--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am sorry the infernal Divinities, who…" description: "\"I am sorry the infernal Divinities, who visit mankind with diseases, and are therefore at perpetual war with Doctors, should have prevented my seeing a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/erasmus-darwin-17186_am-sorry_i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-v_2194893.jpg" --- # I am sorry the infernal Divinities, who visit mankind with… ![“I am sorry the infernal Divinities, who visit mankind with diseases, and are therefore at perpetual war with Doctors, should have prevented my seeing all you great Men at Soho to-day-Lord! what inventions, what wit, what rhetoric, metaphysical, mechanical and pyrotecnical, will be on the wing…” quote by Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/erasmus-darwin-17186_am-sorry_i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-v_2194893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/erasmus-darwin-17186_am-sorry_i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-v_2194893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/erasmus-darwin-17186_am-sorry_i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-v_2194893.jpg) > “I am sorry the infernal Divinities, who visit mankind with diseases, and are therefore at perpetual war with Doctors, should have prevented my seeing all you great Men at Soho to-day-Lord! what inventions, what wit, what rhetoric, metaphysical, mechanical and pyrotecnical, will be on the wing, bandy'd like a shuttlecock from one to another of your troop of philosophers! while poor I, I by myself I, imprizon'd in a post chaise, am joggled, and jostled, and bump'd, and bruised along the King's high road, to make war upon a pox or a fever!” [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author laments that disease and war prevent him from joining great minds, yet he celebrates human ingenuity and the chaotic fight against illness. **In simple terms:** He feels blocked by illness but admires human creativity. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity despite setbacks. Themes science philosophy human struggle creativity Mood frustrated hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - medical research - philosophical debates - travel hardships - public health crises Key Concepts epidemiology mechanics rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance the pursuit of knowledge with compassion? - What role does humor play in confronting disease? A Different Perspective The quote romanticizes conflict, ignoring the suffering it causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [High road](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-road/) [I am sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am-sorry/) [Infernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infernal/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical/) [Perpetual war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual-war/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Rhetoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetoric/) [Soho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soho/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [Battledore and shuttlecock's a wery good game, vhen you an't the shuttlecock and two lawyers the battledores, in which case it gets too exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/battledore-and-shuttlecock-s-a-wery-good-game-vhen-you-an-t-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I suffered a lot of criticism from the press and the fans, but I always kept motivating myself, working. I never dropped the shuttlecock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred/i-suffered-a-lot-of-criticism-from-the-press-and-the-fans-but-i/) [Fred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred/) > [You can't kill America. We're more than a nation. We're a notion. We're an idea. The American Dream. You never heard of the Afghanistani…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durst/you-can-t-kill-america-we-re-more-than-a-nation-we-re-a-notion-we-re/) [Will Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durst/) > [A tender young cork, however, would have had no more chance against a pair of corkscrews, or a tender young tooth against a pair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-tender-young-cork-however-would-have-had-no-more-chance-against-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is advantageous to an author that his book should be attacked as well as praised. Fame is a shuttlecock. If it be struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-advantageous-to-an-author-that-his-book-should-be-attacked-as/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-the-people-still-believe-that-enduring-security-and-lasting-peace/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [This is a racist and imperialist war. The warmongers who stole the White House have hijacked a nation's grief and turned it into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/this-is-a-racist-and-imperialist-war-the-warmongers-who-stole-the/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [War is to man what motherhood is to a woman. From a philosophical and doctrinal viewpoint, I do not believe in perpetual peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/war-is-to-man-what-motherhood-is-to-a-woman-from-a-philosophical-and/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [“Rather than offering an antidote to problems, the military system centered on the all-volunteer force bred and exacerbated them. It underwrote recklessness in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-j-bacevich/rather-than-offering-an-antidote-to-problems-the-military-system/) [Andrew J. Bacevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-j-bacevich/) > [I started writing 'God's War' knowing that I wanted to write about real people on a resource-strapped planet at perpetual war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/i-started-writing-god-s-war-knowing-that-i-wanted-to-write-about-real/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [It was with the last revolution and the coming of INGSOC (Inglish/English Socialism) that the latest High learnt how to keep their position permanently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-with-the-last-revolution-and-the-coming-of-ingsoc-inglish/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The catch-all phrase "the war on terrorism", in all honesty, has no more meaning than if one wants to wage a war against "criminal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-catch-all-phrase-the-war-on-terrorism-in-all-honesty-has-no-more/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“That's Catholicism for you. A perpetual war between repression and excess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/that-s-catholicism-for-you-a-perpetual-war-between-repression-and/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [So basically America, they are the Knights Templars of, and they've taken us into, perpetual war - that's their game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bez/so-basically-america-they-are-the-knights-templars-of-and-they-ve/) [Bez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bez/) > [ ...he \[Muhammad\] declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind...The precept of the Koran is,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/he-muhammad-declared-undistinguishing-and-exterminating-war-as-a-part/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) ## More by Erasmus Darwin > [Till o'er the wreck, emerging from the storm, Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form: Mounts from her funeral pyre on wings of flame, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/till-o-er-the-wreck-emerging-from-the-storm-immortal-nature-lifts-her/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Such is the condition of organic nature! whose first law might be expressed in the words 'Eat or be eaten!' and which would seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/such-is-the-condition-of-organic-nature-whose-first-law-might-be/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [ \[Retirement\] is a dangerous experiment, and generally ends in either drunkenness or hypochrondriacism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/retirement-is-a-dangerous-experiment-and-generally-ends-in-either/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [“The mass starts into a million suns; Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst, And second planets issue from the first. \[The first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-mass-starts-into-a-million-suns-earths-round-each-sun-with-quick/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [The Reproductions of the living Ens From sires to sons, unknown to sex, commence... Unknown to sex the pregnant oyster swells, And coral-insects build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-reproductions-of-the-living-ens-from-sires-to-sons-unknown-to-sex/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [The mass starts into a million suns; Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst, And second planets issue from the first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-mass-starts-into-a-million-suns-earths-round-each-sun-with-quick-2/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [By firm immutable immortal laws Impress'd on Nature by the GREAT FIRST CAUSE, Say, MUSE! how rose from elemental strife Organic forms, and kindled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/by-firm-immutable-immortal-laws-impress-d-on-nature-by-the-great/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [ Opium is the only drug to' be rely'd on-all the boasted nostrums only take up time, and as the disease \[is\] often of short… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/opium-is-the-only-drug-to-be-rely-d-on-all-the-boasted-nostrums-only/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [The great CREATOR of all things has infinitely diversified the works of his hands, but has at the same time stamped a certain similitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-great-creator-of-all-things-has-infinitely-diversified-the-works/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Some philosophers have been of opinion that our immortal part acquires during this life certain habits of action or of sentiment, which become forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/some-philosophers-have-been-of-opinion-that-our-immortal-part/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [In fact the a priori reasoning is so entirely satisfactory to me that if the facts won't fit in, why so much the worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/in-fact-the-a-priori-reasoning-is-so-entirely-satisfactory-to-me-that/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [“It is often hazardous to marry an heiress, as she is not unfrequently the last of a diseased family.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/it-is-often-hazardous-to-marry-an-heiress-as-she-is-not-unfrequently/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [So the horns of the stag are sharp to offend his adversary, but are branched for the purpose of parrying or receiving the thrusts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/so-the-horns-of-the-stag-are-sharp-to-offend-his-adversary-but-are/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [No radiant pearl which crested Fortune wears, No gem that twinkling hangs from Beauty's ears, Not the bright stars which Night's blue arch adorn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/no-radiant-pearl-which-crested-fortune-wears-no-gem-that-twinkling/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [A fool, Mr, Edgeworth, is one who has never made an experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/a-fool-mr-edgeworth-is-one-who-has-never-made-an-experiment/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) [Explore all 38 Erasmus Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) ## More Am sorry quotes > [I am sorry to upset my colleagues by saying we wasted four years