--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When once to a man the human face is the…" description: "\"“When once to a man the human face is the human face divine, and the hand of his neighbour is the hand of a brother, then will he understand what St Pa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/george-macdonald-295_brethren_when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the_1267136.jpg" --- # When once to a man the human face is the human face… ![“When once to a man the human face is the human face divine, and the hand of his neighbour is the hand of a brother, then will he understand what St Paul meant when he said, "I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren." But he will no longer understand those who, so far from…” quote by George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/george-macdonald-295_brethren_when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the_1267136.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/george-macdonald-295_brethren_when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the_1267136.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/george-macdonald-295_brethren_when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the_1267136.jpg) > ““When once to a man the human face is the human face divine, and the hand of his neighbour is the hand of a brother, then will he understand what St Paul meant when he said, "I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren." But he will no longer understand those who, so far from feeling the love of their neighbour an essential of their being, expect to be set free from its law in the world to come. There, at least, for the glory of God, they may limit its expansive tendencies to the narrow circle of their heaven. On its battlements of safety, they will regard hell from afar, and say to each other, "Hark! Listen to their moans. But do not weep, for they are our neighbours no more." St Paul would be wretched before the throne of God, if he thought there was one man beyond the pale of his mercy, and that as much for God's glory as for the man's sake. And what shall we say of the man Christ Jesus? Who, that loves his brother, would not, upheld by the love of Christ, and with a dim hope that in the far-off time there might be some help for him, arise from the company of the blessed, and walk down into the dismal regions of despair, to sit with the last, the only unredeemed, the Judas of his race, and be himself more blessed in the pains of hell, than in the glories of heaven? Who, in the midst of the golden harps and the white wings, knowing that one of his kind, one miserable brother in the old-world-time when men were taught to love their neighbour as themselves, was howling unheeded far below in the vaults of the creation, who, I say, would not feel that he must arise, that he had no choice, that, awful as it was, he must gird his loins, and go down into the smoke and the darkness and the fire, travelling the weary and fearful road into the far country to find his brother?—who, I mean, that had the mind of Christ, that had the love of the Father?”” [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. The passage urges universal compassion, urging us to see every person as a brother and to share Christ's love even with those condemned. **In simple terms:** Love all people as brothers, even the condemned. Key Takeaway Extend love without limits. Themes compassion faith universal love mercy humanity Mood reflective serious Type ethical theological When to use this quote - counseling - missionary work - interfaith dialogue - social justice - personal reflection Key Concepts Christian theology altruism redemption Questions to Reflect On - How can we practice love for those we deem unworthy? - What barriers prevent us from seeing all as brothers? A Different Perspective Human bias often limits empathy to familiar circles, reducing outreach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christ love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christ-love/) [Glory of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory-of-god/) [God's Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods-glory/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love of christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-of-christ/) ## Related quotes > [“What do you think Paul meant when he told Timothy to set an example in life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-kreider/what-do-you-think-paul-meant-when-he-told-timothy-to-set-an-example/) [Heidi Kreider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-kreider/) > [Christ prays in me, Christ works in me, Christ thinks in me, Christ looks through my eyes, Christ speaks through my words, Christ works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/christ-prays-in-me-christ-works-in-me-christ-thinks-in-me-christ/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [As Christ is the blossom of humanity, so the blossom of every man is Christ perfected in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/as-christ-is-the-blossom-of-humanity-so-the-blossom-of-every-man-is/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“The claim that hung over him haunted his very life, turning the currents of his thought into channels of speculation unknown before. One day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-claim-that-hung-over-him-haunted-his-very-life-turning-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Suppose you didn't know him, would that make any difference?' 'No,' said Willie, after thinking a little. 'Other people would know him if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/suppose-you-didn-t-know-him-would-that-make-any-difference-no-said/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-would-rather-be-what-god-chose-to-make-me-than-the-most-glorious/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Once more I say, the word used by St Paul does not imply that God adopts children that are not his own, but rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/once-more-i-say-the-word-used-by-st-paul-does-not-imply-that-god/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Music is a sacred, a divine, a God-like thing, and was given to man by Christ to lift our hearts up to God, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/music-is-a-sacred-a-divine-a-god-like-thing-and-was-given-to-man-by/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [It is a wonderful fact that men and women saved by the blood of Jesus rarely remain subjects of charity, but rise at once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/it-is-a-wonderful-fact-that-men-and-women-saved-by-the-blood-of-jesus/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [“The real difference in the believer who follows Christ and has mortified his will and died after the old man in Christ, is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-real-difference-in-the-believer-who-follows-christ-and-has/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“Second, a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. Among men there is strife. ‘He is our peace’, says Paul of Jesus Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/second-a-christian-comes-to-others-only-through-jesus-christ-among/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“Why, man! Christ is so hid in God from the natural apprehensions of the flesh, that he cannot by any man be savingly known,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/why-man-christ-is-so-hid-in-god-from-the-natural-apprehensions-of-the/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [“It is possible for Christ to be born in men’s lives, and when such an experience actually happens, a man is ‘in Christ’ —Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-w-hunter/it-is-possible-for-christ-to-be-born-in-men-s-lives-and-when-such-an/) [Howard W. