--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no water in oxygen, no water in…" description: "\"There is no water in oxygen, no water in hydrogen: it comes bubbling fresh from the imagination of the living God, rushing from under the great white t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/george-macdonald-295_elementals_there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in_978986.png" --- # There is no water in oxygen, no water in hydrogen: it… ![“There is no water in oxygen, no water in hydrogen: it comes bubbling fresh from the imagination of the living God, rushing from under the great white throne of the glacier. The very thought of it makes one gasp with an elemental joy no metaphysician can analyse.” quote by George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/george-macdonald-295_elementals_there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in_978986.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/george-macdonald-295_elementals_there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in_978986.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/george-macdonald-295_elementals_there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in_978986.png) > “There is no water in oxygen, no water in hydrogen: it comes bubbling fresh from the imagination of the living God, rushing from under the great white throne of the glacier. The very thought of it makes one gasp with an elemental joy no metaphysician can analyse.” [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. He poetically describes water as a divine, imaginative force, contrasting it with scientific elements to convey spiritual awe. **In simple terms:** Divine imagination creates wondrous, indescribable beauty. Key Takeaway Seek wonder in the unseen aspects of faith. Themes spirituality imagination nature Mood reverent awe inspired Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - religious contemplation - creative writing - nature appreciation Key Concepts theology poetry metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What does this imagery reveal about faith? - How can imagination deepen spiritual understanding? A Different Perspective Literal science cannot capture spiritual experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elementals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elementals/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Glacier Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glacier-thought-1930248/) [Glaciers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glaciers/) [Hydrogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hydrogen/) [Hydrogen Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hydrogen-comes-1930244/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxygen/) [Rushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rushing/) [Rushing water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rushing-water-161695/) [Thrones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrones/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Water Hydrogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water-hydrogen-1930242/) [Water Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water-oxygen-1930246/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) ## Related quotes > [“There is no water in oxygen, no water in hydrogen: it comes bubbling fresh from the imagination of the living God, rushing from under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in-hydrogen-it-comes-bubbling-2/) [George Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Apart from the obvious advantages of having ice to melt, filter, then drink, you can also break apart the water's hydrogen from its oxygen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/apart-from-the-obvious-advantages-of-having-ice-to-melt-filter-then/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [With sufficient water on the Moon, solar energy can be used to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is, of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/with-sufficient-water-on-the-moon-solar-energy-can-be-used-to-split/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [There's something about rushing water that I can watch for hours and feel as if I need to do nothing more. It's alive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/there-s-something-about-rushing-water-that-i-can-watch-for-hours-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [As tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher. I've seen your passion and I've seen your service. I've seen you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-tough-as-things-have-been-i-am-convinced-you-are-tougher-i-ve-seen/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I was born under the Blue Ridge, and under that side which is blue in the evening light, in a wild land of game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-was-born-under-the-blue-ridge-and-under-that-side-which-is-blue-in/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“it is soothing to listen to the radio static bristle of the rushing water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-barrett/it-is-soothing-to-listen-to-the-radio-static-bristle-of-the-rushing/) [Colin Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-barrett/) > [Quiet friend who has come so far, feel how your breathing makes more space around you. Let this darkness be a bell tower and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/quiet-friend-who-has-come-so-far-feel-how-your-breathing-makes-more/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [What batters you becomes your strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/what-batters-you-becomes-your-strength/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Because as tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher. I've seen your passion and I've seen your service ... I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/because-as-tough-as-things-have-been-i-am-convinced-you-are-tougher-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with His glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/his-voice-was-like-the-roar-of-rushing-waters-and-the-land-was/) [Christy Nockels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-nockels/) > [If the world was an etch-a-sketch, glaciers are the big shake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/if-the-world-was-an-etch-a-sketch-glaciers-are-the-big-shake/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [Long, blue, spiky-edged shadows crept out across the snow-fields, while a rosy glow, at first scarce discernible, gradually deepened and suffused every mountain-top, flushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/long-blue-spiky-edged-shadows-crept-out-across-the-snow-fields-while/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Everybody was going along thinking that it was a day like any other day, and bang, down went the Twin Towers. Changed everything. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/everybody-was-going-along-thinking-that-it-was-a-day-like-any-other/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/where-the-glacier-meets-the-sky-the-land-ceases-to-be-earthly-and-the/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) ## More by George MacDonald > [“No revelation can be other than partial. If for true revelation a man must be told all the truth, then farewell to revelation; yea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/no-revelation-can-be-other-than-partial-if-for-true-revelation-a-man/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [In low theologies, hell is invariably the deepest truth, and the love of God is not so deep as hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/in-low-theologies-hell-is-invariably-the-deepest-truth-and-the-love/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Life and religion are one, or neither is any thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/life-and-religion-are-one-or-neither-is-any-thing/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Ah, what is it we send up thither, where our thoughts are either a dissonance or a sweetness and a grace?