--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: in adversity they know not where to turn…" description: "\"“in adversity they know not where to turn, but beg and pray for counsel from every passer-by. No plan is then too futile, too absurd, or too fatuous fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/christopher-hitchens-117_nature_in-adversity-they-know-not-where-to-turn_2770281.jpg" --- # in adversity they know not where to turn, but beg and pray… ![“in adversity they know not where to turn, but beg and pray for counsel from every passer-by. No plan is then too futile, too absurd, or too fatuous for their adoption; the most frivolous causes will raise them to hope, or plunge them into despair—if anything happens during their fright which…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/christopher-hitchens-117_nature_in-adversity-they-know-not-where-to-turn_2770281.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/christopher-hitchens-117_nature_in-adversity-they-know-not-where-to-turn_2770281.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/christopher-hitchens-117_nature_in-adversity-they-know-not-where-to-turn_2770281.jpg) > ““in adversity they know not where to turn, but beg and pray for counsel from every passer-by. No plan is then too futile, too absurd, or too fatuous for their adoption; the most frivolous causes will raise them to hope, or plunge them into despair—if anything happens during their fright which reminds them of some past good or ill, they think it portends a happy or unhappy issue, and therefore (though it may have proved abortive a hundred times before) style it a lucky or unlucky omen. Anything that excites their astonishment they believe to be a portent signifying the anger of the gods or of the Supreme Being, and, mistaking superstition for religion, account it impious not to avert the evil with prayer and sacrifice. Signs and wonders of this sort they conjure up perpetually, till one might think Nature as mad as themselves, they interpret her so fantastically.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People in crisis cling to any guidance, even absurd or superstitious, interpreting events as omens that shape hope or despair. **In simple terms:** Crisis drives people to seek meaning in any sign. Key Takeaway Beware of over‑interpreting random events. Themes crisis superstition hope despair Mood critical analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal loss - political upheaval - health emergencies - financial crises Key Concepts cognitive bias meaning making Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish genuine insight from superstition? - What strategies help maintain rationality under stress? A Different Perspective Reliance on superstition can hinder rational decision‑making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Superstition is the only religion of which base souls are capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/superstition-is-the-only-religion-of-which-base-souls-are-capable/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Superstition is the religion of feeble minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/superstition-is-the-religion-of-feeble-minds/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/superstition-is-to-religion-what-astrology-is-to-astronomy-the-mad-2/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/superstition-is-to-religion-what-astrology-is-to-astronomy-the-mad/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“British diplomats and Anglo-American types in Washington have a near-superstitious prohibition on uttering the words 'Special Relationship' to describe relations between Britain and America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/british-diplomats-and-anglo-american-types-in-washington-have-a-near/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“And how easy it is to recognize the revenant shapes that the old unchanging enemies—racism, leader worship, superstition—assume when they reappear amongst us (often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-how-easy-it-is-to-recognize-the-revenant-shapes-that-the-old/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The beauty of science hugely outranks the charms of superstition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-beauty-of-science-hugely-outranks-the-charms-of-superstition/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It was sometimes feebly argued, as the political and military war against this enemy ran into difficulties, that it was 'a war without end.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-sometimes-feebly-argued-as-the-political-and-military-war/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“only while under the dominion of fear do men fall a prey to superstition; that all the portents ever invested with the reverence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/only-while-under-the-dominion-of-fear-do-men-fall-a-prey-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The origin of superstition above given affords us a clear reason for the fact, that it comes to all men naturally, though some refer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-origin-of-superstition-above-given-affords-us-a-clear-reason-for/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/what-is-to-be-will-be-and-no-prayers-of-ours-can-arrest-the-decree/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/scientific-research-is-based-on-the-idea-that-everything-that-takes/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [fear has always been a diminisher of life. Whether bred in the bogs of superstition or clothed in the brocades of dogma and ritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/fear-has-always-been-a-diminisher-of-life-whether-bred-in-the-bogs-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [I think superstition has a lot to do with fear: the less, the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/i-think-superstition-has-a-lot-to-do-with-fear-the-less-the-better/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. 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Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“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/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. 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