--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know nothing about God, except that His…" description: "\"“I know nothing about God, except that His pleasure is as terrifying as His displeasure.”\" — José Saramago" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/jos-saramago-208_displeasure_i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his_2070258.png" --- # I know nothing about God, except that His pleasure is as… ![“I know nothing about God, except that His pleasure is as terrifying as His displeasure.” quote by José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/jos-saramago-208_displeasure_i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his_2070258.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/jos-saramago-208_displeasure_i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his_2070258.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/jos-saramago-208_displeasure_i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his_2070258.png) > ““I know nothing about God, except that His pleasure is as terrifying as His displeasure.”” [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. God’s joy is as awe‑inspiring and terrifying as His wrath. **In simple terms:** Divine pleasure can be both awe‑inspiring and frightening. Key Takeaway Respect the power and mystery of the divine. Themes theology philosophy emotion power paradox Mood reverent introspective Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - spiritual contemplation - ethical decision‑making - artistic interpretation - personal belief Key Concepts existentialism divine mystery ethical reflection Questions to Reflect On - What does awe teach you about humility? - How do you reconcile fear and reverence? A Different Perspective Human language may limit understanding of divine nature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Displeasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/displeasure/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Know God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-god/) [Pleasure Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-terrifying-2098771/) [Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying/) [Terrifying Displeasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying-displeasure-3993873/) ## Related quotes > [Pleasure is terrifying because it breaks down the boundaries between people. Embracing passion means living with fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/pleasure-is-terrifying-because-it-breaks-down-the-boundaries-between/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“the only thing more terrifying than blindness is being the only one who can see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-only-thing-more-terrifying-than-blindness-is-being-the-only-one/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“What if pleasure and displeasure were so tied together that whoever wanted to have as much as possible of one must also have as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/what-if-pleasure-and-displeasure-were-so-tied-together-that-whoever/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“If I don't talk about it, it's either very displeasing or very precious to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/if-i-don-t-talk-about-it-it-s-either-very-displeasing-or-very/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [Never shall I recollect the occasion he gave me of displeasure, without feeling it renewed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-shall-i-recollect-the-occasion-he-gave-me-of-displeasure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be careful how you do one man a pleasure which must needs occasion equal displeasure in another. For he who is thus slighted will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-guicciardini/be-careful-how-you-do-one-man-a-pleasure-which-must-needs-occasion/) [Francesco Guicciardini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-guicciardini/) > [It wasn't like I was some expert on the meaning of being supportive. Was it being loyal even against your better judgement? Or, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-wasn-t-like-i-was-some-expert-on-the-meaning-of-being-supportive/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Work addiction seems to be an addiction we are proud of. We almost seem to brag with mock displeasure that we are "overwhelmed" with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pearsall/work-addiction-seems-to-be-an-addiction-we-are-proud-of-we-almost/) [Paul Pearsall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pearsall/) > [“For any display of displeasure or anger against injustice and ungodliness, there is a reward and a godly result.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/for-any-display-of-displeasure-or-anger-against-injustice-and/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [You behold in me, Stephen said with grim displeasure, a horrible example of free thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/you-behold-in-me-stephen-said-with-grim-displeasure-a-horrible/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Insensibility, of all kinds, and on all occasions, most moves my imperial displeasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/insensibility-of-all-kinds-and-on-all-occasions-most-moves-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember a group therapy session when one of the patients was reluctantly turning his corner. He would accept it, he said, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/i-remember-a-group-therapy-session-when-one-of-the-patients-was/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [A man in love ... is the master, so it seems, but only if his lady friend permits it! The need to interchange the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/a-man-in-love-is-the-master-so-it-seems-but-only-if-his-lady-friend/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [Thus the will to power strives towards oppositions, towards displeasure. There is a will to suffering at the foundation of all organic life (contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/thus-the-will-to-power-strives-towards-oppositions-towards/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by José Saramago > [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? Seriam eles capazes de aprender realmente o que