--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... a less than perfect meddling in the…" description: "\"... a less than perfect meddling in the spiritual world can breed monsters for other people.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/iris-murdoch-993_meddling_a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spir_245930.png" --- # ... a less than perfect meddling in the spiritual world… ![“... a less than perfect meddling in the spiritual world can breed monsters for other people.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/iris-murdoch-993_meddling_a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spir_245930.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/iris-murdoch-993_meddling_a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spir_245930.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/iris-murdoch-993_meddling_a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spir_245930.png) > “... a less than perfect meddling in the spiritual world can breed monsters for other people.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Interfering imperfectly in spiritual matters can create unintended harmful consequences for others. **In simple terms:** Bad spiritual meddling can spawn monsters for others. Key Takeaway Beware of careless spiritual influence. Themes responsibility spirituality consequences ethics Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - counseling - religious leadership - personal relationships - community work Key Concepts moral hazard unintended harm Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure your spiritual guidance helps, not harms? - What safeguards can prevent unintended fallout? A Different Perspective Spiritual actions can be misinterpreted despite good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breed Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breed-monsters-2457545/) [Meddling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meddling/) [Meddling Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meddling-spiritual-2457544/) [Monster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monster/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Monsters People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters-people-720907/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Perfect Meddling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-meddling-2457546/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't you see? Those monsters you've been so worried about. Not aliens. People. The monsters have always been people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/don-t-you-see-those-monsters-you-ve-been-so-worried-about-not-aliens/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [ If we say that monsters \[people who do terrible evil\] are beyond forgiving, we give them a power they should never have...they are given… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/if-we-say-that-monsters-people-who-do-terrible-evil-are-beyond/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [I had come to discover that "safe" was an illusion, a pretense that adults wrapped around their children- and sometimes themselves- to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/i-had-come-to-discover-that-safe-was-an-illusion-a-pretense-that/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [Monsters are very real. But they're not just creatures. Monsters are everywhere. They're people. They're nightmares...They are the things that we harbor within ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-robert-cargill/monsters-are-very-real-but-they-re-not-just-creatures-monsters-are/) [C. Robert Cargill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-robert-cargill/) > [Computer-generated monsters - people shoot them all day with videogames, you know, so kids aren't going to be afraid of that. People are getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-slade/computer-generated-monsters-people-shoot-them-all-day-with-videogames/) [David Slade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-slade/) > [But someone like Claude Chabrol tries to make a connection between the society in which we live and the social reasons which make monsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-huppert/but-someone-like-claude-chabrol-tries-to-make-a-connection-between/) [Isabelle Huppert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-huppert/) > [If we continue...to consume the world until there's no more to consume, then there's going to come a day, sure as hell, when our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/if-we-continue-to-consume-the-world-until-there-s-no-more-to-consume/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“no one would ever demand compensation to keep people alive. You make us sound like monsters, as if people wouldn’t help others unless they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sullivan/no-one-would-ever-demand-compensation-to-keep-people-alive-you-make/) [Michael J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sullivan/) > [People who are considered scary or odd or even monsters are so often the people that just need love and someone to care for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-o-hara/people-who-are-considered-scary-or-odd-or-even-monsters-are-so-often/) [Catherine O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-o-hara/) > [O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephrem-the-syrian/o-lord-and-master-of-my-life-take-from-me-the-spirit-of-sloth/) [Ephrem the Syrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephrem-the-syrian/) > [I think my constant fiddling and meddling with the status quo may have been one of my biggest contributions to the later success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/i-think-my-constant-fiddling-and-meddling-with-the-status-quo-may/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Meddling with another man's folly is always thankless work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/meddling-with-another-man-s-folly-is-always-thankless-work/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Mrs. Jennings was a widow, with an ample jointure. She had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/mrs-jennings-was-a-widow-with-an-ample-jointure-she-had-only-two/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Never stand in the way of letting God use people’s actions, in order to solve a greater issue in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/never-stand-in-the-way-of-letting-god-use-people-s-actions-in-order/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [The Gulf States are extraordinarily suspicious of Iran for good reason. They view Iran as meddling in their affairs. They have seen Iran level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-gulf-states-are-extraordinarily-suspicious-of-iran-for-good/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Meddling quotes > [The Gulf States are extraordinarily suspicious of Iran for good reason. They view Iran as meddling in their affairs. They have seen Iran level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-gulf-states-are-extraordinarily-suspicious-of-iran-for-good/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Never stand in the way of letting God use people’s actions, in order to solve a greater issue in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/never-stand-in-the-way-of-letting-god-use-people-s-actions-in-order/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Mrs. Jennings was a widow, with an ample jointure. She had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/mrs-jennings-was-a-widow-with-an-ample-jointure-she-had-only-two/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Meddling with another man's folly is always thankless work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/meddling-with-another-man-s-folly-is-always-thankless-work/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [I think my constant fiddling and meddling with the status quo may have been one of my biggest contributions to the later success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/i-think-my-constant-fiddling-and-meddling-with-the-status-quo-may/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephrem-the-syrian/o-lord-and-master-of-my-life-take-from-me-the-spirit-of-sloth/) [Ephrem the Syrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephrem-the-syrian/) > [A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-man-is-likely-to-mind-his-own-business-when-it-is-worth-minding/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [If Americans want prosperity, we need a grand reawakening to the incontrovertible fact that its source is entrepreneurs unfettered by meddling politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-parker/if-americans-want-prosperity-we-need-a-grand-reawakening-to-the/) [Star Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/star-parker/) > [The people, when they say 'Death to America!' - do you know what they are really saying? What they mean to say relates to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-rouhani/the-people-when-they-say-death-to-america-do-you-know-what-they-are/) [Hassan Rouhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-rouhani/) > [“Meddling is what we do. It’s what defines us. Meddling gave us fire and tools and civilisation and the keys to the universe. Fingers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/meddling-is-what-we-do-it-s-what-defines-us-meddling-gave-us-fire-and/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [All countries in my part of the world, we want democracy to prevail. I told the people, 'If you want American policies to stop,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-rouhani/all-countries-in-my-part-of-the-world-we-want-democracy-to-prevail-i/) [Hassan Rouhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-rouhani/) > [A noiseless course, not meddling with the affairs of others, unattractive of notice, is a mark that society is going on in happiness. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-noiseless-course-not-meddling-with-the-affairs-of-others/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-problems-are-both-acute-and-chronic-yet-all-we-hear-from-those-in/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [ Crack-brained meddling by the authorities \[can\] aggravate an existing crisis. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/crack-brained-meddling-by-the-authorities-can-aggravate-an-existing/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [A Progressive is one who is in favor of more taxes instead of less, more bureaus and jobholders, more paternalism and meddling, more regulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-progressive-is-one-who-is-in-favor-of-more-taxes-instead-of-less/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) [Browse all 100 Meddling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meddling/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... a less than perfect meddling in the spiritual world can breed monsters for other people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spiritual-world-can-breed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Meddling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spiritual-world-can-breed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/iris-murdoch-993_meddling_a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spir_245930.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/iris-murdoch-993_meddling_a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spir_245930.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/iris-murdoch-993_meddling_a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spir_245930.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... a less than perfect meddling in the spiritual world can breed monsters for other people.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "... a less than perfect meddling...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spiritual-world-can-breed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/a-less-than-perfect-meddling-in-the-spiritual-world-can-breed/#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 } } ] } ```