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/ah-what-is-it-we-send-up-thither-where-our-thoughts-are-either-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [You must learn to be strong in the dark as well as in the day, else you will always be only half brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/you-must-learn-to-be-strong-in-the-dark-as-well-as-in-the-day-else/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/few-delights-can-equal-the-mere-presence-of-one-whom-we-trust-utterly/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“You have tasted of death now,” said the old man. “Is it good?” “It is good,” said Mossy. “It is better than life.” “No,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/you-have-tasted-of-death-now-said-the-old-man-is-it-good-it-is-good/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [ “I wish I had \[made that song\]. No, I don't That would be to take it from somebody else. But it's mine for all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-wish-i-had-made-that-song-no-i-don-t-that-would-be-to-take-it-from/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Past tears are present strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/past-tears-are-present-strength/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/age-is-not-all-decay-it-is-the-ripening-the-swelling-of-the-fresh/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I want to help you grow as beautiful as God meant you to be when he thought of you first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-want-to-help-you-grow-as-beautiful-as-god-meant-you-to-be-when-he/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Immeasurably imperfect it was, but false the impression could not be, for she saw with the eyes made for seeing, and saw indeed what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/immeasurably-imperfect-it-was-but-false-the-impression-could-not-be/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Those that hope little cannot grow much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/those-that-hope-little-cannot-grow-much/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) [Explore all 720 George MacDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) ## More Elementals quotes > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [Political struggle is the most important thing any of us can do as a citizen in a democracy; and that means the old joining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/political-struggle-is-the-most-important-thing-any-of-us-can-do-as-a/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-energy-of-the-stars-becomes-us-we-become-the-energy-of-the-stars/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [Spaces of liberation are, in a certain way, some kind of social spaces where people can not only get together and think about something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-gibson/spaces-of-liberation-are-in-a-certain-way-some-kind-of-social-spaces/) [Nigel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-gibson/) > [The soul of man is not a thing which comes and goes, is builded and decays like the elemental frame in which it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/the-soul-of-man-is-not-a-thing-which-comes-and-goes-is-builded-and/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [Here is one of the fundamental defects of American fiction--perhaps the one character that sets it off sharply from all other known kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/here-is-one-of-the-fundamental-defects-of-american-fiction-perhaps/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [All such action would cease if those powerful elemental forces were to cease stirring within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/all-such-action-would-cease-if-those-powerful-elemental-forces-were/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Running is special. We've all done it: well, poorly, focused, in fear, being pursued, toward a goal. It's just elemental. Running is like fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-delaney/running-is-special-we-ve-all-done-it-well-poorly-focused-in-fear/) [Rob Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-delaney/) > [Who dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time & Space through images juxtaposed, and trapped the archangel of the soul between 2 visual images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/who-dreamt-and-made-incarnate-gaps-in-time-space-through-images/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [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/) > [There is no lasting happiness outside the prescribed cycle of painful exhaustion and pleasurable regeneration, and whatever throws this cycle out of balance –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-no-lasting-happiness-outside-the-prescribed-cycle-of-painful/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [motherhood is the great mesh in which all human relations are entangled, in which lurk our most elemental assumptions about love and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/motherhood-is-the-great-mesh-in-which-all-human-relations-are/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [However it may be confounded or covered up or counterfeited, this elemental capacity to fight against injustice remains the distinguishing characteristic of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/however-it-may-be-confounded-or-covered-up-or-counterfeited-this/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 149 Elementals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elementals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no water in oxygen, no water in hydrogen: it comes bubbling fresh from the imagination of the living God, rushing from under the great white throne of the glacier. The very thought of it makes one gasp with an elemental joy no metaphysician can analyse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George MacDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in-hydrogen-it-comes-bubbling/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Elementals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in-hydrogen-it-comes-bubbling/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/george-macdonald-295_elementals_there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in_978986.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/george-macdonald-295_elementals_there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in_978986.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/george-macdonald-295_elementals_there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in_978986.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no water in oxygen, no water in hydrogen: it comes bubbling fresh from the imagination of the…” — George MacDonald", "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": "George MacDonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no water in oxygen,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in-hydrogen-it-comes-bubbling/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/there-is-no-water-in-oxygen-no-water-in-hydrogen-it-comes-bubbling/#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 } } ] } ```