--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know what happened to those who…" description: "\"“We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are symbols of something, not of no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/arthur-machen-11940_electric-current_we-know-what-happened-to-those-who-chanc_587588.jpg" --- # We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the… ![“We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are symbols of something, not of nothing. It was, indeed, an exquisite symbol beneath which men long ago veiled their knowledge of the most awful, most secret forces which lie at the…” quote by Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/arthur-machen-11940_electric-current_we-know-what-happened-to-those-who-chanc_587588.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/arthur-machen-11940_electric-current_we-know-what-happened-to-those-who-chanc_587588.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/arthur-machen-11940_electric-current_we-know-what-happened-to-those-who-chanc_587588.jpg) > ““We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are symbols of something, not of nothing. It was, indeed, an exquisite symbol beneath which men long ago veiled their knowledge of the most awful, most secret forces which lie at the heart of all things; forces before which the souls of men must wither and die and blacken, as their bodies blacken under the electric current. Such forces cannot be named, cannot be spoken, cannot be imagined except under a veil and a symbol, a symbol to the most of us appearing a quaint, poetic fancy, to some a foolish tale. But you and I, at all events, have known something of the terror that may dwell in the secret place of life, manifested under human flesh; that which is without form taking to itself a form.”” [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) ## 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 profound, terrifying forces exist beyond human comprehension, only hinted at through symbols and myths. **In simple terms:** Hidden forces are hinted at by symbols. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the limits of knowledge. Themes mystery fear the unknown symbolism cosmic horror Mood eerie thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical horror When to use this quote - reading horror literature - studying mythology - contemplating mortality - exploring subconscious fears - artistic creation Key Concepts Existential dread the ineffable symbolic representation Questions to Reflect On - What do we fear when we confront the unknowable? - How do symbols shape our perception of hidden forces? A Different Perspective Symbols may oversimplify or mislead understanding of deep truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Electric current](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electric-current/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Occult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occult/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Supernatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supernatural/) ## Related quotes > [All art is at once surface and symbol. 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If you have stray voltage, it'll find a path, no matter what.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mayne/in-space-there-s-no-way-to-ground-an-electric-current-if-you-have/) [Andrew Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mayne/) > [If the 'self-life' is supreme, Satan does not have to be invited in. The lines are already set for the 'electric' current to flow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-huegel/if-the-self-life-is-supreme-satan-does-not-have-to-be-invited-in-the/) F. Huegel > [... by chance you will say, but chance only favors the mind which is prepared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/by-chance-you-will-say-but-chance-only-favors-the-mind-which-is/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [If we think we are tired or ill, it is only because we have done something to unbalance the bodily conductivity of the universal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/if-we-think-we-are-tired-or-ill-it-is-only-because-we-have-done/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [One of the chief peculiarities of this treatise is the doctrine that the true electric current, on which the electromagnetic phenomena depend, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/one-of-the-chief-peculiarities-of-this-treatise-is-the-doctrine-that/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [“enable the development of photonic computers using laser light to carry information instead of electric current.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/enable-the-development-of-photonic-computers-using-laser-light-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ If your blood is formed from eating the foods I teach \[fruits and green-leaf vegetables\] your soul will shout for joy and triumph over… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-ehret/if-your-blood-is-formed-from-eating-the-foods-i-teach-fruits-and/) [Arnold Ehret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-ehret/) > [“Sadism dominates the culture. It runs like an electric current through reality television and trash-talk programs, is at the core of pornography, and fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/sadism-dominates-the-culture-it-runs-like-an-electric-current-through-2/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“I shook my head. His body felt so strong and alive next to me, an electric current bounced between us. "I don't need dozens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-laurens/i-shook-my-head-his-body-felt-so-strong-and-alive-next-to-me-an/) [Jennifer Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-laurens/) > [“Sadism dominates the culture. It runs like an electric current through reality television and trash-talk programs, is at the core of pornography, and fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/sadism-dominates-the-culture-it-runs-like-an-electric-current-through/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“The moment we trust in Jesus, God’s Spirit acts like an electric current touching the filament of our spirit, and we’re able to fulfill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-perkins/the-moment-we-trust-in-jesus-god-s-spirit-acts-like-an-electric/) Bill Perkins > [My life changed irrevocably four-and-a-half years ago when my spine failed and collapsed. I spent two years on the floor, in excruciating, debilitating and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/my-life-changed-irrevocably-four-and-a-half-years-ago-when-my-spine/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) ## More by Arthur Machen > [We both wondered whether these contradictions that one can't avoid if one begins to think of time and space may not really be proofs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-both-wondered-whether-these-contradictions-that-one-can-t-avoid-if/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [The saint endeavors to recover a gift which he has lost; the sinner tries to obtain something which was never his. In brief, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/the-saint-endeavors-to-recover-a-gift-which-he-has-lost-the-sinner/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“Happiness, said De Quincey, on his discovery of the paradise that he thought he had found in opium, could be sent down by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/happiness-said-de-quincey-on-his-discovery-of-the-paradise-that-he/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“He knew then how the dull flesh of man can be like