--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not surprised that men who put their…" description: "\"I am not surprised that men who put their trust in an atom should fail in their slightest attempts to plumb truth, that with such limited vision they c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_atoms_i-am-not-surprised-that-men-who-put-thei_591824.png" --- # I am not surprised that men who put their trust in an atom… ![“I am not surprised that men who put their trust in an atom should fail in their slightest attempts to plumb truth, that with such limited vision they cannot see beyond the sky and the stars to God Himself; that since they cannot discern the superiority of what is spiritual or the dignity of man's…” quote by Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_atoms_i-am-not-surprised-that-men-who-put-thei_591824.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_atoms_i-am-not-surprised-that-men-who-put-thei_591824.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/jean-de-la-bruyere-575_atoms_i-am-not-surprised-that-men-who-put-thei_591824.png) > “I am not surprised that men who put their trust in an atom should fail in their slightest attempts to plumb truth, that with such limited vision they cannot see beyond the sky and the stars to God Himself; that since they cannot discern the superiority of what is spiritual or the dignity of man's soul, they are even more unaware how hard it is to satisfy, how the whole earth is unworthy of it, how urgently it needs a supremely perfect being, who is God, and how indispensable to it is a religion which will lead it towards God and provide a sure pledge of Him.” [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques reliance on narrow, materialistic reasoning, arguing it blinds people to spiritual truths and the need for divine guidance. **In simple terms:** Relying only on science ignores spirituality and God. Key Takeaway Balance reason with faith. Themes philosophy religion human nature knowledge spirituality Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - academic debate - personal crisis - ethical decision making - seeking meaning Key Concepts Epistemology metaphysics theology Questions to Reflect On - How might you integrate spiritual insight with rational inquiry? - What role does faith play in your understanding of truth? A Different Perspective Science alone cannot fulfill existential longing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Discovering the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovering-the-truth/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Short sighted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-sighted/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“If Earth was such unworthy soil for God's best specimens, why did he perversely plant them there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/if-earth-was-such-unworthy-soil-for-god-s-best-specimens-why-did-he/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“Across that threshold I had been afraid to cross, things suddenly seemed so very simple. 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Ciszek > [“Wisdom is the joining of your heart in unity with God’s to discern His hidden knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-bentorah/wisdom-is-the-joining-of-your-heart-in-unity-with-god-s-to-discern/) [Chaim Bentorah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-bentorah/) > [You are a great, mighty and powerful spiritual being with dignity, direction and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dannion-brinkley/you-are-a-great-mighty-and-powerful-spiritual-being-with-dignity/) [Dannion Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dannion-brinkley/) > [I am not astonished that men who lean, as it were, on an atom, should stumble at the smallest efforts they make for discovering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-am-not-astonished-that-men-who-lean-as-it-were-on-an-atom-should/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [“Equality is to be found only in the spiritual dignity of man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/equality-is-to-be-found-only-in-the-spiritual-dignity-of-man/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Spiritual dignity says that I don't have to compete with anyone; I don't have to do what my friends do. 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Women trust God by waiting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-mcculley/men-trust-god-by-risking-rejection-women-trust-god-by-waiting/) Carolyn McCulley > [“Such things have disappeared perhaps because men do not trust themselves anymore, and when that happens there is nothing left except perhaps to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/such-things-have-disappeared-perhaps-because-men-do-not-trust/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“It is argued that because they believed thoroughly in a just, moral God they could put their faith there and let the smaller securities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/it-is-argued-that-because-they-believed-thoroughly-in-a-just-moral/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I trust men only because I trust God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-trust-men-only-because-i-trust-god/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“If he was not commonplace, it was through nothing remarkable in his mind, which was simply clear and practical, but through some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/if-he-was-not-commonplace-it-was-through-nothing-remarkable-in-his/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [Except for the con men borrowing money they shouldn't get and the widows who have to visit with the handsome young men in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mayer/except-for-the-con-men-borrowing-money-they-shouldn-t-get-and-the/) [Martin Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mayer/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) ## More by Jean de la Bruyere > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. 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If she is thought faithful, she is perfidious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-unfaithful-woman-if-she-is-known-for-such-by-the-person-concerned/) [Jean De La Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Some people pretend they never were in love and never wrote poetry; two weaknesses which they dare not own -- one of the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/some-people-pretend-they-never-were-in-love-and-never-wrote-poetry/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/how-much-wit-good-nature-indulgences-how-many-good-offices-and/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Born merely for the purpose of digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/born-merely-for-the-purpose-of-digestion/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [A man of variable mind is not one man, but several men in one; he multiplies himself as often as he changes his taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-of-variable-mind-is-not-one-man-but-several-men-in-one-he/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [He who knows how to wait for what he desires does not feel very desperate if he fails in obtaining it; and he, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/he-who-knows-how-to-wait-for-what-he-desires-does-not-feel-very/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The court is like a palace built of marble; I mean that it is made up of very hard but very polished people. \[Fr.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-court-is-like-a-palace-built-of-marble-i-mean-that-it-is-made-up/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/grief-that-is-dazed-and-speechless-is-out-of-fashion-the-modern-woman/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Every hour in itself, as it respects us in particular, is the only one we can call our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/every-hour-in-itself-as-it-respects-us-in-particular-is-the-only-one/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [To express truth is to write naturally, forcibly, and delicately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/to-express-truth-is-to-write-naturally-forcibly-and-delicately/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [We perceive wen love begins and wen it declines by our embarrassment when alone together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/we-perceive-wen-love-begins-and-wen-it-declines-by-our-embarrassment/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [I call those men worldly, earthly, or coarse, whose hearts and minds are wholly fixed on this earth, that small part of the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-call-those-men-worldly-earthly-or-coarse-whose-hearts-and-minds-are/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) [Explore all 464 Jean de la Bruyere quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## More Atoms quotes > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) Giulio Natta > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) Wilhelm Korner > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. 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