--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we think how narrow and devious this…" description: "\"When we think how narrow and devious this path of nature is, how dimly we can trace it, for all our lamps of science, and how from the darkness which g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/arthur-conan-doyle-273_darkness_when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-thi_1949089.jpg" --- # When we think how narrow and devious this path of nature… ![“When we think how narrow and devious this path of nature is, how dimly we can trace it, for all our lamps of science, and how from the darkness which girds it round great and terrible possibilities loom ever shadowly upwards, it is a bold and a confident man who will put a limit to the strange…” quote by Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/arthur-conan-doyle-273_darkness_when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-thi_1949089.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/arthur-conan-doyle-273_darkness_when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-thi_1949089.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/arthur-conan-doyle-273_darkness_when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-thi_1949089.jpg) > “When we think how narrow and devious this path of nature is, how dimly we can trace it, for all our lamps of science, and how from the darkness which girds it round great and terrible possibilities loom ever shadowly upwards, it is a bold and a confident man who will put a limit to the strange by-oaths into which the human spirit may wander.” [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human curiosity confronts the unknown, yet our limited tools make the vast possibilities seem ominous. **In simple terms:** Science reveals limits, mystery remains. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, seek deeper insight. Themes exploration science uncertainty human spirit mystery Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - research - philosophical inquiry - personal growth - creative problem solving Key Concepts philosophy epistemology cosmology Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront unknown possibilities? - What limits do you accept in your pursuits? A Different Perspective Our tools are insufficient for full comprehension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confident Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident-man/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Devious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devious/) [Devious Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devious-path-3152381/) [Dimly Trace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimly-trace-3152382/) [Enquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enquiry/) [Exploration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration/) [Human spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-spirit/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Lamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lamps/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Dimly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-dimly-3152379/) [Oath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oath/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-darkness-3152380/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wander/) ## Related quotes > [“So far, therefore, as the science of exchange relates to the advantage of one of the exchanging persons only, it is founded on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/so-far-therefore-as-the-science-of-exchange-relates-to-the-advantage/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“Lucas hated the word. 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But you've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/sean-and-i-d-ask-you-about-war-you-d-probably-throw-shakespeare-at-me/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [“Was it his looks? Perhaps his smell, or more than likely his maturity. There's something so very arousing about a calm, controlled, confident man—qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-finn/was-it-his-looks-perhaps-his-smell-or-more-than-likely-his-maturity/) [Elizabeth Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-finn/) ## More by Arthur Conan Doyle > [“shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/shattered-the-bone-and-grazed-the-subclavian-artery-i/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. 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I ejaculated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/wonderful-i-ejaculated/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Amberley excelled at chess - a mark, Watson, of a scheming mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/amberley-excelled-at-chess-a-mark-watson-of-a-scheming-mind/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/ex-professor-moriarty-of-mathematical-celebrity-is-the-napoleon-of/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-a-doctor-does-go-wrong-he-is-the-first-of-criminals-he-has-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/how-small-we-feel-with-our-petty-ambitions-and-strivings-in-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [You wish to put me in the dark. I tell you that I will never be put in the dark. You wish to beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/you-wish-to-put-me-in-the-dark-i-tell-you-that-i-will-never-be-put-in/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-he-said-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“It is hard luck on a young fellow to have expensive tastes, great expectations, aristocratic connections but no actual money in his pocket, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-hard-luck-on-a-young-fellow-to-have-expensive-tastes-great/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/in-the-year-1878-i-took-my-degree-of-doctor-of-medicine-of-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) [Explore all 740 Arthur Conan Doyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we think how narrow and devious this path of nature is, how dimly we can trace it, for all our lamps of science, and how from the darkness which girds it round great and terrible possibilities loom ever shadowly upwards, it is a bold and a confident man who will put a limit to the strange by-oaths into which the human spirit may wander.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Conan Doyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-this-path-of-nature-is-how-dimly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-this-path-of-nature-is-how-dimly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/arthur-conan-doyle-273_darkness_when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-thi_1949089.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/arthur-conan-doyle-273_darkness_when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-thi_1949089.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/arthur-conan-doyle-273_darkness_when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-thi_1949089.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we think how narrow and devious this path of nature is, how dimly we can trace it, for all our lamps of…” — Arthur Conan Doyle", "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": "Arthur Conan Doyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we think how narrow and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-this-path-of-nature-is-how-dimly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-we-think-how-narrow-and-devious-this-path-of-nature-is-how-dimly/#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 } } ] } ```