--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The heathen spirit is wingless. It cannot…" description: "\"The heathen spirit is wingless. It cannot lift itself to heights from which the totality of being is visible, and it therefore loses itself in details...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/sholem-asch-28504_details_the-heathen-spirit-is-wingless-it-cannot_2894013.jpg" --- # The heathen spirit is wingless. It cannot lift itself to… ![“The heathen spirit is wingless. It cannot lift itself to heights from which the totality of being is visible, and it therefore loses itself in details.” quote by Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/sholem-asch-28504_details_the-heathen-spirit-is-wingless-it-cannot_2894013.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/sholem-asch-28504_details_the-heathen-spirit-is-wingless-it-cannot_2894013.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/sholem-asch-28504_details_the-heathen-spirit-is-wingless-it-cannot_2894013.jpg) > “The heathen spirit is wingless. It cannot lift itself to heights from which the totality of being is visible, and it therefore loses itself in details.” [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A heathen spirit lacks perspective, getting lost in minutiae and missing the larger truth. **In simple terms:** Without higher insight, one gets stuck in details. Key Takeaway Seek broader perspective. Themes spirituality perception knowledge Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - academic research Key Concepts philosophical insight limitations of narrow focus Questions to Reflect On - What details keep you from seeing the whole? - How can you elevate your view? A Different Perspective Might dismiss practical details. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Heathen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heathen/) [Heathen Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heathen-spirit-4078759/) [Height](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/height/) [Lifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifts/) [Loses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loses/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirit Wingless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit-wingless-4078760/) [Totality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totality/) [Visible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visible/) [Wingless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wingless-1878502/) ## Related quotes > [All the great feelings like goodness, love or compassion eliminate the gravity and thus the wingless man rises like a bird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/all-the-great-feelings-like-goodness-love-or-compassion-eliminate-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Man is a wingless animal with two feet and flat nails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/man-is-a-wingless-animal-with-two-feet-and-flat-nails/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The men of my race arrive on wingless, eyeless ships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-men-of-my-race-arrive-on-wingless-eyeless-ships/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Left wing, right wing, I am wingless and tired of trying to fly. Here comes the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/left-wing-right-wing-i-am-wingless-and-tired-of-trying-to-fly-here/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [“Nothing but the effects of dust and vapor in the thin skin of air whereupon she crawls wingless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tiptree-jr/nothing-but-the-effects-of-dust-and-vapor-in-the-thin-skin-of-air/) [James Tiptree Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-tiptree-jr/) > [To the wingless a more interesting phenomenon is their (W/E Egg) dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/to-the-wingless-a-more-interesting-phenomenon-is-their-w-e-egg/) [F. 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It is even worse to say, “I know it and will not cry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/it-is-bad-enough-to-be-unconverted-and-going-to-hell-it-is-even-worse/) [J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/) > [The practice of all ages and all countries (whether Christian or heathen, polite or barbarous) hath been ... to do honour to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-atterbury/the-practice-of-all-ages-and-all-countries-whether-christian-or/) [Francis Atterbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-atterbury/) > [The only way to convert a heathen is to travel into the jungle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lane-kirkland/the-only-way-to-convert-a-heathen-is-to-travel-into-the-jungle/) [Lane Kirkland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lane-kirkland/) > [“...their heathen fingers understand truth and beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/their-heathen-fingers-understand-truth-and-beauty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God has often given His people favor in the sight of heathen masters (as Joseph and Daniel), and has magnified the sufficiency of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/god-has-often-given-his-people-favor-in-the-sight-of-heathen-masters/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) ## More by Sholem Asch > [If my only tool is a hammer, then every problem is a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/if-my-only-tool-is-a-hammer-then-every-problem-is-a-nail/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Youth has the resilience to absorb disaster and weave it into the pattern of its life, no mater how anguishing the thorn that penetrates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/youth-has-the-resilience-to-absorb-disaster-and-weave-it-into-the/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/jesus-christ-is-to-me-the-outstanding-personality-of-all-time-all/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Without a love of humankind there is no love of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/without-a-love-of-humankind-there-is-no-love-of-god/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Personality is the gland of creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/personality-is-the-gland-of-creativity/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [God does not seek to destroy the evil nations, but their evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/god-does-not-seek-to-destroy-the-evil-nations-but-their-evil/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [I love the place; the magnificent books; I require books as I require air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/i-love-the-place-the-magnificent-books-i-require-books-as-i-require/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [The best security for old age: respect your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/the-best-security-for-old-age-respect-your-children/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition of our existence. If the lore of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/not-the-power-to-remember-but-its-very-opposite-the-power-to-forget-2/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Now, more than any time previous in human history, we must arm ourselves with an ethical code so that each of us will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/now-more-than-any-time-previous-in-human-history-we-must-arm/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Through our soul is our contact with heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/through-our-soul-is-our-contact-with-heaven/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/writing-comes-more-easily-if-you-have-something-to-say/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Jesus Christ is the outstanding personality of our time. Every act and word of Jesus has value for us. He became the light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/jesus-christ-is-the-outstanding-personality-of-our-time-every-act-and/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [Humankind's ladder to God is a ladder of deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/humankind-s-ladder-to-god-is-a-ladder-of-deeds/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [An illness is like a journey into a far country; it sifts all one's experience and removes it to a point so remote that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/an-illness-is-like-a-journey-into-a-far-country-it-sifts-all-one-s/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) [Explore all 19 Sholem Asch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) ## More Details quotes > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' 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False memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-loftus/just-because-someone-thinks-they-remember-something-in-detail-with/) [Elizabeth Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-loftus/) > [The Science Delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality in principle leaving only the details to be filled in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-science-delusion-is-the-belief-that-science-already-understands/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. 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