--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When man tries to imagine Paradise on…" description: "\"When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate result is a very respectable Hell.\" — Paul Claudel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/paul-claudel-22534_earth_when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-ea_3123730.png" --- # When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate… ![“When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate result is a very respectable Hell.” quote by Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/paul-claudel-22534_earth_when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-ea_3123730.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/paul-claudel-22534_earth_when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-ea_3123730.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/paul-claudel-22534_earth_when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-ea_3123730.png) > “When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate result is a very respectable Hell.” [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to create a perfect world often leads to oppressive outcomes. **In simple terms:** Seeking perfection can create suffering. Key Takeaway Beware of utopian overreach. Themes utopia power consequences Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - government policy - social engineering - urban planning - religious reform Key Concepts political philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions underlie your vision of perfection? - How can we balance idealism with realism? A Different Perspective Idealism may ignore human flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise/) [Paradise on earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise-on-earth/) ## Related quotes > [“If there is paradise on Earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amir-khusrau/if-there-is-paradise-on-earth-it-is-this-it-is-this-it-is-this/) Amir Khusrau > [If we could make our house a home, and then make it a sanctuary, I think we could truly find paradise on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-stoddard/if-we-could-make-our-house-a-home-and-then-make-it-a-sanctuary-i/) [Alexandra Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-stoddard/) > [Those who promise us paradise on earth never produced anything but a hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/those-who-promise-us-paradise-on-earth-never-produced-anything-but-a/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [The Maldives is truly a paradise on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushmita-sen/the-maldives-is-truly-a-paradise-on-earth/) [Sushmita Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushmita-sen/) > [Gar firdaus roy-e zamin ast , hamin ast-o hamin ast-o hamin ast …, translation - if there be paradise on earth , it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-knight/gar-firdaus-roy-e-zamin-ast-hamin-ast-o-hamin-ast-o-hamin-ast/) [Kevin Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-knight/) > [Those who are looking for paradise on Earth should come and see Dubrovnik.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/those-who-are-looking-for-paradise-on-earth-should-come-and-see/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [To live in a peaceful home is to experience paradise on earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shri-radhe-maa/to-live-in-a-peaceful-home-is-to-experience-paradise-on-earth/) [Shri Radhe Maa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shri-radhe-maa/) > [“If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power and beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-were-to-look-over-the-whole-world-to-find-out-the-country-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Paradise on earth will be a place where all who have reached a state of genuine happiness are unified in one world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meishu-sama/paradise-on-earth-will-be-a-place-where-all-who-have-reached-a-state/) Meishu-Sama > [“It is like falling in love. If you can notice, the grass is greener, the sky is bluer and the air is fresher. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahla-khan/it-is-like-falling-in-love-if-you-can-notice-the-grass-is-greener-the/) [Shahla Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahla-khan/) > [We could either develop paradise on Earth or oblivion; wipe ourselves out, only the future will tell. It's what you do to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/we-could-either-develop-paradise-on-earth-or-oblivion-wipe-ourselves/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [I was brought up on a farm in Southwest France, eating farm-fresh produce three times a day. It was paradise on Earth, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-ducasse/i-was-brought-up-on-a-farm-in-southwest-france-eating-farm-fresh/) [Alain Ducasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-ducasse/) > [This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-Paradise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-royal-throne-of-kings-this-scepter-d-isle-this-earth-of-majesty-2/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [How soon the labor of men would make a paradise of the earth were it not for misgovernment and a diversion of his energies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/how-soon-the-labor-of-men-would-make-a-paradise-of-the-earth-were-it/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Women are all we know of paradise on this earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/women-are-all-we-know-of-paradise-on-this-earth/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More by Paul Claudel > [How amazing it is to be alive Anyone who lives and breathes and puts both feet on the ground, What possible reason could he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/how-amazing-it-is-to-be-alive-anyone-who-lives-and-breathes-and-puts/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [In a word, poetry can not exist without emotion, or, if you will, without a movement of the soul which regulates the words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/in-a-word-poetry-can-not-exist-without-emotion-or-if-you-will-without/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [We must not seek happiness in peace, but in conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/we-must-not-seek-happiness-in-peace-but-in-conflict/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [The priest has just baptized you a Christian with water; and I baptize you a Frenchman, daring child, with a dewdrop of champagne on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/the-priest-has-just-baptized-you-a-christian-with-water-and-i-baptize/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [You explain nothing, O poet, but thanks to you all things become explicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/you-explain-nothing-o-poet-but-thanks-to-you-all-things-become/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [It is fortunate that diplomats have long noses since they usually cannot see beyond them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/it-is-fortunate-that-diplomats-have-long-noses-since-they-usually/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with His Presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/jesus-did-not-come-to-explain-away-suffering-or-remove-it-he-came-to/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [Doctor, do you think it could have been the sausage?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/doctor-do-you-think-it-could-have-been-the-sausage/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [Eighty years old! No eyes left, no ears, no teeth, no legs, no wind! And when all is said and done, how astonishingly well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/eighty-years-old-no-eyes-left-no-ears-no-teeth-no-legs-no-wind-and/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [While she was working on Maturity, ... M. Rodin is well aware that people have imagined that he did my sculpture why then do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/while-she-was-working-on-maturity-m-rodin-is-well-aware-that-people/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [Every birth is a getting to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/every-birth-is-a-getting-to-know/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [Truth has nothing to do with the number of people it convinces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/truth-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-number-of-people-it-convinces/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [Open your eyes! The world is still intact; it is as pristine as it was on the first day, as fresh as milk!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/open-your-eyes-the-world-is-still-intact-it-is-as-pristine-as-it-was/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [The words I use Are everyday words and yet are not the same! You will find no rhymes in my verse, no magic. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/the-words-i-use-are-everyday-words-and-yet-are-not-the-same-you-will/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) > [Now I know that at the heart of the universe is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/now-i-know-that-at-the-heart-of-the-universe-is-joy/) [Paul Claudel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) [Explore all 23 Paul Claudel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/) ## More Earth quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [What did you do to save the world today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/what-did-you-do-to-save-the-world-today/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) [Browse all 15,455 Earth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate result is a very respectable Hell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Claudel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-earth-the-immediate-result-is-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Earth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-earth-the-immediate-result-is-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/paul-claudel-22534_earth_when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-ea_3123730.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/paul-claudel-22534_earth_when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-ea_3123730.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/paul-claudel-22534_earth_when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-ea_3123730.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When man tries to imagine Paradise on earth, the immediate result is a very respectable Hell.” — Paul Claudel", "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": "Paul Claudel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-claudel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When man tries to imagine Paradise...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-earth-the-immediate-result-is-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-claudel/when-man-tries-to-imagine-paradise-on-earth-the-immediate-result-is-a/#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 } } ] } ```