há…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/e-se-as-hist-rias-para-crian-as-passassem-a-ser-de-leitura-obrigat/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-a-king-modesty-would-be-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“the inmates of the second ward in the right wing have decided, at long last, to bury their dead, at least we shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-inmates-of-the-second-ward-in-the-right-wing-have-decided-at-long/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Stretching one arm behind him, the man passed his hand over the horse's coat, his own skin transformed, or skin which had transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/stretching-one-arm-behind-him-the-man-passed-his-hand-over-the-horse/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Explore all 487 José Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More Displeasure quotes > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Thus the will to power strives towards oppositions, towards displeasure. There is a will to suffering at the foundation of all organic life (contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/thus-the-will-to-power-strives-towards-oppositions-towards/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A man in love ... is the master, so it seems, but only if his lady friend permits it! The need to interchange the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/a-man-in-love-is-the-master-so-it-seems-but-only-if-his-lady-friend/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [I remember a group therapy session when one of the patients was reluctantly turning his corner. He would accept it, he said, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/i-remember-a-group-therapy-session-when-one-of-the-patients-was/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) > [Insensibility, of all kinds, and on all occasions, most moves my imperial displeasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/insensibility-of-all-kinds-and-on-all-occasions-most-moves-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You behold in me, Stephen said with grim displeasure, a horrible example of free thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/you-behold-in-me-stephen-said-with-grim-displeasure-a-horrible/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“For any display of displeasure or anger against injustice and ungodliness, there is a reward and a godly result.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/for-any-display-of-displeasure-or-anger-against-injustice-and/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Work addiction seems to be an addiction we are proud of. We almost seem to brag with mock displeasure that we are "overwhelmed" with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pearsall/work-addiction-seems-to-be-an-addiction-we-are-proud-of-we-almost/) [Paul Pearsall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pearsall/) > [It wasn't like I was some expert on the meaning of being supportive. Was it being loyal even against your better judgement? Or, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-wasn-t-like-i-was-some-expert-on-the-meaning-of-being-supportive/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Be careful how you do one man a pleasure which must needs occasion equal displeasure in another. For he who is thus slighted will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-guicciardini/be-careful-how-you-do-one-man-a-pleasure-which-must-needs-occasion/) [Francesco Guicciardini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-guicciardini/) > [Never shall I recollect the occasion he gave me of displeasure, without feeling it renewed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-shall-i-recollect-the-occasion-he-gave-me-of-displeasure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If I don't talk about it, it's either very displeasing or very precious to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/if-i-don-t-talk-about-it-it-s-either-very-displeasing-or-very/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [“What if pleasure and displeasure were so tied together that whoever wanted to have as much as possible of one must also have as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/what-if-pleasure-and-displeasure-were-so-tied-together-that-whoever/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I think in order to write really well and convincingly, one must be somewhat poisoned by emotion, dislike, displeasure, resentment, fault-finding, imagination, passionate remonstrance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/i-think-in-order-to-write-really-well-and-convincingly-one-must-be/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [“It is the people who are displeased with injustice that can be a channel for social justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-the-people-who-are-displeased-with-injustice-that-can-be-a/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) [Browse all 86 Displeasure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/displeasure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I know nothing about God, except that His pleasure is as terrifying as His displeasure.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "José Saramago" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his-pleasure-is-as-terrifying-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Displeasure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his-pleasure-is-as-terrifying-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/jos-saramago-208_displeasure_i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his_2070258.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/jos-saramago-208_displeasure_i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his_2070258.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/jos-saramago-208_displeasure_i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his_2070258.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I know nothing about God, except that His pleasure is as terrifying as His displeasure.” — José Saramago", "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": "José Saramago", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I know nothing about God, except...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his-pleasure-is-as-terrifying-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-know-nothing-about-god-except-that-his-pleasure-is-as-terrifying-as/#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 } } ] } ```