--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There can be, if I forebode aright, no…" description: "\"“There can be, if I forebode aright, no power, short of the Divine mercy, to disclose, whether by uttered words, or by type or emblem, the secrets that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_compassion_there-can-be-if-i-forebode-aright-no-pow_2777755.jpg" --- # There can be, if I forebode aright, no power, short of the… ![“There can be, if I forebode aright, no power, short of the Divine mercy, to disclose, whether by uttered words, or by type or emblem, the secrets that may be buried with a human heart. The heart, making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_compassion_there-can-be-if-i-forebode-aright-no-pow_2777755.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_compassion_there-can-be-if-i-forebode-aright-no-pow_2777755.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_compassion_there-can-be-if-i-forebode-aright-no-pow_2777755.jpg) > ““There can be, if I forebode aright, no power, short of the Divine mercy, to disclose, whether by uttered words, or by type or emblem, the secrets that may be buried with a human heart. The heart, making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed. Nor have I so read or interpreted the Holy Writ, as to understand that the disclosure of human thoughts and deeds, then to be made, is intended as part of the retribution. That, surely, were a shallow view of it. No; these revelations, unless I greatly error, are meant merely to promote the intellectual satisfaction of all intelligent beings, who will stand waiting, on that day, to see the dark problem of this life made plain. A knowledge of men's hearts will be needful to the completest solution of that problem. And I conceive, moreover, that the hearts holding such secrets as you speak of will yield them up, at that last day, not with reluctance, but with a joy unutterable.”” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that ultimate truth about human hearts will be revealed only by divine mercy, not through human interpretation, and that this revelation serves intellectual fulfillment and moral resolution. **In simple terms:** Divine mercy will reveal hidden hearts, not human analysis. Key Takeaway Seek humility, trust divine timing. Themes faith knowledge humanity divine revelation Mood contemplative hopeful serene Type literary philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal reflection - spiritual counseling - literary analysis - ethical decision making Key Concepts theology epistemology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What truths are we trying to uncover? - How does reliance on divine mercy affect our actions? A Different Perspective Human attempts to decode hearts may be limited without divine insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Divine mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-mercy/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Hidden things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hidden-things/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Judgement day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgement-day/) [Last day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-day/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There can be...no power...to disclose...the secrets that may be buried with a human heart. 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I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-gerber/i-didn-t-stop-to-think-about-how-my-normal-had-never-been-so-great-in/) [Linda Gerber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-gerber/) > [“Sharing secrets is the way in which women tie themselves together, for it reveals complicity and trust. Holding secrets shows trustworthiness and a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-kent/sharing-secrets-is-the-way-in-which-women-tie-themselves-together-for/) [Kathleen Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-kent/) > [“Some families have secrets buried so deep, they're the only thing holding the roots in the ground. You dig up those secrets, you loosen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ni-chelle-genovese/some-families-have-secrets-buried-so-deep-they-re-the-only-thing/) Ni'chelle Genovese > [I needed to recognize those secrets I was keeping from myself- secrets I had buried long ago. I needed Post Secret just as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-warren/i-needed-to-recognize-those-secrets-i-was-keeping-from-myself-secrets/) [Frank Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-warren/) > [“All the real secrets are buried, and only ghosts speak the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hyde/all-the-real-secrets-are-buried-and-only-ghosts-speak-the-truth/) Anthony Hyde > ["Intellect is the knowledge obtained by experience of names and forms; wisdom is the knowledge which manifests only from the inner being; to acquire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-inayat-khan/intellect-is-the-knowledge-obtained-by-experience-of-names-and-forms/) [Hazrat Inayat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-inayat-khan/) > [There is a warning here for true pilgrims. 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There are moments and there are mysteries of the divine mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-faustina-kowalska/oh-how-great-is-the-goodness-of-god-greater-than-we-can-understand/) [Mary Faustina Kowalska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-faustina-kowalska/) > [“ever there is doubt as to the advisability of advancing a human identity to the mansion worlds, the universe governments invariably rule in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urantia-foundation/ever-there-is-doubt-as-to-the-advisability-of-advancing-a-human/) Urantia Foundation > [Wherever water flows, life flourishes: wherever tears fall, Divine mercy is shown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/wherever-water-flows-life-flourishes-wherever-tears-fall-divine-mercy/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Then she felt herself, she said, to enter into the very bosom of God, where she was transformed into her Beloved, so completely that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-parkinson-keyes/then-she-felt-herself-she-said-to-enter-into-the-very-bosom-of-god/) [Frances Parkinson Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-parkinson-keyes/) ## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) Segun Magbagbeola > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. 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