko/) > [As soon as I find myself in the presence of a rich man, I cannot help looking upon him as an exceptional and beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/as-soon-as-i-find-myself-in-the-presence-of-a-rich-man-i-cannot-help/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [I have now been an officer in this Church for a very long time. I am an old man who cannot deny the calendar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/i-have-now-been-an-officer-in-this-church-for-a-very-long-time-i-am/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-is-a-divinity-in-disguise-a-god-playing-the-fool/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“No scripture is more divine than the innate divinity of the human self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/no-scripture-is-more-divine-than-the-innate-divinity-of-the-human-self/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair-is-too-foul-an-epithet-for/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Where there is no purity, there is no Unity. Without Unity you cannot attain Divinity. Then your life is just a waste. First purity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/where-there-is-no-purity-there-is-no-unity-without-unity-you-cannot/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [“You know how it goes: at some point in your life, you fell in love with someone and had a glimpse of God. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/you-know-how-it-goes-at-some-point-in-your-life-you-fell-in-love-with/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves. That faith calls out the divinity within.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-history-of-the-world-is-the-history-of-a-few-men-who-had-faith-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [There are many concepts of spirituality, among them, various notions of divinity developed in the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic religions. Within these the concepts vary greatly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-many-concepts-of-spirituality-among-them-various-notions-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Browse all 892 Divinity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn, incomprehensible earnest. By a power that is unfathomably secret, and holy, and fleet. There is nothing to be done about it, but ignore it, or see. And then you walk fearlessly, eating what you must, growing wherever you can, like the monk on the road who knows precisely how vulnerable he is, who takes no comfort among death-forgetting men, and who carries his vision of vastness and might around in his tunic like a live coal which neither burns nor warms him, but with which he will not part.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was-not-made-in-jest-but-in-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divinity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was-not-made-in-jest-but-in-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/annie-dillard-509_quote_divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was_580398.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/annie-dillard-509_quote_divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was_580398.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/annie-dillard-509_quote_divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was_580398.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Divinity is not playful. The universe was not made in jest but in solemn, incomprehensible earnest. By a…” — Annie Dillard", "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": "Annie Dillard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Divinity is not playful. The universe...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was-not-made-in-jest-but-in-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/divinity-is-not-playful-the-universe-was-not-made-in-jest-but-in-2/#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 } } ] } ```