fire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/he-knew-then-how-the-dull-flesh-of-man-can-be-like-fire/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“By what seemed then and still seems a chance, the suggestion of a moment’s idle thought followed up upon familiar lines and paths that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/by-what-seemed-then-and-still-seems-a-chance-the-suggestion-of-a/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater nonsense inasmuch as the true interpretation of many dreams - not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-much-the-greater-nonsense/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“We have just begun to navigate a strange region; we must expect to encounter strange adventures, strange perils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-have-just-begun-to-navigate-a-strange-region-we-must-expect-to/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [There are strange things lost and forgotten in obscure corners of the newspaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/there-are-strange-things-lost-and-forgotten-in-obscure-corners-of-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“Here, I could see, was choice matter on which the expert and art critic could exercise their knowledge and judgment. As I had neither,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/here-i-could-see-was-choice-matter-on-which-the-expert-and-art-critic/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [Very softly, but very swiftly, Last, the man with the grey face and the staring eyes, bolted for his life, down and away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/very-softly-but-very-swiftly-last-the-man-with-the-grey-face-and-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-was-better-he-thought-to-fail-in-attempting-exquisite-things-than/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [And it is utterly true that he who cannot find wonder, mystery, awe, the sense of a new world and an undiscovered realm in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/and-it-is-utterly-true-that-he-who-cannot-find-wonder-mystery-awe-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [Every branch of human knowledge, if traced up to its source and final principles, vanishes into mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/every-branch-of-human-knowledge-if-traced-up-to-its-source-and-final/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [silence is not weakness and decency is not pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/silence-is-not-weakness-and-decency-is-not-pride/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [ “It appears to me that it \[sin\] is simply an attempt to penetrate into another and higher sphere in a forbidden manner. You can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-appears-to-me-that-it-sin-is-simply-an-attempt-to-penetrate-into/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) [Explore all 55 Arthur Machen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) ## More Electric current quotes > [My life changed irrevocably four-and-a-half years ago when my spine failed and collapsed. I spent two years on the floor, in excruciating, debilitating and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/my-life-changed-irrevocably-four-and-a-half-years-ago-when-my-spine/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [“The moment we trust in Jesus, God’s Spirit acts like an electric current touching the filament of our spirit, and we’re able to fulfill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-perkins/the-moment-we-trust-in-jesus-god-s-spirit-acts-like-an-electric/) Bill Perkins > [“Sadism dominates the culture. It runs like an electric current through reality television and trash-talk programs, is at the core of pornography, and fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/sadism-dominates-the-culture-it-runs-like-an-electric-current-through/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“I shook my head. His body felt so strong and alive next to me, an electric current bounced between us. "I don't need dozens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-laurens/i-shook-my-head-his-body-felt-so-strong-and-alive-next-to-me-an/) [Jennifer Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-laurens/) > [“Sadism dominates the culture. It runs like an electric current through reality television and trash-talk programs, is at the core of pornography, and fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/sadism-dominates-the-culture-it-runs-like-an-electric-current-through-2/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [ If your blood is formed from eating the foods I teach \[fruits and green-leaf vegetables\] your soul will shout for joy and triumph over… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-ehret/if-your-blood-is-formed-from-eating-the-foods-i-teach-fruits-and/) [Arnold Ehret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-ehret/) > [“enable the development of photonic computers using laser light to carry information instead of electric current.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/enable-the-development-of-photonic-computers-using-laser-light-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the chief peculiarities of this treatise is the doctrine that the true electric current, on which the electromagnetic phenomena depend, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clerk-maxwell/one-of-the-chief-peculiarities-of-this-treatise-is-the-doctrine-that/) [James Clerk Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clerk-maxwell/) > [If we think we are tired or ill, it is only because we have done something to unbalance the bodily conductivity of the universal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/if-we-think-we-are-tired-or-ill-it-is-only-because-we-have-done/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [... by chance you will say, but chance only favors the mind which is prepared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/by-chance-you-will-say-but-chance-only-favors-the-mind-which-is/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [If the 'self-life' is supreme, Satan does not have to be invited in. The lines are already set for the 'electric' current to flow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-huegel/if-the-self-life-is-supreme-satan-does-not-have-to-be-invited-in-the/) F. Huegel > [“In space there's no way to ground an electric current. If you have stray voltage, it'll find a path, no matter what.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mayne/in-space-there-s-no-way-to-ground-an-electric-current-if-you-have/) [Andrew Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mayne/) > [“Mind is another form of life-force and its upward course to the cerebrum it appears like an electric current in the body. The mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-jibankrishna-or-diamond/mind-is-another-form-of-life-force-and-its-upward-course-to-the/) Sri Jibankrishna or Diamond > [“To do so, we first have to learn to see it for what it is—by cutting through all of the buzzwords, the marketing hype,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-orlov/to-do-so-we-first-have-to-learn-to-see-it-for-what-it-is-by-cutting/) [Dmitry Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-orlov/) > [Sometimes the words against a selfish have to be sharp, straight and blunt; it is very much like after the failure of all medications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/sometimes-the-words-against-a-selfish-have-to-be-sharp-straight-and/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) [Browse all 60 Electric current quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electric-current/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are symbols of something, not of nothing. 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