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-hunter/) > [Religion would save a man; Christ would make him worth saving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/religion-would-save-a-man-christ-would-make-him-worth-saving/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [There is a God-shaped vacuum in every man that only Christ can fill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/there-is-a-god-shaped-vacuum-in-every-man-that-only-christ-can-fill/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## 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 Brethren quotes > [Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that "knowing this" in our spirit we may truly confess "that our old man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/therefore-brethren-pray-until-god-gives-us-revelation-so-that-knowing/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“That which they have need of . . . let it be given them day by day without fail. Ezra 6:9 If we really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/that-which-they-have-need-of-let-it-be-given-them-day-by-day-without/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poemen/god-has-given-this-way-of-life-to-israel-to-abstain-from-everything/) [Poemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poemen/) > [Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/rebuke-not-an-elder-but-entreat-him-as-a-father-and-the-younger-men/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Through these offices it was my privilege to get to know almost every Jewish person, and those whom I did not come to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/through-these-offices-it-was-my-privilege-to-get-to-know-almost-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But since the Modernists (as they are commonly and rightly called) employ a very clever artifice, namely, to present their doctrines without order and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/but-since-the-modernists-as-they-are-commonly-and-rightly-called/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [The event of the landing of these brethren upon our shores is to be, not without its beneficial effect, as well to the colored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-tappan/the-event-of-the-landing-of-these-brethren-upon-our-shores-is-to-be/) [Lewis Tappan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-tappan/) > [No adversity is in kind or degree peculiar to us; but if we survey the conditions of other men (of our brethren everywhere, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-barrow/no-adversity-is-in-kind-or-degree-peculiar-to-us-but-if-we-survey-the/) [Isaac Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-barrow/) > [Dan Brister's book bears witness to the last fifteen years of this bureaucratic madness to tame the last vestige of wild America and domesticate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-peacock/dan-brister-s-book-bears-witness-to-the-last-fifteen-years-of-this/) [Doug Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-peacock/) > [The closing period of the fifteenth century witnessed the slow but sure increase of the churches of the Brethren. Although far from being unmolested,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-hall-gillett/the-closing-period-of-the-fifteenth-century-witnessed-the-slow-but/) Ezra Hall Gillett > [Our Southern brethren have done grievously, they have rebelled and have attacked their father's house and their loyal brothers. They must be punished and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anderson/our-southern-brethren-have-done-grievously-they-have-rebelled-and/) [Robert Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anderson/) > [I want my sex to claim nothing from their brethren but what their brethren may justly claim from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moore-grimke/i-want-my-sex-to-claim-nothing-from-their-brethren-but-what-their/) [Sarah Moore Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moore-grimke/) > [There is a great need to rally the women of the Church to stand with and for the Brethren in stemming the tide of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-w-hunter/there-is-a-great-need-to-rally-the-women-of-the-church-to-stand-with/) [Howard W. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-hunter/) > [...it is proper that the duty of helping the poor and unfortunate should especially stir Catholics, since they are members of the Mystical Body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-xxii/it-is-proper-that-the-duty-of-helping-the-poor-and-unfortunate-should/) [Pope John XXII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-xxii/) Browse all 298 Brethren quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When once to a man the human face is the human face divine, and the hand of his neighbour is the hand of a brother, then will he understand what St Paul meant when he said, \"I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren.\" But he will no longer understand those who, so far from feeling the love of their neighbour an essential of their being, expect to be set free from its law in the world to come. There, at least, for the glory of God, they may limit its expansive tendencies to the narrow circle of their heaven. On its battlements of safety, they will regard hell from afar, and say to each other, \"Hark! Listen to their moans. But do not weep, for they are our neighbours no more.\" St Paul would be wretched before the throne of God, if he thought there was one man beyond the pale of his mercy, and that as much for God's glory as for the man's sake. And what shall we say of the man Christ Jesus? Who, that loves his brother, would not, upheld by the love of Christ, and with a dim hope that in the far-off time there might be some help for him, arise from the company of the blessed, and walk down into the dismal regions of despair, to sit with the last, the only unredeemed, the Judas of his race, and be himself more blessed in the pains of hell, than in the glories of heaven? Who, in the midst of the golden harps and the white wings, knowing that one of his kind, one miserable brother in the old-world-time when men were taught to love their neighbour as themselves, was howling unheeded far below in the vaults of the creation, who, I say, would not feel that he must arise, that he had no choice, that, awful as it was, he must gird his loins, and go down into the smoke and the darkness and the fire, travelling the weary and fearful road into the far country to find his brother?—who, I mean, that had the mind of Christ, that had the love of the Father?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George MacDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the-human-face-divine-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brethren" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the-human-face-divine-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/george-macdonald-295_brethren_when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the_1267136.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/george-macdonald-295_brethren_when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the_1267136.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/george-macdonald-295_brethren_when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the_1267136.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When once to a man the human face is the human face divine, and the hand of his neighbour is the hand of a…” — 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": "“When once to a man the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the-human-face-divine-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/when-once-to-a-man-the-human-face-is-the-human-face-divine-and-the/#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 } } ] } ```