--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An imaginary divinity has been given to…" description: "\"“An imaginary divinity has been given to man so that he may strip himself of it.”\" — Simone Weil" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/simone-weil-544_divinity_an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to_2488240.jpg" --- # An imaginary divinity has been given to man so that he may… ![“An imaginary divinity has been given to man so that he may strip himself of it.” quote by Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/simone-weil-544_divinity_an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to_2488240.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/simone-weil-544_divinity_an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to_2488240.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/simone-weil-544_divinity_an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to_2488240.jpg) > ““An imaginary divinity has been given to man so that he may strip himself of it.”” [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement claims humanity invents a deity to relinquish responsibility for it. **In simple terms:** People create gods to avoid accountability. Key Takeaway Question the purpose of divine concepts. Themes theology philosophy human nature Mood contemplative critical Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - religious study - ethical debate - personal reflection Key Concepts divinity self‑abnegation responsibility Questions to Reflect On - Why do we seek external authority? - What alternatives exist to divine delegation? 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Everything that is less than the universe is subjected to suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/one-should-identify-oneself-with-the-universe-itself-everything-that/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/what-a-country-calls-its-vital-economic-interests-are-not-the-things/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-intelligent-man-who-is-proud-of-his-intelligence-is-like-the/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [The highest ecstasy is the attention at its fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-highest-ecstasy-is-the-attention-at-its-fullest/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [To be innocent is to bear the weight of the entire universe. It is to throw away the counterweight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/to-be-innocent-is-to-bear-the-weight-of-the-entire-universe-it-is-to/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Equality is the public recognition, effectively expressed in institutions and manners, of the principle that an equal degree of attention is due to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/equality-is-the-public-recognition-effectively-expressed-in/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [The entire universe is nothing but a great metaphor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-entire-universe-is-nothing-but-a-great-metaphor/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [A beautiful woman looking at her image in the mirror may very well believe the image is herself. An ugly woman knows it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/a-beautiful-woman-looking-at-her-image-in-the-mirror-may-very-well/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to respect it, is capable of love andjustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/only-he-who-has-measured-the-dominion-of-force-and-knows-how-not-to/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Every time that I think of the crucifixion of Christ, I commit the sin of envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/every-time-that-i-think-of-the-crucifixion-of-christ-i-commit-the-sin/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [A Pharisee is someone who is virtuous out of obedience to the Great Beast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/a-pharisee-is-someone-who-is-virtuous-out-of-obedience-to-the-great/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Joy is being fully aware of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/joy-is-being-fully-aware-of-reality/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) [Explore all 443 Simone Weil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## More Divinity quotes > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [Were you indeed not blinded by the Curse Of Self-exile, that still grows worse and worse, Yourselves would know that, though you see him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farid-al-din-attar/were-you-indeed-not-blinded-by-the-curse-of-self-exile-that-still/) [Farid al-Din Attar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farid-al-din-attar/) > [It is through the body that everything comes to the mind. It is through and with your body that you have to reach realization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/it-is-through-the-body-that-everything-comes-to-the-mind-it-is/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [The end product of mixing your ability with Divinity is to better humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mbuko/the-end-product-of-mixing-your-ability-with-divinity-is-to-better/) [Michael Mbuko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mbuko/) > [As soon as I find myself in the presence of a rich man, I cannot help looking upon him as an exceptional and beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/as-soon-as-i-find-myself-in-the-presence-of-a-rich-man-i-cannot-help/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [I have now been an officer in this Church for a very long time. I am an old man who cannot deny the calendar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/i-have-now-been-an-officer-in-this-church-for-a-very-long-time-i-am/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-is-a-divinity-in-disguise-a-god-playing-the-fool/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“No scripture is more divine than the innate divinity of the human self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/no-scripture-is-more-divine-than-the-innate-divinity-of-the-human-self/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair-is-too-foul-an-epithet-for/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [Where there is no purity, there is no Unity. Without Unity you cannot attain Divinity. Then your life is just a waste. First purity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/where-there-is-no-purity-there-is-no-unity-without-unity-you-cannot/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [“You know how it goes: at some point in your life, you fell in love with someone and had a glimpse of God. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/you-know-how-it-goes-at-some-point-in-your-life-you-fell-in-love-with/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves. That faith calls out the divinity within.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-history-of-the-world-is-the-history-of-a-few-men-who-had-faith-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [There are many concepts of spirituality, among them, various notions of divinity developed in the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic religions. Within these the concepts vary greatly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-many-concepts-of-spirituality-among-them-various-notions-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Browse all 892 Divinity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An imaginary divinity has been given to man so that he may strip himself of it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simone Weil" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to-man-so-that-he-may-strip/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divinity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to-man-so-that-he-may-strip/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/simone-weil-544_divinity_an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to_2488240.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/simone-weil-544_divinity_an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to_2488240.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5d/simone-weil-544_divinity_an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to_2488240.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An imaginary divinity has been given to man so that he may strip himself of it.” — Simone Weil", "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": "Simone Weil", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“An imaginary divinity has been given...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to-man-so-that-he-may-strip/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/an-imaginary-divinity-has-been-given-to-man-so-that-he-may-strip/#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 } } ] } ```