--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The gist is that good and evil are…" description: "\"The gist is that good and evil are foreordained. What is foreordained comes necessarily to be after a prior act of divine volition...Rather, everything..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/blaise-pascal-167_divine_the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreo_1956499.jpg" --- # The gist is that good and evil are foreordained. What is… ![“The gist is that good and evil are foreordained. What is foreordained comes necessarily to be after a prior act of divine volition...Rather, everything small and large is written and comes to be in a known and expected measure.” quote by Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/blaise-pascal-167_divine_the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreo_1956499.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/blaise-pascal-167_divine_the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreo_1956499.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/blaise-pascal-167_divine_the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreo_1956499.jpg) > “The gist is that good and evil are foreordained. What is foreordained comes necessarily to be after a prior act of divine volition...Rather, everything small and large is written and comes to be in a known and expected measure.” [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claims that destiny is predetermined by divine will, making all events inevitable **In simple terms:** Everything happens as God willed Key Takeaway Recognize limits of human control Themes determinism theology philosophy Mood reflective thoughtful Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - moral decision making - spiritual contemplation Key Concepts predestination free will Questions to Reflect On - Do we have any freedom within predestination? - How does this view affect ethical choices? A Different Perspective Ignores human agency and moral responsibility ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Foreordained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-foreordained-3206302/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Foreordained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreordained-3206303/) [Foreordained Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreordained-comes-3206305/) [Foreordained Foreordained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreordained-foreordained-3206304/) [Gist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gist/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Good evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-evil/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Volition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volition/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [God has foreordained the works to which He has called you. He has been ahead of you preparing the place to which you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-campbell-morgan/god-has-foreordained-the-works-to-which-he-has-called-you-he-has-been/) [G. Campbell Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-campbell-morgan/) > [Laymen learn to read photographs the way they do headlines, skipping over them quickly to get the gist of what is being said. Photographers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/laymen-learn-to-read-photographs-the-way-they-do-headlines-skipping/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) > [Sylvia had given him a scalding lecture, the gist of it being that whatever a woman enjoyed wearing was feminine and anything she didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/sylvia-had-given-him-a-scalding-lecture-the-gist-of-it-being-that/) [Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/) > [The brain processes meaning before detail. Providing the gist, the core concept, first was like giving a thirsty person a tall glass of water.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/the-brain-processes-meaning-before-detail-providing-the-gist-the-core/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [Humans generally get out the gist of what they need to say right at the beginning, then spend forever qualifying, contradicting, burnishing or taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/humans-generally-get-out-the-gist-of-what-they-need-to-say-right-at/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I'm a pantser. I try to plot. I always try to plot. I end up with a few paragraphs that basically outline the gist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-clare/i-m-a-pantser-i-try-to-plot-i-always-try-to-plot-i-end-up-with-a-few/) [Pamela Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-clare/) > [As the child approaches a new text he is entitled to an introduction so that when he reads, the gist of the... story can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-clay/as-the-child-approaches-a-new-text-he-is-entitled-to-an-introduction/) [Marie Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-clay/) > [It feels like a rash. It suddenly seems like I've got a contagion of diseases, I mean awards. But it's nice, it's a nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helena-bonham-carter/it-feels-like-a-rash-it-suddenly-seems-like-i-ve-got-a-contagion-of/) [Helena Bonham Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helena-bonham-carter/) > [The exquisite code of politeness of the Woosters prevented me clipping her one on the ear-hole, but I would have given a shilling to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-exquisite-code-of-politeness-of-the-woosters-prevented-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Little by little, wean yourself. This is the gist of what I have to say. From an embryo whose nourishment comes in the blood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/little-by-little-wean-yourself-this-is-the-gist-of-what-i-have-to-say/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [This is the gist of all worship: to be pure and to do good to others. He who sees Shiva in the poor, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/this-is-the-gist-of-all-worship-to-be-pure-and-to-do-good-to-others/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“I think the reason why I don't read so much, is because as I have observed, whole books all boil down to a drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-think-the-reason-why-i-don-t-read-so-much-is-because-as-i-have/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Woman wants monogamy; Man delights in novelty. Love is woman's moon and sun; Man has other forms of fun. Woman lives but in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/woman-wants-monogamy-man-delights-in-novelty-love-is-woman-s-moon-and/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Fischer was a good kid but very unsophisticated about anything but chess. It was all chess for him, every