---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thou hast spread Thy arms to embrace far…"
description: "\"“Thou hast spread Thy arms to embrace far too many, Flinging Thy hands out till they reach the ends of the crossbeam.”\" — Boris Pasternak"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/146/boris-pasternak-1944_thy-hands_thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far_514599.jpg"
---

#  Thou hast spread Thy arms to embrace far too many…

![“Thou hast spread Thy arms to embrace far too many, Flinging Thy hands out till they reach the ends of the crossbeam.” quote by Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/146/boris-pasternak-1944_thy-hands_thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far_514599.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/146/boris-pasternak-1944_thy-hands_thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far_514599.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/146/boris-pasternak-1944_thy-hands_thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far_514599.jpg)

> ““Thou hast spread Thy arms to embrace far too many, Flinging Thy hands out till they reach the ends of the crossbeam.””

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker criticizes divine overextension, suggesting that spreading oneself too thin dilutes purpose and power.

**In simple terms:** Too much reach weakens impact.

Key Takeaway

Focus on essential responsibilities.

Themes

responsibility spirituality balance

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- leadership
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

theology overextension

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you prioritize your commitments?
- What does “embracing too many” look like in your life?

A Different Perspective

Broad reach can cause loss of depth and effectiveness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [Take thou thy arms and come with me, For we must quit ourselves like men, and strive To air our cause, although we be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/take-thou-thy-arms-and-come-with-me-for-we-must-quit-ourselves-like/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [Gold thou mayst safely touch; but if it stick Unto thy hands, it woundeth to the quick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/gold-thou-mayst-safely-touch-but-if-it-stick-unto-thy-hands-it/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

> [Into thy hands, O Lord. Into thy hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-irving/into-thy-hands-o-lord-into-thy-hands/)

Henry Irving

> [Oh Lord, my God, when I see your awesome wonder and I Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/oh-lord-my-god-when-i-see-your-awesome-wonder-and-i-consider-all-the/)

[Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/)

> [Son, if a maiden love thee, thou shalt appear handsome in her sight; she shall praise thine eyes, and the corners of thy mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/son-if-a-maiden-love-thee-thou-shalt-appear-handsome-in-her-sight-she/)

[Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/)

> [At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/at-the-immortal-touch-of-thy-hands-my-little-heart-loses-its-limits/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-morgan/o-lord-my-god-when-i-in-awesome-wonder-consider-all-the-worlds-thy/)

[Robert J. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-morgan/)

> [Love not too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart; and remember that the true hope of the Noldor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-not-too-well-the-work-of-thy-hands-and-the-devices-of-thy-heart/)

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

> [Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-jane-grey/lord-into-thy-hands-i-commend-my-spirit/)

[Lady Jane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-jane-grey/)

> [Whether I flie with angels, fallwith dust, Thy hands made both, and I am there: Thy power and love, my love and trust Make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whether-i-flie-with-angels-fallwith-dust-thy-hands-made-both-and-i-am/)

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

> [“She entered the hall at the same time he did from the opposite side. With a cry that told her exactly how worried she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-mccarty/she-entered-the-hall-at-the-same-time-he-did-from-the-opposite-side/)

[Monica McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-mccarty/)

> [“I wanted to believe that everyone would throw down their arms and embrace one another, drop the trappings of war and coercion and return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weitz/i-wanted-to-believe-that-everyone-would-throw-down-their-arms-and/)

[Chris Weitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weitz/)

> [In private places, among sordid objects, an act of truth or heroism seems at once to draw to itself the sky as its temple,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-private-places-among-sordid-objects-an-act-of-truth-or-heroism/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [“o here will i set of my everlasting rest and shake the yoke of innauspicious stars from this world wearied flesh eyes look your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-here-will-i-set-of-my-everlasting-rest-and-shake-the-yoke-of/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“O,come,be buried A second time within these arms (They embrace)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-come-be-buried-a-second-time-within-these-arms-they-embrace/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## More by Boris Pasternak

