--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we attempt to sink the soul in matter…" description: "\"If we attempt to sink the soul in matter, its light is quenched.\" — John Lancaster Spalding" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_ifs_if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter_725177.png" --- # If we attempt to sink the soul in matter, its light is… ![“If we attempt to sink the soul in matter, its light is quenched.” quote by John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_ifs_if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter_725177.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_ifs_if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter_725177.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_ifs_if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter_725177.png) > “If we attempt to sink the soul in matter, its light is quenched.” [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing solely on material things dims spiritual vitality. **In simple terms:** Matter can dim the soul’s light. Key Takeaway Balance material pursuits with spiritual growth. Themes spirituality materialism balance Mood reflective calm Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - financial planning - personal development - healthcare Key Concepts metaphysics human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep your spirit alive amid material goals? - What practices nurture inner light? A Different Perspective Material success can also support spiritual well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Quenched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quenched/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [Those whose own light is quenched are often the light-bringers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/those-whose-own-light-is-quenched-are-often-the-light-bringers/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [“If you stand firm, no matter where or for what, you are the light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehsan-sehgal/if-you-stand-firm-no-matter-where-or-for-what-you-are-the-light/) [Ehsan Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehsan-sehgal/) > [There was a man who was worthless, and knew he was worthless, and yet however far down he tried to sink his soul, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-was-a-man-who-was-worthless-and-knew-he-was-worthless-and-yet/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [How slight a chance may raise or sink a soul!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/how-slight-a-chance-may-raise-or-sink-a-soul/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) > [“Without sound, There would be no music. And without music, There would be no life. And without a life force, There would be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/without-sound-there-would-be-no-music-and-without-music-there-would/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [To us investigators, the concept 'soul' is irrelevant and a matter for laughter. But matter is an abstraction of exactly the same kind, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/to-us-investigators-the-concept-soul-is-irrelevant-and-a-matter-for-2/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [The care of the soul is 'a matter of the highest importance;' beyond any thing which can be brought into comparison with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/the-care-of-the-soul-is-a-matter-of-the-highest-importance-beyond-any/) [George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/) > [“The very essence of things is totally changed. You neither are agreed upon the definition of the soul nor on that of matter. Descartes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-very-essence-of-things-is-totally-changed-you-neither-are-agreed/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [To be or not to be,, its the soul matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armando/to-be-or-not-to-be-its-the-soul-matter/) [Armando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armando/) > [Because the Soul is not made of matter, since it is spiritual, it cannot obey the laws of matter, it cannot be judged by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/because-the-soul-is-not-made-of-matter-since-it-is-spiritual-it/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The soul’s a matter of the heart, Robert, and the heart’s a mystery even the greatest scientists don’t understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bunzl/the-soul-s-a-matter-of-the-heart-robert-and-the-heart-s-a-mystery/) [Peter Bunzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bunzl/) > [Deliberate violence is more to be quenched than a fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/deliberate-violence-is-more-to-be-quenched-than-a-fire/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [I'm never going to be satisfied. The sense of urgency that I have will never be quenched, because there's so much at stake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cardona/i-m-never-going-to-be-satisfied-the-sense-of-urgency-that-i-have-will/) [Miguel Cardona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cardona/) > [ “Lightening fire is quenched by other fire. \[102\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-t-plaatje/lightening-fire-is-quenched-by-other-fire-102/) [Sol T. Plaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-t-plaatje/) > [Presumption must be quenched even more than a fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/presumption-must-be-quenched-even-more-than-a-fire/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) ## More by John Lancaster Spalding > [In giving us dominion over the animal kingdom God has signified His will that we subdue the beast within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/in-giving-us-dominion-over-the-animal-kingdom-god-has-signified-his/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [To think profoundly, to seek and speak truth, to love justice and denounce wrong is to draw upon one's self the ill will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/to-think-profoundly-to-seek-and-speak-truth-to-love-justice-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [There is some lack either of sense or of character in one who becomes involved in difficulties with the worthless or the vicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/there-is-some-lack-either-of-sense-or-of-character-in-one-who-becomes/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Worry, whatever its source, weakens, takes away courage, and shortens life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/worry-whatever-its-source-weakens-takes-away-courage-and-shortens-life/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [The zest of life lies in right doing, not in the garnered harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-zest-of-life-lies-in-right-doing-not-in-the-garnered-harvest/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [They who can no longer unlearn have lost the power to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/they-who-can-no-longer-unlearn-have-lost-the-power-to-learn/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [What we think out for ourselves forms channels in which other thoughts will flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/what-we-think-out-for-ourselves-forms-channels-in-which-other/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Women are aristocrats, and it is always the mother who makes us feel that we belong to the better sort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/women-are-aristocrats-and-it-is-always-the-mother-who-makes-us-feel/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Though what we accept be true, it is a prejudice unless we ourselves have considered and understood why and how it is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/though-what-we-accept-be-true-it-is-a-prejudice-unless-we-ourselves/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [There are few things it is more important to learn than how to live on little and be therewith content: for the less we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/there-are-few-things-it-is-more-important-to-learn-than-how-to-live/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [We are more disturbed by a calamity which threatens us than by one which has befallen us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/we-are-more-disturbed-by-a-calamity-which-threatens-us-than-by-one/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Be watchful lest thou lose the power of desiring and loving what appeals to the soul this is the miser's curse this the chain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/be-watchful-lest-thou-lose-the-power-of-desiring-and-loving-what/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [The exercise of authority is odious, and they who know how to govern, leave it in abeyance as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-exercise-of-authority-is-odious-and-they-who-know-how-to-govern/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [We may outgrow the things of children, without acquiring sense and relish for those which become a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/we-may-outgrow-the-things-of-children-without-acquiring-sense-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [They who see through the eyes of others are controlled by the will of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/they-who-see-through-the-eyes-of-others-are-controlled-by-the-will-of/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) [Explore all 139 John Lancaster Spalding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we attempt to sink the soul in matter, its light is quenched.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Lancaster Spalding" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter-its-light-is-quenched/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter-its-light-is-quenched/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_ifs_if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter_725177.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_ifs_if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter_725177.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_ifs_if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter_725177.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we attempt to sink the soul in matter, its light is quenched.” — John Lancaster Spalding", "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": "John Lancaster Spalding", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we attempt to sink the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter-its-light-is-quenched/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/if-we-attempt-to-sink-the-soul-in-matter-its-light-is-quenched/#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 } } ] } ```