--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If it were not for the outside world, we…" description: "\"If it were not for the outside world, we would have no inside world to understand things by. Least of all could we understand God without these million..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/george-macdonald-295_endless_if-it-were-not-for-the-outside-world-we_2573085.png" --- # If it were not for the outside world, we would have no… ![“If it were not for the outside world, we would have no inside world to understand things by. Least of all could we understand God without these millions of sights and sounds and scents and motions, weaving their endless harmonies. They come out of His heart to let us know a little of what is in it.” quote by George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/george-macdonald-295_endless_if-it-were-not-for-the-outside-world-we_2573085.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/george-macdonald-295_endless_if-it-were-not-for-the-outside-world-we_2573085.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2a/george-macdonald-295_endless_if-it-were-not-for-the-outside-world-we_2573085.png) > “If it were not for the outside world, we would have no inside world to understand things by. Least of all could we understand God without these millions of sights and sounds and scents and motions, weaving their endless harmonies. They come out of His heart to let us know a little of what is in it.” [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding the external world provides the sensory basis for grasping internal truths, including the divine. **In simple terms:** Outside experiences shape inner understanding. Key Takeaway Seek diverse experiences to deepen insight. Themes perception spirituality knowledge Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - education - travel - art appreciation - religious study Key Concepts senses divine revelation holistic understanding Questions to Reflect On - How do your senses influence your beliefs? - Can you find divine meaning in everyday moments? A Different Perspective Limited senses can misinterpret inner truths without reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Outside world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-world/) [Sight and sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight-and-sound/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Science is for anyone who wants to explore their world and understand things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/science-is-for-anyone-who-wants-to-explore-their-world-and-understand/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [You don't need the world to understand you. It's fine. Some people will never really understand things they haven't experienced. Some will. Be grateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/you-don-t-need-the-world-to-understand-you-it-s-fine-some-people-will/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/the-more-we-understand-individual-things-the-more-we-understand-god/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [In all relationships, regardless of their nature, there comes that moment when you understand that there are some things you will never understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-all-relationships-regardless-of-their-nature-there-comes-that-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You know things; you understand things. You have a history and a work life unlike anyone else’s. Respect it. Pay attention to it. 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No, I don't That would be to take it from somebody else. 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Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [I'm not a fan of endless mystery in storytelling - I like to know where the mythology's going; I like to get there in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kripke/i-m-not-a-fan-of-endless-mystery-in-storytelling-i-like-to-know-where/) [Eric Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kripke/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [By heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree, and endless in duration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-heaven-we-understand-a-state-of-happiness-infinite-in-degree-and/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [Like the sea itself, the unconscious yields an endless and self-replenishing abundance of creatures, a wealth beyond our fathoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/like-the-sea-itself-the-unconscious-yields-an-endless-and-self/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I'm saying that the domain of poetry includes both oral & written forms, that poetry goes back to a pre-literate situation & would survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-rothenberg/i-m-saying-that-the-domain-of-poetry-includes-both-oral-written-forms/) Jerome Rothenberg > [Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/language-gradually-varies-and-with-it-fade-away-the-writings-of/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [The debt immense of endless gratitude, So burthensome, still paying, still to owe; Forgetful what from him I still receivd, And understood not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-debt-immense-of-endless-gratitude-so-burthensome-still-paying/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. 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