---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the more hours I spend in contemplation…"
description: "\"“the more hours I spend in contemplation, the less I know about God—and the more I realize how arrogant it is for us poor humans to squeeze the Infinit..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/anonymous-1_contemplation_the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation_165028.jpg"
---

#  the more hours I spend in contemplation, the less I know…

![“the more hours I spend in contemplation, the less I know about God—and the more I realize how arrogant it is for us poor humans to squeeze the Infinite into our limited definitions.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/anonymous-1_contemplation_the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation_165028.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/anonymous-1_contemplation_the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation_165028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/anonymous-1_contemplation_the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation_165028.jpg)

> ““the more hours I spend in contemplation, the less I know about God—and the more I realize how arrogant it is for us poor humans to squeeze the Infinite into our limited definitions.””

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Contemplation can reveal the limits of human concepts about the divine, highlighting our arrogance in trying to define the infinite.

**In simple terms:** Thinking shows we can’t fully grasp God with limited ideas.

Key Takeaway

Accept humility and avoid over‑defining the divine.

Themes

humility theology human limits arrogance

Mood

thoughtful humble

Type

philosophical spiritual

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- philosophical debate
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

epistemology divine mystery conceptual boundaries

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance reverence with intellectual humility?
- What are the risks of over‑defining the infinite?

A Different Perspective

Our limited language may still convey meaningful insights about the divine.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Arrogant Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant-poor-1800886/) [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Contemplation Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation-know-1800885/) [Know God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-god-237685/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Realize Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-arrogant-1800887/)

## Related quotes

> [“You will never be able to live with two kinds of people; greedy rich and arrogant poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-will-never-be-able-to-live-with-two-kinds-of-people-greedy-rich/)

[M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/)

> [I really am so blessed to know God and follow Him. His ways have truly made me content!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-really-am-so-blessed-to-know-god-and-follow-him-his-ways-have-truly/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [; I have been through enough, to know that God is going to take care of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-been-through-enough-to-know-that-god-is-going-to-take-care-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't understand why things happen the way they do, but I do know that God is in control and has a perfect plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-understand-why-things-happen-the-way-they-do-but-i-do-know/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't know what God is, or what God had in mind when the universe was set in motion. In fact, I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-what-god-is-or-what-god-had-in-mind-when-the-universe/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I don't know whether there is a God but there sure is someone acting out of spite”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-whether-there-is-a-god-but-there-sure-is-someone-acting/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you don't know that God loves you, he does. He loves his creation. And you're his creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-don-t-know-that-god-loves-you-he-does-he-loves-his-creation/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Sometimes I just look up, smile and say, I know that was you God! thanks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-just-look-up-smile-and-say-i-know-that-was-you-god-thanks/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles. Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-you-would-know-god-be-not-therefore-a-solver-of-riddles-rather/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“8Formerly, when you  l did not know God, you  m were enslaved to those that by nature  n are not gods. 9But now that you have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/8formerly-when-you-l-did-not-know-god-you-m-were-enslaved-to-those/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Live each day like its your last don't take anything for granted because you never know when God decides it's your time. You only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/live-each-day-like-its-your-last-don-t-take-anything-for-granted/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When we know God stands with us, it doesn't matter who stands against us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-know-god-stands-with-us-it-doesn-t-matter-who-stands-against/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Just say to yourself: I know that God is with me and will help me to think and say and do the right thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-say-to-yourself-i-know-that-god-is-with-me-and-will-help-me-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise,in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-i-know-that-god-is-for-me-in-god-whose-word-i-praise-in-the-lord/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“You know what you are? You're God's answer to Job, ... He would have pointed to you and said, "Y'know, I do a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-what-you-are-you-re-god-s-answer-to-job-he-would-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Anonymous

> [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More Contemplation quotes

> [“Inside every pause lived a contemplation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/inside-every-pause-lived-a-contemplation/)

[Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/)

> [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“The problem with the contemplative life was that there was no end to contemplation, no fixed time limit after which thought had to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/the-problem-with-the-contemplative-life-was-that-there-was-no-end-to/)

[Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/)

> [Poetical taste is the only magician whose wand is not broken. No hand, except its own, can dissolve the fabric of beauty in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/poetical-taste-is-the-only-magician-whose-wand-is-not-broken-no-hand/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [Catholicity seized on man... and the mystics, transcending all, taught him to ascend on high with the wings of contemplation the Ladder of Jacob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-donoso-cortes/catholicity-seized-on-man-and-the-mystics-transcending-all-taught-him/)

[Juan Donoso Cortes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-donoso-cortes/)

> [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [The whole of life is a journey toward youthful old age, toward self-contemplation, love, gaiety, and, in a fundamental sense, the most gratifying time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/the-whole-of-life-is-a-journey-toward-youthful-old-age-toward-self/)

[Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/)

> [“Yet that grief and this joy were alike outside all the ordinary conditions of life; they were loop-holes, as it were, in that ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/yet-that-grief-and-this-joy-were-alike-outside-all-the-ordinary/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [We must not imitate the externals of nature with so much fidelity that the picture fails to evoke that wonderful teasing recurrence of emotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-carlson/we-must-not-imitate-the-externals-of-nature-with-so-much-fidelity/)

[John F. Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-carlson/)

> [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [I think the church should strive to give parishioners good music. Music is as necessary for worship as a building with a beautiful altar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-think-the-church-should-strive-to-give-parishioners-good-music/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [ My contemplation of life and human nature in that secluded place \[cell 54 of Cairo Central Prison\] taught me that he who cannot change… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-sadat/my-contemplation-of-life-and-human-nature-in-that-secluded-place-cell/)

[Anwar Sadat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-sadat/)

> [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

[Browse all 960 Contemplation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“the more hours I spend in contemplation, the less I know about God—and the more I realize how arrogant it is for us poor humans to squeeze the Infinite into our limited definitions.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anonymous"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation-the-less-i-know-about-god-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Contemplation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation-the-less-i-know-about-god-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/anonymous-1_contemplation_the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation_165028.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/anonymous-1_contemplation_the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation_165028.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3e/anonymous-1_contemplation_the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation_165028.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“the more hours I spend in contemplation, the less I know about God—and the more I realize how arrogant it is…” — Anonymous",
                "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": "Anonymous",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“the more hours I spend in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation-the-less-i-know-about-god-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-hours-i-spend-in-contemplation-the-less-i-know-about-god-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
