--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In reading, you sense the divine: the…" description: "\"In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are larger and greater and more mysterious than yourself.\" — Richard Flanagan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/richard-flanagan-2253_divine_in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-thin_48151.jpg" --- # In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are… ![“In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are larger and greater and more mysterious than yourself.” quote by Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/richard-flanagan-2253_divine_in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-thin_48151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/richard-flanagan-2253_divine_in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-thin_48151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/richard-flanagan-2253_divine_in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-thin_48151.jpg) > “In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are larger and greater and more mysterious than yourself.” [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading awakens a sense of something transcendent, revealing mysteries beyond the self. **In simple terms:** Reading reveals the transcendent. Key Takeaway Literature expands perception of the infinite. Themes transcendence mystery self-awareness spirituality knowledge Mood wonderful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - seeking personal growth - exploring philosophy - contemplating existence Key Concepts human curiosity aic experience literary immersion Practical Applications - creative writing workshops - mindfulness retreats Questions to Reflect On - How does reading alter your sense of self? - What mysteries does literature uncover? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [It is important early in life to acquire the power of reading sense wherever you happen to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/it-is-important-early-in-life-to-acquire-the-power-of-reading-sense/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“So much of one's life was spent reading; it made sense not to do it alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/so-much-of-one-s-life-was-spent-reading-it-made-sense-not-to-do-it/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [Cram your head with characters and stories. Abuse your library privileges. Never stop looking at the world, and never stop reading to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/cram-your-head-with-characters-and-stories-abuse-your-library/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [My sense of divine brings with it a strange sound of music with its glories, a marvellous melody sounding like a multitude of flutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-twitchell/my-sense-of-divine-brings-with-it-a-strange-sound-of-music-with-its/) [Paul Twitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-twitchell/) > [Love at its highest flood rushes beyond its object, and loses itself in the sense of divine mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/love-at-its-highest-flood-rushes-beyond-its-object-and-loses-itself/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Earth is our spiritual mother and we sense that the Divine is not 'out there' but all around us. Nature itself is sacred and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-cornish/earth-is-our-spiritual-mother-and-we-sense-that-the-divine-is-not-out/) [Sophie Cornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-cornish/) > [“What I’m after, above all, is a sense of divine inspiration that touches the very core of my being. That lives throughout every aspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-loven/what-i-m-after-above-all-is-a-sense-of-divine-inspiration-that/) Sarah Loven > [“And it may be thus described: a true sense of the divine excellency of the things revealed in the word of God, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/and-it-may-be-thus-described-a-true-sense-of-the-divine-excellency-of/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [“There arises from this sense of divine excellency of things contained in the word of God a conviction of the truth and reality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/there-arises-from-this-sense-of-divine-excellency-of-things-contained/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [Knowledge of divine things for the most part is lost to us by incredulity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/knowledge-of-divine-things-for-the-most-part-is-lost-to-us-by/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [The soul has this proof of divinity: that divine things delight it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-soul-has-this-proof-of-divinity-that-divine-things-delight-it/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“Be not discouraged, keep on, there are divine things well envelop’d. I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harrod-buhner/be-not-discouraged-keep-on-there-are-divine-things-well-envelop-d-i/) [Stephen Harrod Buhner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harrod-buhner/) > [To strip human nature until its divine attributes are made clear, to inform ordinary activities with spiritual fervor, to give wings of eternity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/to-strip-human-nature-until-its-divine-attributes-are-made-clear-to/) [Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/) > [If there be such a distinguishing excellency in divine things, this rational to suppose that there may be such a thing as seeing it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/if-there-be-such-a-distinguishing-excellency-in-divine-things-this/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [The divine is in all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/the-divine-is-in-all-things/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) ## More by Richard Flanagan > [I went to study at Oxford University in the 1980s on an imperial scholarship instituted by Cecil Rhodes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-went-to-study-at-oxford-university-in-the-1980s-on-an-imperial/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Writing is not lying, nor is it theft. It is a journey and search for transparency between one’s words and one’s soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/writing-is-not-lying-nor-is-it-theft-it-is-a-journey-and-search-for/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Within white Australia, there was a growing movement for what was known as reconciliation - a movement that peaked with millions marching in 2000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/within-white-australia-there-was-a-growing-movement-for-what-was/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In 1995, the Paul Keating Labor government commissioned an inquiry into the forcible removal of Aboriginal children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-1995-the-paul-keating-labor-government-commissioned-an-inquiry/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Murder and hate are as deeply buried in the human heart as love, perhaps more so, and in truth they're rather entwined, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/murder-and-hate-are-as-deeply-buried-in-the-human-heart-as-love/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [My father was the first to read in his family, and he said to me that words were the first beautiful thing he ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/my-father-was-the-first-to-read-in-his-family-and-he-said-to-me-that/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I grew up in a world that was clannish - old Tasmanian-Irish families with big extended families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-grew-up-in-a-world-that-was-clannish-old-tasmanian-irish-families/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [If 30 Australians drowned in Sydney Harbour, it would be a national tragedy. But when 30 or more refugees drown off the Australian coast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/if-30-australians-drowned-in-sydney-harbour-it-would-be-a-national/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [The enslavement, humiliation, torture, and ultimate destruction of thousands upon thousands of human beings for a project for which there was ultimately no purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/the-enslavement-humiliation-torture-and-ultimate-destruction-of/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In Tasmania, an island the size of Ireland whose primeval forests astonished 19th-century Europeans, an incomprehensible ecological tragedy is being played out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-tasmania-an-island-the-size-of-ireland-whose-primeval-forests/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [You have to attempt to find new forms that will force you to write freshly and better and hopefully more truthfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-have-to-attempt-to-find-new-forms-that-will-force-you-to-write/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [My mother hoped I'd be a plumber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/my-mother-hoped-i-d-be-a-plumber/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Family matters, friends matter, love matters. Those you love and who love you matter. That's what writing does - it allows you to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/family-matters-friends-matter-love-matters-those-you-love-and-who/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [A good book ... leaves you wanting to reread the book. A great book compels you to reread your own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-good-book-leaves-you-wanting-to-reread-the-book-a-great-book/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I am an admirer of haiku, and I'm a great admirer of Japanese literature in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-am-an-admirer-of-haiku-and-i-m-a-great-admirer-of-japanese/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) [Explore all 176 Richard Flanagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## More Divine quotes > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Monsters are divine portents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/monsters-are-divine-portents/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. It tells us it is wrong to hate ourselves because of our imperfections.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/silence-tells-the-seeker-in-us-to-love-to-love-himself-it-tells-us-it/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Friend, you are a divine mingle-mangle of guts and stardust. So hang in there! If doors opened for me, they can open for anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/friend-you-are-a-divine-mingle-mangle-of-guts-and-stardust-so-hang-in/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) > [A woman is more influenced by what she divines than by what she is told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/a-woman-is-more-influenced-by-what-she-divines-than-by-what-she-is/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) [Browse all 4,543 Divine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are larger and greater and more mysterious than yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Flanagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-things-that-are-larger-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divine" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-things-that-are-larger-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/richard-flanagan-2253_divine_in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-thin_48151.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/richard-flanagan-2253_divine_in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-thin_48151.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/richard-flanagan-2253_divine_in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-thin_48151.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are larger and greater and more mysterious than yourself.” — Richard Flanagan", "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": "Richard Flanagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In reading, you sense the divine:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-things-that-are-larger-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-things-that-are-larger-and/#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 } } ] } ```