--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who prohibited the making of a graven…" description: "\"He who prohibited the making of a graven image would never himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things [i.e., by creating an image of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/clement-of-alexandria-12861_composites_he-who-prohibited-the-making-of-a-graven_1254264.jpg" --- # He who prohibited the making of a graven image would never… ![“He who prohibited the making of a graven image would never himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things [i.e., by creating an image of them here on earth]. Nor is there at all any composite thing or creature endowed with sensation [made by God here on earth] like those in heaven. But…” quote by Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/clement-of-alexandria-12861_composites_he-who-prohibited-the-making-of-a-graven_1254264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/clement-of-alexandria-12861_composites_he-who-prohibited-the-making-of-a-graven_1254264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f0/clement-of-alexandria-12861_composites_he-who-prohibited-the-making-of-a-graven_1254264.jpg) > “He who prohibited the making of a graven image would never himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things \[i.e., by creating an image of them here on earth\]. Nor is there at all any composite thing or creature endowed with sensation \[made by God here on earth\] like those in heaven. But the face is a symbol of the rational soul, the wings are the lofty ministers and energies of powers right and left, and the voice is delightful glory in endless contemplation.” [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) ## 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 argues that divine prohibition against creating images stems from the belief that earthly creations cannot match heavenly beings, and that symbolic representations reflect deeper spiritual truths. **In simple terms:** Divine images are prohibited because they can't equal heavenly reality; symbols hint at deeper truths. Key Takeaway Recognize symbols as reflections of higher ideas, not literal depictions. Themes theity symbolism theology Mood contemplative serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - religious art - educational curricula - personal meditation - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts Iconoclasm metaphor spiritual hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How do symbols convey meaning without literal representation? - Can art honor the divine without violating prohibitions? A Different Perspective The prohibition may limit artistic expression and cultural heritage preservation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Delightful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delightful/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Lofty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lofty/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [We created god in our own image and likeness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/we-created-god-in-our-own-image-and-likeness/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“O masses, o masses! When will you assume the image and likeness of your avant-garde?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-platonov/o-masses-o-masses-when-will-you-assume-the-image-and-likeness-of-your/) [Andrei Platonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-platonov/) > [“Walking up a road at night, I have seen a lamp and a lighted window and a cloud make together a most complete and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/walking-up-a-road-at-night-i-have-seen-a-lamp-and-a-lighted-window/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And I wondered how it would feel to be in Heaven and not have my face matter anymore. Just like how it never, ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-palacio/and-i-wondered-how-it-would-feel-to-be-in-heaven-and-not-have-my-face/) [R.J. Palacio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-palacio/) > [Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-crosby/because-when-i-get-to-heaven-the-first-face-that-shall-ever-gladden/) [Fanny Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-crosby/) > [The rule of life for a perfect person is to be in the image and likeness of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/the-rule-of-life-for-a-perfect-person-is-to-be-in-the-image-and/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [I also, since we have digital cameras, the blue screen composites are so good that I would rather shoot on a stage than there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-emmerich/i-also-since-we-have-digital-cameras-the-blue-screen-composites-are/) [Roland Emmerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-emmerich/) > [All composite things decay. Strive diligently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/all-composite-things-decay-strive-diligently/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [All my work keeps going like a pendulum; it seems to swing back to something I was involved with earlier, or it moves between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/all-my-work-keeps-going-like-a-pendulum-it-seems-to-swing-back-to/) [Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/) > [ There's very little in the substance of \[THE LADY IN THE VAN\] which is not fact though some adjustments have had to be made.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-s-very-little-in-the-substance-of-the-lady-in-the-van-which-is/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The landscape of my days appears to be composed, like mountainous regions, of varied materials heaped up pell-mell. There I see my nature, itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/the-landscape-of-my-days-appears-to-be-composed-like-mountainous/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) > [Because the character is a fiction, he's a composite of other contributors to the science that brought this enzyme therapy through the process. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/because-the-character-is-a-fiction-he-s-a-composite-of-other/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [It is not our heads or our bodies which we must bring together, but our hearts. . . . Humanity. . . is building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/it-is-not-our-heads-or-our-bodies-which-we-must-bring-together-but/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [there is a spirit in every home, a sort of composite spirit composed of the thoughts and feelings of the members of the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/there-is-a-spirit-in-every-home-a-sort-of-composite-spirit-composed/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [Historical investigation and literary criticism have taken the magic out of the Bible and have made it a composite human book, written by many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/historical-investigation-and-literary-criticism-have-taken-the-magic/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) ## More by Clement of Alexandria > [It is not your outward appearance that you should beautify, but your soul, adorning it with good works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/it-is-not-your-outward-appearance-that-you-should-beautify-but-your/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [But those who are ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits, will not desist from the search after truth, till they get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/but-those-who-are-ready-to-toil-in-the-most-excellent-pursuits-will/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [We say that knowledge is not mere talk, but a certain divine knowledge, that light which is kindled in the soul as a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/we-say-that-knowledge-is-not-mere-talk-but-a-certain-divine-knowledge/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [All