--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: miracles had to be paid for; only…" description: "\"miracles had to be paid for; only calamity was free.\" — Lisa St. Aubin de Terán" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n-44253_calamity_miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamit_1421947.png" --- # miracles had to be paid for; only calamity was free. ![“miracles had to be paid for; only calamity was free.” quote by Lisa St. Aubin de Terán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n-44253_calamity_miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamit_1421947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n-44253_calamity_miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamit_1421947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n-44253_calamity_miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamit_1421947.png) > “miracles had to be paid for; only calamity was free.” [Lisa St. Aubin de Terán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hard work and sacrifice are required for miracles, while disaster comes without cost. **In simple terms:** Miracles need effort; calamities are free. Key Takeaway Value effort over expecting easy blessings. Themes effort reward adversity Mood reflective serious Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - career ambition - personal health - financial planning - creative projects Key Concepts economics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Are you willing to pay the price for your dreams? - How do you handle unexpected setbacks? A Different Perspective Free misfortunes can still cause damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Calamity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity/) [Calamity Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity-free-5038485/) [Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles/) [Miracles Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles-paid-4417770/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Paid Calamity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid-calamity-5038484/) ## Related quotes > [“He loved her with a pursuing love that she could scarcely comprehend. Her mistakes had been paid for. Miracle of miracles, they’d been paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-wade/he-loved-her-with-a-pursuing-love-that-she-could-scarcely-comprehend/) [Becky Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-wade/) > [When a man has calamity upon calamity the world generally concludes that he must be a very wicked man to deserve them. Perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/when-a-man-has-calamity-upon-calamity-the-world-generally-concludes/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [Such exceptional suffering and calamity, then, affecting the hero, and-we must now add-generally extending far and wide beyond him, so as to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bradley/such-exceptional-suffering-and-calamity-then-affecting-the-hero-and/) [A. C. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bradley/) > [The worst calamity: 'To have eyes and fail to see.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-worst-calamity-to-have-eyes-and-fail-to-see/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [There is a big lesson in experiencing uncertainty and calamity with a sober focus - the most chaotic moments are the ones from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/there-is-a-big-lesson-in-experiencing-uncertainty-and-calamity-with-a/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) > [The liberty of the press is a blessing when we are inclined to write against others, and a calamity when we find ourselves overborne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-liberty-of-the-press-is-a-blessing-when-we-are-inclined-to-write/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is the common calamity of old age to lose whatever might have rendered it desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-is-the-common-calamity-of-old-age-to-lose-whatever-might-have/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/drudgery-calamity-exasperation-want-are-instructors-in-eloquence-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I doubt if I have made the best use of all my calamities. Soft, amiable natures they would have refined to saintliness; of strong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-doubt-if-i-have-made-the-best-use-of-all-my-calamities-soft-amiable/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Calamity, war, famine, plague, death, adversity, disease, injury do not necessarily produce repentance. We may become better in a calamity but it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/calamity-war-famine-plague-death-adversity-disease-injury-do-not/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [In spite of calamity, He still has a plan for me, And it’s working for my good, And it’s building my testimony...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-sapp/in-spite-of-calamity-he-still-has-a-plan-for-me-and-it-s-working-for/) [Marvin Sapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-sapp/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) ## More by Lisa St. Aubin de Terán > [Traveling is like flirting with life. It's like saying, 'I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/traveling-is-like-flirting-with-life-it-s-like-saying-i-would-stay/) [Lisa St. Aubin de Terán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) > [“Like poetry, in times of intense emotion the image returns to me. Like poetry, it stroked my soul and, by turns, lulled and stoked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/like-poetry-in-times-of-intense-emotion-the-image-returns-to-me-like/) [Lisa St. Aubin de Teran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) > [Fine food is poison. It can be as bitter as antimony and bitter almonds and as repulsive as swallowing live toads. Like the poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/fine-food-is-poison-it-can-be-as-bitter-as-antimony-and-bitter/) [Lisa St. Aubin de Terán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) > [I knew, as every peasant does, that land can never be truly owned. We are the keepers of the soil, the curators of trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/i-knew-as-every-peasant-does-that-land-can-never-be-truly-owned-we/) [Lisa St. Aubin de Terán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) > [The palace started as a single vaulted room and grew in proportion to my despair. 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They never played any other game but this one that had grown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/their-only-chance-to-mix-with-royalty-was-while-they-played-bezique/) [Lisa St. Aubin de Teran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) > [My head was a desolate place and as barren as the bare hills of Le Marche. Until I began to build in it, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/my-head-was-a-desolate-place-and-as-barren-as-the-bare-hills-of-le/) [Lisa St. Aubin de Terán](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) [Explore all 9 Lisa St. Aubin de Terán quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/) ## More Calamity quotes > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [In spite of calamity, He still has a plan for me, And it’s working for my good, And it’s building my testimony...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-sapp/in-spite-of-calamity-he-still-has-a-plan-for-me-and-it-s-working-for/) [Marvin Sapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-sapp/) > [Calamity, war, famine, plague, death, adversity, disease, injury do not necessarily produce repentance. We may become better in a calamity but it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/calamity-war-famine-plague-death-adversity-disease-injury-do-not/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I doubt if I have made the best use of all my calamities. Soft, amiable natures they would have refined to saintliness; of strong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-doubt-if-i-have-made-the-best-use-of-all-my-calamities-soft-amiable/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/drudgery-calamity-exasperation-want-are-instructors-in-eloquence-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It is the common calamity of old age to lose whatever might have rendered it desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-is-the-common-calamity-of-old-age-to-lose-whatever-might-have/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The liberty of the press is a blessing when we are inclined to write against others, and a calamity when we find ourselves overborne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-liberty-of-the-press-is-a-blessing-when-we-are-inclined-to-write/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is a big lesson in experiencing uncertainty and calamity with a sober focus - the most chaotic moments are the ones from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/there-is-a-big-lesson-in-experiencing-uncertainty-and-calamity-with-a/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) > [The worst calamity: 'To have eyes and fail to see.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-worst-calamity-to-have-eyes-and-fail-to-see/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Such exceptional suffering and calamity, then, affecting the hero, and-we must now add-generally extending far and wide beyond him, so as to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bradley/such-exceptional-suffering-and-calamity-then-affecting-the-hero-and/) [A. C. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bradley/) > [When a man has calamity upon calamity the world generally concludes that he must be a very wicked man to deserve them. Perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/when-a-man-has-calamity-upon-calamity-the-world-generally-concludes/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [I can remember certain Manchester United defeats the way most people remember family bereavements or great political events. The four-nil drubbing by Barcelona, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-dunne/i-can-remember-certain-manchester-united-defeats-the-way-most-people/) [Tom Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-dunne/) [Browse all 442 Calamity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calamity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "miracles had to be paid for; only calamity was free.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lisa St. Aubin de Terán" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamity-was-free/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Calamity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamity-was-free/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n-44253_calamity_miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamit_1421947.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n-44253_calamity_miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamit_1421947.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n-44253_calamity_miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamit_1421947.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“miracles had to be paid for; only calamity was free.” — Lisa St. Aubin de Terán", "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": "Lisa St. Aubin de Terán", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "miracles had to be paid for;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamity-was-free/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-st-aubin-de-ter-n/miracles-had-to-be-paid-for-only-calamity-was-free/#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 } } ] } ```