waking moment. We'd go down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-gross/fischer-was-a-good-kid-but-very-unsophisticated-about-anything-but/) [Ronald Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-gross/) > [Reformers have long observed city people loitering on busy corners, hanging around in candy stores and bars and drinking soda popon stoops, and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/reformers-have-long-observed-city-people-loitering-on-busy-corners/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## More by Blaise Pascal > [“Do they think that they have given us great pleasure by telling us that they hold our soul to be no more than wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/do-they-think-that-they-have-given-us-great-pleasure-by-telling-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There should be in eloquence that which is pleasing and that which is real; but that which is pleasing should itself be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-should-be-in-eloquence-that-which-is-pleasing-and-that-which-is/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The method of not erring is sought by all the world. The logicians profess to guide it, the geometricians alone attain it, and apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-method-of-not-erring-is-sought-by-all-the-world-the-logicians/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [When we read too fast or too slowly, we understand nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/when-we-read-too-fast-or-too-slowly-we-understand-nothing/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Mahomet established a religion by putting his enemies to death; Jesus Christ by commanding his followers to lay down their lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/mahomet-established-a-religion-by-putting-his-enemies-to-death-jesus/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Reflect on death as in Jesus Christ, not as without Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ it is dreadful, it is alarming, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/reflect-on-death-as-in-jesus-christ-not-as-without-jesus-christ/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-stoics-say-retire-within-yourselves-it-is-there-you-will-find/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Happiness can be found neither in ourselves nor in external things, but in God and in ourselves as united to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/happiness-can-be-found-neither-in-ourselves-nor-in-external-things/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Amusement that is excessive and followed only for its own sake, allures and deceives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/amusement-that-is-excessive-and-followed-only-for-its-own-sake/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Rivers are highways that move on and bear us whither we wish to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/rivers-are-highways-that-move-on-and-bear-us-whither-we-wish-to-go/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [We desire truth, and find within ourselves only uncertainty. We seek happiness, and find only misery and death. We cannot but desire truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/we-desire-truth-and-find-within-ourselves-only-uncertainty-we-seek/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Vanity is illustrated in the cause and effect of love, as in the case of Cleopatra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/vanity-is-illustrated-in-the-cause-and-effect-of-love-as-in-the-case/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Imagination is the deceptive part in man, the mistress of error and falsehood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/imagination-is-the-deceptive-part-in-man-the-mistress-of-error-and/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The majority is the best way, because it is visible, and has strength to make itself obeyed. Yet it is the opinion of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-majority-is-the-best-way-because-it-is-visible-and-has-strength/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) [Explore all 988 Blaise Pascal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) ## More Divine quotes > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Monsters are divine portents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/monsters-are-divine-portents/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. It tells us it is wrong to hate ourselves because of our imperfections.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/silence-tells-the-seeker-in-us-to-love-to-love-himself-it-tells-us-it/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Friend, you are a divine mingle-mangle of guts and stardust. So hang in there! If doors opened for me, they can open for anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/friend-you-are-a-divine-mingle-mangle-of-guts-and-stardust-so-hang-in/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) > [A woman is more influenced by what she divines than by what she is told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/a-woman-is-more-influenced-by-what-she-divines-than-by-what-she-is/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) [Browse all 4,543 Divine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The gist is that good and evil are foreordained. What is foreordained comes necessarily to be after a prior act of divine volition...Rather, everything small and large is written and comes to be in a known and expected measure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Blaise Pascal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreordained-what-is-foreordained/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divine" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreordained-what-is-foreordained/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/blaise-pascal-167_divine_the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreo_1956499.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/blaise-pascal-167_divine_the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreo_1956499.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/blaise-pascal-167_divine_the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreo_1956499.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The gist is that good and evil are foreordained. What is foreordained comes necessarily to be after a prior…” — Blaise Pascal", "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": "Blaise Pascal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The gist is that good and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreordained-what-is-foreordained/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-gist-is-that-good-and-evil-are-foreordained-what-is-foreordained/#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 } } ] } ```