--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be frightening to think that in…" description: "\"It would be frightening to think that in all the Cosmos, which is so harmonious, so complete and equal to itself, that only human life is happening ran..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/mircea-eliade-3290_cosmos_it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in_1241573.jpg" --- # It would be frightening to think that in all the Cosmos… ![“It would be frightening to think that in all the Cosmos, which is so harmonious, so complete and equal to itself, that only human life is happening randomly, that only one's destiny lacks meaning.” quote by Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/mircea-eliade-3290_cosmos_it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in_1241573.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/mircea-eliade-3290_cosmos_it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in_1241573.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/mircea-eliade-3290_cosmos_it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in_1241573.jpg) > “It would be frightening to think that in all the Cosmos, which is so harmonious, so complete and equal to itself, that only human life is happening randomly, that only one's destiny lacks meaning.” [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The cosmos feels purposeful, yet human life may seem random, challenging the search for meaning. **In simple terms:** The universe appears ordered, but human destiny can feel meaningless. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond randomness. Themes existentialism cosmology meaning of life Mood contemplative philosophical Type essay inspirational When to use this quote - career crisis - creative work - spiritual contemplation Key Concepts spiritual quest philosophical inquiry human significance Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life purpose? - How do you reconcile cosmic order with personal randomness? A Different Perspective Finding meaning can be elusive in a chaotic world. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cosmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmos/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Frightening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frightening/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I paused to listen to the silence. My breath, crystallized as it passed my cheeks, drifted on a breeze gentler than a whisper. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-byrd/i-paused-to-listen-to-the-silence-my-breath-crystallized-as-it-passed/) [Richard E. Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-byrd/) > [It can be frightening. I think, 'I don't want to go.' But I give myself room to grieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-harper/it-can-be-frightening-i-think-i-don-t-want-to-go-but-i-give-myself/) [Valerie Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-harper/) > [“I paused to listen to the silence. My breath, crystallized as it passed my cheeks, drifted on a breeze gentler than a whisper. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-paused-to-listen-to-the-silence-my-breath-crystallized-as-it-passed-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As you grow older you realize that art has an enormous effect. 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In fact, the situation was so serious I thought they had to be joking - like maybe they staged a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/the-day-was-ridiculous-in-fact-the-situation-was-so-serious-i-thought/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“As frightening as we may think her, I believe she finds herself even more so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kady-cross/as-frightening-as-we-may-think-her-i-believe-she-finds-herself-even/) [Kady Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kady-cross/) > [I had one class in the morning, the mysteriously named "Further Maths". It was two hours long and so deeply frightening that I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/i-had-one-class-in-the-morning-the-mysteriously-named-further-maths/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [Finally, if life happened by chance on this earth and evolved upward, then it could seemingly happen elsewhere in the universe. But if, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hunt/finally-if-life-happened-by-chance-on-this-earth-and-evolved-upward/) [Dave Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hunt/) > [If the estimated age of the cosmos were shortened to seventy-two years, a human life would take about ten seconds. But look at time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/if-the-estimated-age-of-the-cosmos-were-shortened-to-seventy-two/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not and end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-be-the-embarrassment-of-the-galaxy-to-have-had-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The entire cosmos is one vast burning bush, permeated by the fire of the divine power and glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/the-entire-cosmos-is-one-vast-burning-bush-permeated-by-the-fire-of/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [“The necessity of nothingness does not create anything. The real value and meaning of the Being are not in its necessity but in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-necessity-of-nothingness-does-not-create-anything-the-real-value/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) ## More by Mircea Eliade > [“Stangaciile, ca si timiditatea, au un farmec discret prin surprizele pe care le provoaca, prin panica naiva care o raspandesc.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/stangaciile-ca-si-timiditatea-au-un-farmec-discret-prin-surprizele-pe/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [I don't want to be mediocre, this is the fear of my soul and my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/i-don-t-want-to-be-mediocre-this-is-the-fear-of-my-soul-and-my-body/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [If we pay no attention to it, time does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/if-we-pay-no-attention-to-it-time-does-not-exist/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [“Inainte chiar de a afla vreun raspuns satisfacator, si numai prin faptul ca a fost rostita, intrebarea justa regenereaza si fertilizeaza; si nu numai…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/inainte-chiar-de-a-afla-vreun-raspuns-satisfacator-si-numai-prin/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [Man becomes aware of the Sacred because it manifests itself, shows itself, as something wholly different from the Profane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/man-becomes-aware-of-the-sacred-because-it-manifests-itself-shows/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [“It must never be forgotten that initiatory death simultaneously signifies the end of the "natural," noncultural man, and passage to a new modality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/it-must-never-be-forgotten-that-initiatory-death-simultaneously/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [To whatever degree he may have desacralized the world, the man who has made his choice in favor of a profane life never succeeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/to-whatever-degree-he-may-have-desacralized-the-world-the-man-who-has/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [The primitive magician, the medicine man or shaman is not only a sick man, he is above all, a sick man who has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/the-primitive-magician-the-medicine-man-or-shaman-is-not-only-a-sick/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [Man becomes aware of the Sacred because it manifests itself, shows itself, as something wholly different from the Profane ... In his encounters with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/man-becomes-aware-of-the-sacred-because-it-manifests-itself-shows-2/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [“Mă întreb, bunăoară, dacă nu cumva în ziua când am început să iubesc nu s-a întâmplat ceva lângă mine, ceva pe care eu nu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/m-ntreb-bun-oar-dac-nu-cumva-n-ziua-c-nd-am-nceput-s-iubesc-nu-s-a-nt/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [“Eu am optat pentru Viaţă, îi spusese. Vreau să trăiesc, să văd ce are să se întâmple până la urmă...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/eu-am-optat-pentru-via-i-spusese-vreau-s-tr-iesc-s-v-d-ce-are-s-se-nt/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [Man makes himself, and he only makes himself completely in proportion as he desacrilizes himself and the world. The sacred is the prime obstacle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/man-makes-himself-and-he-only-makes-himself-completely-in-proportion/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [Whether religion is man-made is a question for philosophers or theologians. But the forms are man-made. They are a human response to something. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/whether-religion-is-man-made-is-a-question-for-philosophers-or/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [“It is above all the valorizing of the present that requires emphasizing. The simple fact of existing, of living in time, can comprise a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/it-is-above-all-the-valorizing-of-the-present-that-requires/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [It is not without fear and trembling that a historian of religion approaches the problem of myth. This is not only because of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/it-is-not-without-fear-and-trembling-that-a-historian-of-religion/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) [Explore all 62 Mircea Eliade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) ## More Cosmos quotes > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“The necessity of nothingness does not create anything. The real value and meaning of the Being are not in its necessity but in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-necessity-of-nothingness-does-not-create-anything-the-real-value/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [The entire cosmos is one vast burning bush, permeated by the fire of the divine power and glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/the-entire-cosmos-is-one-vast-burning-bush-permeated-by-the-fire-of/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [If the estimated age of the cosmos were shortened to seventy-two years, a human life would take about ten seconds. But look at time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/if-the-estimated-age-of-the-cosmos-were-shortened-to-seventy-two/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not and end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-be-the-embarrassment-of-the-galaxy-to-have-had-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/when-a-person-dies-they-cross-over-from-the-realm-of-freedom-to-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [“We take off into the cosmos, ready for anything: for solitude, for hardship, for exhaustion, death. Modesty forbids us to say so, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-lem/we-take-off-into-the-cosmos-ready-for-anything-for-solitude-for/) [Stanisław Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-lem/) > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [If the purpose of the universe was to create humans then the cosmos was embarrassingly inefficient about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-the-purpose-of-the-universe-was-to-create-humans-then-the-cosmos/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Finally, if life happened by chance on this earth and evolved upward, then it could seemingly happen elsewhere in the universe. But if, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hunt/finally-if-life-happened-by-chance-on-this-earth-and-evolved-upward/) [Dave Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hunt/) > [“Zero is a gateway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/zero-is-a-gateway/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Just as a wave is a movement of the whole ocean, you are the energy of the cosmos. Don't underestimate your power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/just-as-a-wave-is-a-movement-of-the-whole-ocean-you-are-the-energy-of/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Science is not just there for technology. It's part of what addressing who you are in the universe and understanding your place in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/science-is-not-just-there-for-technology-it-s-part-of-what-addressing/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“the entire operating system of the cosmos could be summed up by a single overriding command: spread energy!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-entire-operating-system-of-the-cosmos-could-be-summed-up-by-a/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) [Browse all 783 Cosmos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmos/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would be frightening to think that in all the Cosmos, which is so harmonious, so complete and equal to itself, that only human life is happening randomly, that only one's destiny lacks meaning.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mircea Eliade" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in-all-the-cosmos-which-is-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cosmos" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in-all-the-cosmos-which-is-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/mircea-eliade-3290_cosmos_it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in_1241573.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/mircea-eliade-3290_cosmos_it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in_1241573.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/mircea-eliade-3290_cosmos_it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in_1241573.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would be frightening to think that in all the Cosmos, which is so harmonious, so complete and equal to…” — Mircea Eliade", "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": "Mircea Eliade", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It would be frightening to think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in-all-the-cosmos-which-is-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/it-would-be-frightening-to-think-that-in-all-the-cosmos-which-is-so/#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 } } ] } ```