> [“Happy are the downtrodden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/happy-are-the-downtrodden/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [“The saddest thing of all was that their party represented a deviation from the conditions of the time. It was impossible to imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/the-saddest-thing-of-all-was-that-their-party-represented-a-deviation/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [No deep and strong feeling, such as we may come across here and there in the world, is unmixed with compassion. The more we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/no-deep-and-strong-feeling-such-as-we-may-come-across-here-and-there/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [She was here on earth to make sense of its wild enchantments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/she-was-here-on-earth-to-make-sense-of-its-wild-enchantments/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [Art has two constant, two unending concerns: It always meditates on death and thus always creates life. All great, genuine art resembles and continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/art-has-two-constant-two-unending-concerns-it-always-meditates-on/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats of any kind, whether of jail or retribution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-think-that-if-the-beast-who-sleeps-in-man-could-be-held-down-by/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [And so it turned out that only a life similar to the life of those around us, merging with it without a ripple, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/and-so-it-turned-out-that-only-a-life-similar-to-the-life-of-those/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-come-here-to-speak-poetry-it-will-always-be-in-the-grass-it-will/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [“I'll stay with you a little, my unforgettable delight, for as long as my arms and my hands and my lips remember you. I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-ll-stay-with-you-a-little-my-unforgettable-delight-for-as-long-as/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [If it's so painful to love and absorb electricity, how much more painful it is to be a woman, to be the electricity, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/if-it-s-so-painful-to-love-and-absorb-electricity-how-much-more/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [I don't like purely philosophical works. I think a little philosophy should be added to life and art by way of seasoning, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-don-t-like-purely-philosophical-works-i-think-a-little-philosophy/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [“But sometimes, to enable her to bear her life, she needed the accompaniment of an inward music and she could not always compose it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/but-sometimes-to-enable-her-to-bear-her-life-she-needed-the/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [“We’ve been lucky. The autumn happened to be dry and warm. We managed to dig the potatoes before the rain and cold set in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/we-ve-been-lucky-the-autumn-happened-to-be-dry-and-warm-we-managed-to/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [Departure beyond the borders of my country is for me equivalent to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/departure-beyond-the-borders-of-my-country-is-for-me-equivalent-to/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [“As he scribbled his odds and ends, he made a note reaffirming his belief that art always serves beauty, and beauty is delight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/as-he-scribbled-his-odds-and-ends-he-made-a-note-reaffirming-his/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

[Explore all 189 Boris Pasternak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

## More Thy Hands quotes

> [Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-jane-grey/lord-into-thy-hands-i-commend-my-spirit/)

[Lady Jane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-jane-grey/)

> [Love not too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart; and remember that the true hope of the Noldor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-not-too-well-the-work-of-thy-hands-and-the-devices-of-thy-heart/)

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

> [“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-morgan/o-lord-my-god-when-i-in-awesome-wonder-consider-all-the-worlds-thy/)

[Robert J. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-morgan/)

> [Son, if a maiden love thee, thou shalt appear handsome in her sight; she shall praise thine eyes, and the corners of thy mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/son-if-a-maiden-love-thee-thou-shalt-appear-handsome-in-her-sight-she/)

[Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/)

> [Into thy hands, O Lord. Into thy hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-irving/into-thy-hands-o-lord-into-thy-hands/)

Henry Irving

> [Whether I flie with angels, fallwith dust, Thy hands made both, and I am there: Thy power and love, my love and trust Make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whether-i-flie-with-angels-fallwith-dust-thy-hands-made-both-and-i-am/)

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

> [Oh Lord, my God, when I see your awesome wonder and I Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/oh-lord-my-god-when-i-see-your-awesome-wonder-and-i-consider-all-the/)

[Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/)

> [At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/at-the-immortal-touch-of-thy-hands-my-little-heart-loses-its-limits/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [Gold thou mayst safely touch; but if it stick Unto thy hands, it woundeth to the quick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/gold-thou-mayst-safely-touch-but-if-it-stick-unto-thy-hands-it/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

Browse all 10 Thy Hands quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Thou hast spread Thy arms to embrace far too many, Flinging Thy hands out till they reach the ends of the crossbeam.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Boris Pasternak"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far-too-many-flinging-thy-hands/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Thy Hands"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far-too-many-flinging-thy-hands/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/146/boris-pasternak-1944_thy-hands_thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far_514599.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/146/boris-pasternak-1944_thy-hands_thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far_514599.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/146/boris-pasternak-1944_thy-hands_thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far_514599.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Thou hast spread Thy arms to embrace far too many, Flinging Thy hands out till they reach the ends of the…” — Boris Pasternak",
                "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": "Boris Pasternak",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Thou hast spread Thy arms to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far-too-many-flinging-thy-hands/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/thou-hast-spread-thy-arms-to-embrace-far-too-many-flinging-thy-hands/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