in opposition, but if you do get so badly defeated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/i-am-sorry-to-upset-my-colleagues-by-saying-we-wasted-four-years-in/) [Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/) > [I found a special eagerness among the younger, and I am sorry to say, the more intelligent Negroes, to dismiss the spiritual as something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-robeson/i-found-a-special-eagerness-among-the-younger-and-i-am-sorry-to-say/) [Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-robeson/) > [I am sorry I couldn't complete my term as leader. It is necessary for my staff to resign ... to regain the people's trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seiji-maehara/i-am-sorry-i-couldn-t-complete-my-term-as-leader-it-is-necessary-for/) Seiji Maehara > [To you, the people of Flint, I say, as I have before, I am sorry and I will fix it. No citizen of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-snyder/to-you-the-people-of-flint-i-say-as-i-have-before-i-am-sorry-and-i/) [Rick Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-snyder/) > [I am sorry I ran from you. I am still running, running from that knowledge, that eye, that love from which there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-sorry-i-ran-from-you-i-am-still-running-running-from-that/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Cricketers like Jadeja come once in a lifetime, and I am sorry he didn’t play in my time. Could have added a few more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muttiah-muralitharan/cricketers-like-jadeja-come-once-in-a-lifetime-and-i-am-sorry-he-didn/) Muttiah Muralitharan > [Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/science-fiction-writers-i-am-sorry-to-say-really-do-not-know-anything/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [I am sorry to tell you that I am getting very extravagant and spending all my money: and what is worse for you, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-am-sorry-to-tell-you-that-i-am-getting-very-extravagant-and/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [As far as critics, I'm not a hip guy. I was never on drugs. Nobody ever felt sorry for me 'cause I went straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-vinton/as-far-as-critics-i-m-not-a-hip-guy-i-was-never-on-drugs-nobody-ever/) [Bobby Vinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-vinton/) > [I always ask at once, 'Do you drink?' and if she says 'No,' I bow politely and say I am sorry but I fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whistler/i-always-ask-at-once-do-you-drink-and-if-she-says-no-i-bow-politely/) [James Whistler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whistler/) > [I accept that it was a mistake to allow distinctions to be blurred between my professional responsibilities and my personal loyalties to a friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-fox/i-accept-that-it-was-a-mistake-to-allow-distinctions-to-be-blurred/) [Liam Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-fox/) > [I am sorry they began their deliberations by so abominable a precedent as that of tying up the tongues of their members. Nothing can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-sorry-they-began-their-deliberations-by-so-abominable-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am sorry for people who can't write letters. But I suspect also that you and I ... love to write them because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/i-am-sorry-for-people-who-can-t-write-letters-but-i-suspect-also-that/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [I am sorry " I murmured. "I know. I ought not to have threatened to beat you " he returned. He pressed a kiss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-raybourn/i-am-sorry-i-murmured-i-know-i-ought-not-to-have-threatened-to-beat/) [Deanna Raybourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-raybourn/) > [I made a big mistake. It is indefensible and I am sorry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/i-made-a-big-mistake-it-is-indefensible-and-i-am-sorry/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) Browse all 103 Am sorry quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am sorry the infernal Divinities, who visit mankind with diseases, and are therefore at perpetual war with Doctors, should have prevented my seeing all you great Men at Soho to-day-Lord! what inventions, what wit, what rhetoric, metaphysical, mechanical and pyrotecnical, will be on the wing, bandy'd like a shuttlecock from one to another of your troop of philosophers! while poor I, I by myself I, imprizon'd in a post chaise, am joggled, and jostled, and bump'd, and bruised along the King's high road, to make war upon a pox or a fever!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erasmus Darwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-visit-mankind-with-diseases/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Am sorry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-visit-mankind-with-diseases/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/erasmus-darwin-17186_am-sorry_i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-v_2194893.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/erasmus-darwin-17186_am-sorry_i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-v_2194893.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0c/erasmus-darwin-17186_am-sorry_i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-v_2194893.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am sorry the infernal Divinities, who visit mankind with diseases, and are therefore at perpetual war with…” — Erasmus Darwin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erasmus Darwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am sorry the infernal Divinities,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-visit-mankind-with-diseases/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/i-am-sorry-the-infernal-divinities-who-visit-mankind-with-diseases/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```