--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you once attribute effects to the…" description: "\"When you once attribute effects to the will of a personal God, you have let in a lot of little gods and evils - then sprites, fairies, dryads, naiads, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/elbert-hubbard-510_atheism_when-you-once-attribute-effects-to-the-w_1103529.png" --- # When you once attribute effects to the will of a personal… ![“When you once attribute effects to the will of a personal God, you have let in a lot of little gods and evils - then sprites, fairies, dryads, naiads, witches, ghosts and goblins, for your imagination is reeling, riotous, drunk, afloat on the flotsam of superstition. What you know then doesn't…” quote by Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/elbert-hubbard-510_atheism_when-you-once-attribute-effects-to-the-w_1103529.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/elbert-hubbard-510_atheism_when-you-once-attribute-effects-to-the-w_1103529.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/elbert-hubbard-510_atheism_when-you-once-attribute-effects-to-the-w_1103529.png) > “When you once attribute effects to the will of a personal God, you have let in a lot of little gods and evils - then sprites, fairies, dryads, naiads, witches, ghosts and goblins, for your imagination is reeling, riotous, drunk, afloat on the flotsam of superstition. What you know then doesn't count. You just believe, and the more your believe the more do you plume yourself that fear and faith are superior to science and seeing.” [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attributing events to a personal deity invites countless minor spirits and superstitions, undermining rational understanding and elevating fear over science. **In simple terms:** Believing in many small gods replaces reason with superstition. Key Takeaway Question rational inquiry over myth. Themes faith superstition reason science imagination fear Mood skeptical reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - debates about religion - critical thinking workshops - science education - personal belief reflection Key Concepts mythology psychology epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does belief in the supernatural affect decision making? - Can fear be replaced by curiosity? A Different Perspective Faith can provide comfort and community that pure rationalism may lack. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Fairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fear and faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-and-faith/) [Flotsam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flotsam/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Goblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goblin/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Just believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-believe/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Personal God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-god/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Superiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiors/) [Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition/) [Superstition Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition-know-2903145/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) [Witch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch/) ## Related quotes > [I love you, and beneath all that logic, calculation, and superstition, I know you love me too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/i-love-you-and-beneath-all-that-logic-calculation-and-superstition-i/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [So strong is the power of superstition that even though we know that we have been reverencing a sham, yet still we hesitate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/so-strong-is-the-power-of-superstition-that-even-though-we-know-that/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [Here then is the truth about the Truth; the Truth is not bridge, sturdy to every step, a marvel of bound planks and supports…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/here-then-is-the-truth-about-the-truth-the-truth-is-not-bridge-sturdy/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [“Biographical history, as taught in our public schools, is still largely a history of boneheads: ridiculous kings and queens, paranoid political leaders, compulsive voyagers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/biographical-history-as-taught-in-our-public-schools-is-still-largely/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [There are tons of things in your home and life that you don't use, need, or even particularly want. 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All the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/do-you-ever-think-if-people-heard-our-conversations-they-d-lock-us-up/) [Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/) > [Hitler appeared, a man with limited intellectual abilities and unfit for any useful work, bursting with envy and bitterness against all whom circumstance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/hitler-appeared-a-man-with-limited-intellectual-abilities-and-unfit/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“How symbolic the smallest things can be, the flotsam and jetsam of lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-blow/how-symbolic-the-smallest-things-can-be-the-flotsam-and-jetsam-of/) [Richard Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-blow/) > [“Remember if you write, write, write, you can never be wrong."---Stephanie Skeem Author of Flotsam”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-skeem/remember-if-you-write-write-write-you-can-never-be-wrong-stephanie/) [Stephanie Skeem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-skeem/) > [I think all writers are always collecting characters as we go along. 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But if I can make you think a thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-i-supply-you-with-a-thought-you-may-remember-it-and-you-may-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/1-2-3-4-5-a-conservative-is-a-man-who-is-too-cowardly-to-fight-and/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-think-and-the-dull-man-is-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Every knock is a boost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/every-knock-is-a-boost/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What boy well raised can compare with your street gamin who has the knowledge and the shrewdness of a grown-up broker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-boy-well-raised-can-compare-with-your-street-gamin-who-has-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Don't make excuses, make good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/don-t-make-excuses-make-good/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What people need and what they want may be very different… Teachers are those who educate the people to appreciate the things they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-people-need-and-what-they-want-may-be-very-different-teachers/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Men who sit back and pride themselves on their culture haven't any to speak of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/men-who-sit-back-and-pride-themselves-on-their-culture-haven-t-any-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) [Explore all 506 Elbert Hubbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. 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