--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have sought earnestly and with great…" description: "\"I have sought earnestly and with great diligence that good and high virtue by which man may draw closest to God... and as far as my intelligence would ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/meister-eckhart-1044_character_i-have-sought-earnestly-and-with-great-d_2949945.jpg" --- # I have sought earnestly and with great diligence that good… ![“I have sought earnestly and with great diligence that good and high virtue by which man may draw closest to God... and as far as my intelligence would permit, I find that high virtue to be pure disinterest, that is, detachment from creatures. Our Lord said to Martha 'Unum est necessarium', which…” quote by Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/meister-eckhart-1044_character_i-have-sought-earnestly-and-with-great-d_2949945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/meister-eckhart-1044_character_i-have-sought-earnestly-and-with-great-d_2949945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/meister-eckhart-1044_character_i-have-sought-earnestly-and-with-great-d_2949945.jpg) > “I have sought earnestly and with great diligence that good and high virtue by which man may draw closest to God... and as far as my intelligence would permit, I find that high virtue to be pure disinterest, that is, detachment from creatures. Our Lord said to Martha 'Unum est necessarium', which is to say; to be untroubled and pure, one thing is necessary and that is disinterest.” [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True virtue is pure disinterest, a detachment from worldly creatures, leading to an untroubled, singular focus on the divine. **In simple terms:** Virtue means letting go of attachments to find peace with God. Key Takeaway Practice detachment to deepen spiritual focus. Themes virtue detachment spirituality purity focus Mood contemplative serene Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - monastic life - personal meditation - ethical decision making Key Concepts mysticism theology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does one balance detachment with compassion? - What practices foster healthy disinterest? A Different Perspective Detachment can be misinterpreted as indifference to others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Closest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closest/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Detachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detachment/) [Diligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diligence/) [Disinterest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disinterest/) [Disinterest Detachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disinterest-detachment-4441108/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [High Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-virtue-3036296/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Necessary Disinterest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-disinterest-4441107/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Our lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lord/) [Permit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permit/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-pure-2170743/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [ Nature has placed nothing so high that virtue can not reach it. \[Lat., Nihil tam alte natura constituit quo virtus non possit eniti.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-curtius-rufus/nature-has-placed-nothing-so-high-that-virtue-can-not-reach-it-lat/) [Quintus Curtius Rufus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-curtius-rufus/) > [That virtue therefore which is but a youngling in the contemplation of evil, and knows not the utmost that vice promises to her followers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/that-virtue-therefore-which-is-but-a-youngling-in-the-contemplation/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“of light and life, thou Good Supreme!           O teach me what is good; teach me Thyself!           Save me from folly, vanity, and vice,           From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/of-light-and-life-thou-good-supreme-o-teach-me-what-is-good-teach-me/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Virtue: Pure Art ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare-2/virtue-pure-art/) [Austin Osman, Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare-2/) > [He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/he-who-would-be-serene-and-pure-needs-but-one-thing-detachment/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Ah, how little you know of human happiness - you comfortable and benevolent people! For happiness and unhappiness are brother and sister - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/ah-how-little-you-know-of-human-happiness-you-comfortable-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [One of the many interesting challenges nature presents us is its apparent disinterest in maintaining the order humans crave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/one-of-the-many-interesting-challenges-nature-presents-us-is-its/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [Nobody gives a crap about hockey down here - nobody. I coach kids' hockey down here and you can start to see the disinterest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-hull/nobody-gives-a-crap-about-hockey-down-here-nobody-i-coach-kids-hockey/) [Bobby Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-hull/) > [“Art school is a small island of acceptance in a vast sea of disinterest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-orland/art-school-is-a-small-island-of-acceptance-in-a-vast-sea-of/) [Ted Orland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-orland/) > [Is disinterest not the essence of every human relationship?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ndor-m-rai/is-disinterest-not-the-essence-of-every-human-relationship/) [Sándor Márai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ndor-m-rai/) > [There is a stupid humility that is quite common and when a person is afflicted with it, he is once and for all disqualified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/there-is-a-stupid-humility-that-is-quite-common-and-when-a-person-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [ The disinterest \[of my two great-aunts\] in anything that had to do with high society was such that their sense of hearing ... put… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-disinterest-of-my-two-great-aunts-in-anything-that-had-to-do-with/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Beyond the pervasive disinterest in the visual arts among the Protestant community, the core problem lies in the fact that the art world rejects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beyond-the-pervasive-disinterest-in-the-visual-arts-among-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [Your Disinterest, Makes Me Interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/your-disinterest-makes-me-interested/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Meister Eckhart > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [When I think of God's Kingdom, I am compelled to be silent because of its immensity, because God's Kingdom is none other than God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/when-i-think-of-god-s-kingdom-i-am-compelled-to-be-silent-because-of/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Action and becoming are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/action-and-becoming-are-one/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Whoever wants to receive the body of our Lord does not need to scrutinize what they are feeling at the time or how great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/whoever-wants-to-receive-the-body-of-our-lord-does-not-need-to/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Nothing will be able to hinder us, if we desire and seek God alone, and take pleasure in nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/nothing-will-be-able-to-hinder-us-if-we-desire-and-seek-god-alone-and/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [ \[W\]e must come into a transformed knowing, an unknowing which comes not from ignorance but from knowledge. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/w-e-must-come-into-a-transformed-knowing-an-unknowing-which-comes-not/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [I need to be silent for awhile, worlds are forming in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/i-need-to-be-silent-for-awhile-worlds-are-forming-in-my-heart/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [One person who has mastered life is better than a thousand persons who have mastered only the contents of books, but no one can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/one-person-who-has-mastered-life-is-better-than-a-thousand-persons/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“But where is this true possession of God, whereby we really possess him, to be found? This real possession of God is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/but-where-is-this-true-possession-of-god-whereby-we-really-possess/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [The most powerful prayer, one well-nigh omnipotent, and the worthiest work of all is the outcome of a quiet mind. The quieter it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/the-most-powerful-prayer-one-well-nigh-omnipotent-and-the-worthiest/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [If we seek God for our own good and profit, we are not seeking God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/if-we-seek-god-for-our-own-good-and-profit-we-are-not-seeking-god/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Our bodily food is changed into us, but our spiritual food changes us into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/our-bodily-food-is-changed-into-us-but-our-spiritual-food-changes-us/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“Concerning this desert, Jeremiah writes: ‘I will lead my beloved into the wilderness and will speak to her in her heart’ (Hosea 2:14) .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/concerning-this-desert-jeremiah-writes-i-will-lead-my-beloved-into/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [If the seal is pressed completely through the wax so that no wax remains without being impressed by the seal, then it becomes indistinguishably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/if-the-seal-is-pressed-completely-through-the-wax-so-that-no-wax/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Be ready at all times for the gifts of God, and always for new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/be-ready-at-all-times-for-the-gifts-of-god-and-always-for-new-ones/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) [Explore all 301 Meister Eckhart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [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/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have sought earnestly and with great diligence that good and high virtue by which man may draw closest to God... and as far as my intelligence would permit, I find that high virtue to be pure disinterest, that is, detachment from creatures. 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