--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is this earth and sea of which I…" description: "\"“What is this earth and sea of which I have seen so much? Whence is it produced? And what am I and all the other creatures, wild and tame, humane and b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/daniel-defoe-1971_god_what-is-this-earth-and-sea-of-which-i-ha_1495151.jpg" --- # What is this earth and sea of which I have seen so much?… ![“What is this earth and sea of which I have seen so much? Whence is it produced? And what am I and all the other creatures, wild and tame, humane and brutal? Whence are we? Sure we are all made by some secret power, who formed the earth and sea, the air and sky; and who is that? Then it followed…” quote by Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/daniel-defoe-1971_god_what-is-this-earth-and-sea-of-which-i-ha_1495151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/daniel-defoe-1971_god_what-is-this-earth-and-sea-of-which-i-ha_1495151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff2/daniel-defoe-1971_god_what-is-this-earth-and-sea-of-which-i-ha_1495151.jpg) > ““What is this earth and sea of which I have seen so much? Whence is it produced? And what am I and all the other creatures, wild and tame, humane and brutal? Whence are we? Sure we are all made by some secret power, who formed the earth and sea, the air and sky; and who is that? Then it followed most naturally, It is God that has made it all. Well, but then it came on strangely, if God has made all these things, He guides and governs them all, and all things that concern them; for the power that could make all things must certainly have power to guide and direct them. If so, nothing can happen in the great circuit of His works, either without His knowledge or appointment. And if nothing happens without His knowledge, He knows that I am here, and am in this dreadful condition; and if nothing happens without His appointment, He has appointed all this to befall me. Nothing occurred to my thought to contradict any of these conclusions; and therefore it rested upon me with the greater force that it must need be, that God had appointed all this to befall me; that I was brought to this miserable circumstance by His direction, He having the sole power, not of me only, but of every thing that happened in the world. Immediately it followed: Why has God done this to me? What have I done to be thus used?”” [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator wrestles with existential questions, attributing all events to divine will and questioning personal suffering. **In simple terms:** Questioning why bad things happen if God controls everything. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in divine plans. Themes faith suffering existentialism Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - personal crises - spiritual contemplation - philosophical debate Key Concepts theodicy free will Questions to Reflect On - What role does personal responsibility play? - Can suffering exist without divine purpose? A Different Perspective May overlook human agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Oh, of course, naturally, God is impossible. That is the first proof that he exists." Nothing exists as we see it. Nothing we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/oh-of-course-naturally-god-is-impossible-that-is-the-first-proof-that/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“Vitality, understood both somatically and mentally, is itself the medium that contains a gradient between more and less. It therefore contains the vertical component…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/vitality-understood-both-somatically-and-mentally-is-itself-the/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/never-believe-that-the-so-called-random-events-of-life-are-anything/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Prayer is God's appointed means for appropriating the blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/prayer-is-god-s-appointed-means-for-appropriating-the-blessings-that/) [D. A. 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Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“If God is jealous herein, we should be so, afraid of offering any worship to God otherwise than as he has appointed in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/if-god-is-jealous-herein-we-should-be-so-afraid-of-offering-any/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [We want to reach the kingdom of God, but we don't want to travel by way of death. And yet there stands Necessity saying:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine/we-want-to-reach-the-kingdom-of-god-but-we-don-t-want-to-travel-by/) [Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine/) ## More by Daniel Defoe > [“Strah od opasnosti je deset tisuća puta snažniji nego sama opasnost kad se pojavi pred očima.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/strah-od-opasnosti-je-deset-tisu-a-puta-sna-niji-nego-sama-opasnost/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“He told me it was for men of desperate fortunes on one hand, or of aspiring, superior fortune on the other, who when abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/he-told-me-it-was-for-men-of-desperate-fortunes-on-one-hand-or-of/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“From this moment I began to conclude in my mind that it was possible for me to be more happy in this forsaken, solitary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/from-this-moment-i-began-to-conclude-in-my-mind-that-it-was-possible/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wit is the Fruitful Womb where Thoughts conceive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-is-the-fruitful-womb-where-thoughts-conceive/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wherever God erects a house of prayer the Devil always builds a chapel there; And 't will be found, upon examination, the latter has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wherever-god-erects-a-house-of-prayer-the-devil-always-builds-a/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [Wit, like the Belly, if it be not fed, Will starve the Members, and distract the Head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-like-the-belly-if-it-be-not-fed-will-starve-the-members-and/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [“was to prepare more land, for I had now seed enough to sow above an acre of ground. 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He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [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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Whence is it produced? And what am I and all the other creatures, wild and tame, humane and brutal? Whence are we? Sure we are all made by some secret power, who formed the earth and sea, the air and sky; and who is that? Then it followed most naturally, It is God that has made it all. Well, but then it came on strangely, if God has made all these things, He guides and governs them all, and all things that concern them; for the power that could make all things must certainly have power to guide and direct them. If so, nothing can happen in the great circuit of His works, either without His knowledge or appointment. And if nothing happens without His knowledge, He knows that I am here, and am in this dreadful condition; and if nothing happens without His appointment, He has appointed all this to befall me. Nothing occurred to my thought to contradict any of these conclusions; and therefore it rested upon me with the greater force that it must need be, that God had appointed all this to befall me; that I was brought to this miserable circumstance by His direction, He having the sole power, not of me only, but of every thing that happened in the world. Immediately it followed: Why has God done this to me? 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