our life is like a day of celebration for us; we are convinced, in fact, that God is always everywhere. We work while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/all-our-life-is-like-a-day-of-celebration-for-us-we-are-convinced-in/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [When you see your brother, you see God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/when-you-see-your-brother-you-see-god/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [“Now Aristotle says that the judgment which follows knowledge is in truth faith. Accordingly, faith is something superior to knowledge, and is its criterion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/now-aristotle-says-that-the-judgment-which-follows-knowledge-is-in/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she is a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/every-woman-should-be-filled-with-shame-by-the-thought-that-she-is-a/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [His Son Jesus, the Word of God, is our Instructor… He is God and Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/his-son-jesus-the-word-of-god-is-our-instructor-he-is-god-and-creator/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [If you enroll as one of God's people, then heaven is your country and God your lawgiver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/if-you-enroll-as-one-of-god-s-people-then-heaven-is-your-country-and/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [It is absolutely impossible at the same time to be a man of understanding and not to be ashamed to gratify the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/it-is-absolutely-impossible-at-the-same-time-to-be-a-man-of/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [GOD became man so that we in our turn may become God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/god-became-man-so-that-we-in-our-turn-may-become-god/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [The Word of God became man, that thou mayest learn from man how man may become God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/the-word-of-god-became-man-that-thou-mayest-learn-from-man-how-man/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > ['Eat my flesh,' Jesus says, 'and drink my blood.' The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients, he delivers over his flesh and pours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/eat-my-flesh-jesus-says-and-drink-my-blood-the-lord-supplies-us-with/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she isa woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/every-woman-should-be-filled-with-shame-by-the-thought-that-she-isa/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [Our whole life can go on in observation of the laws of nature, if we gain dominion over our desires from the beginning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/our-whole-life-can-go-on-in-observation-of-the-laws-of-nature-if-we/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) [Explore all 51 Clement of Alexandria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) ## More Composites quotes > [Historical investigation and literary criticism have taken the magic out of the Bible and have made it a composite human book, written by many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/historical-investigation-and-literary-criticism-have-taken-the-magic/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [there is a spirit in every home, a sort of composite spirit composed of the thoughts and feelings of the members of the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/there-is-a-spirit-in-every-home-a-sort-of-composite-spirit-composed/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [It is not our heads or our bodies which we must bring together, but our hearts. . . . Humanity. . . is building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/it-is-not-our-heads-or-our-bodies-which-we-must-bring-together-but/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Because the character is a fiction, he's a composite of other contributors to the science that brought this enzyme therapy through the process. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/because-the-character-is-a-fiction-he-s-a-composite-of-other/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [The landscape of my days appears to be composed, like mountainous regions, of varied materials heaped up pell-mell. There I see my nature, itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/the-landscape-of-my-days-appears-to-be-composed-like-mountainous/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) > [ There's very little in the substance of \[THE LADY IN THE VAN\] which is not fact though some adjustments have had to be made.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-s-very-little-in-the-substance-of-the-lady-in-the-van-which-is/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [All my work keeps going like a pendulum; it seems to swing back to something I was involved with earlier, or it moves between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/all-my-work-keeps-going-like-a-pendulum-it-seems-to-swing-back-to/) [Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/) > [All composite things decay. Strive diligently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/all-composite-things-decay-strive-diligently/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I also, since we have digital cameras, the blue screen composites are so good that I would rather shoot on a stage than there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-emmerich/i-also-since-we-have-digital-cameras-the-blue-screen-composites-are/) [Roland Emmerich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-emmerich/) > [The man and the woman are not really two separate entities, but the personality of the man needs the supporting qualities of the woman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-man-and-the-woman-are-not-really-two-separate-entities-but-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Understand that you, yourself, are no more than the composite picture of all your thoughts and actions. In your relationships with others, remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/understand-that-you-yourself-are-no-more-than-the-composite-picture/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Architects, painters, and sculptors must recognize anew and learn to grasp the composite character of a building both as an entity and in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/architects-painters-and-sculptors-must-recognize-anew-and-learn-to/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [For it is necessary in every practical science to proceed in a composite (i.e. deductive) manner. On the contrary in speculative science, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/for-it-is-necessary-in-every-practical-science-to-proceed-in-a/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Cinema is a composite art into which you can include all conceivable art or entertainment forms. In film, I can work with novelistic elements,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeshi-kitano/cinema-is-a-composite-art-into-which-you-can-include-all-conceivable/) [Takeshi Kitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeshi-kitano/) > [By natural means, as the Lord always operates for the accomplishment of his purposes, means so simple that the thoughtless and unbelieving do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/by-natural-means-as-the-lord-always-operates-for-the-accomplishment/) Anthony W. Ivins Browse all 64 Composites quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who prohibited the making of a graven image would never himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things [i.e., by creating an image of them here on earth]. Nor is there at all any composite thing or creature endowed with sensation [made by God here on earth] like those in heaven. 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