--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a mystery. A man's at odds to know…" description: "\"“It's a mystery. A man's at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he dont want to. Rightly s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/cormac-mccarthy-181_causes_it-s-a-mystery-a-man-s-at-odds-to-know-h_352935.jpg" --- # It's a mystery. A man's at odds to know his mind cause his… ![“It's a mystery. A man's at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he dont want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there. It aint the heart of a creature that is bound in the way that God has set for it. You can find meanness in the least…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/cormac-mccarthy-181_causes_it-s-a-mystery-a-man-s-at-odds-to-know-h_352935.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/cormac-mccarthy-181_causes_it-s-a-mystery-a-man-s-at-odds-to-know-h_352935.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a61/cormac-mccarthy-181_causes_it-s-a-mystery-a-man-s-at-odds-to-know-h_352935.jpg) > ““It's a mystery. A man's at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he dont want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there. It aint the heart of a creature that is bound in the way that God has set for it. You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything. Make a machine. And a machine to make the machine. And evil that can run itself a thousand years, no need to tend it.”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on humanity’s capacity for both creation and destruction, suggesting that evil can become self‑sustaining, while divine order imposes limits. **In simple terms:** Humans can create tools that become dangerous on their own. Key Takeaway Beware of technology that outpaces moral control. Themes technology evil divine order Mood cautionary thought‑provoking Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - evaluating AI risks - discussing moral limits of tech - considering spiritual perspectives on progress - examining personal responsibility Key Concepts philosophy ethics human nature Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent harmful tech? - Can morality keep pace with innovation? A Different Perspective Technology may be harnessed for good if guided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Meanness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meanness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Odds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odds/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) ## Related quotes > [“when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything. Make a machine. And a machine to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-god-made-man-the-devil-was-at-his-elbow-a-creature-that-can-do/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-can-find-meanness-in-the-least-of-creatures-but-when-god-made-man/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Ive seen the meanness of humans till I dont know why God aint put out the sun and gone away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ive-seen-the-meanness-of-humans-till-i-dont-know-why-god-aint-put-out/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Hard people make hard times. I've seen the meanness of humans till I don't know why god ain't put out the sun and gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/hard-people-make-hard-times-i-ve-seen-the-meanness-of-humans-till-i/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [The white man is a devil. If he is not a devil, let him prove it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-white-man-is-a-devil-if-he-is-not-a-devil-let-him-prove-it/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [No man is a devil in his own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-man-is-a-devil-in-his-own-mind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everywhere in the world we find the laughing man behind the devil mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mattias-konradsson/everywhere-in-the-world-we-find-the-laughing-man-behind-the-devil-mask/) [Mattias Konradsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mattias-konradsson/) > [Human life has not a surer friend, nor oftentimes a greater enemy, than hope. It is the miserable man's god, which in the hardest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/human-life-has-not-a-surer-friend-nor-oftentimes-a-greater-enemy-than/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [“Every man for himself, the devil for all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burton/every-man-for-himself-the-devil-for-all/) [Robert Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burton/) > [I spurn success to the Summit would like. In man and the devil from where I have not seen any difference between](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/i-spurn-success-to-the-summit-would-like-in-man-and-the-devil-from/) Mak\_786 > [One cannot distinguish between human and non-human acts. One cannot point, one cannot say this man here is a man and that man there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/one-cannot-distinguish-between-human-and-non-human-acts-one-cannot/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [History proves that the white man is a devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/history-proves-that-the-white-man-is-a-devil/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I mean, the more a man was in the Devil's power, the less he would be aware of it, on the principle that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-mean-the-more-a-man-was-in-the-devil-s-power-the-less-he-would-be/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Whatever gods there be, there is something godlike in man, as there is also something of the devil in him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/whatever-gods-there-be-there-is-something-godlike-in-man-as-there-is/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [Fear is the tool of a man-made devil. Self-confident faith in one's self is both the man-made weapon which defeats this devil and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/fear-is-the-tool-of-a-man-made-devil-self-confident-faith-in-one-s/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Causes quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. 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Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/) [Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. 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But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) Browse all 9,070 Causes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's a mystery. A man's at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he dont want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there. It aint the heart of a creature that is bound in the way that God has set for it. You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything. 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