---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can understand the things that afflict…"
description: "\"I can understand the things that afflict mankind, but I often marvel at God those which console. An atom may wound, but God alone can heal.\" — Sophie S..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/sophie-swetchine-3738_atoms_i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict_3102267.png"
---

#  I can understand the things that afflict mankind, but I…

![“I can understand the things that afflict mankind, but I often marvel at God those which console. An atom may wound, but God alone can heal.” quote by Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/sophie-swetchine-3738_atoms_i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict_3102267.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/sophie-swetchine-3738_atoms_i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict_3102267.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/sophie-swetchine-3738_atoms_i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict_3102267.png)

> “I can understand the things that afflict mankind, but I often marvel at God those which console. An atom may wound, but God alone can heal.”

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human suffering is inevitable, yet divine comfort offers healing beyond physical harm.

**In simple terms:** God heals where medicine cannot.

Key Takeaway

Seek spiritual solace.

Themes

suffering faith healing

Mood

contemplative hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- illness
- grief
- spiritual crisis

Key Concepts

theology human frailty divine comfort

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance faith and medicine?
- What comforts you in suffering?

A Different Perspective

May overlook practical solutions in favor of faith.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Afflict Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afflict-mankind-3532876/) [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Console](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/console/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Console](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-console-5381939/) [God Heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-heal-350633/) [Heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heal/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Understand Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-things/) [Wound God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wound-god-5381940/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/)

## Related quotes

> [War is the greatest plague that can afflict mankind... Any scourge is preferable to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/war-is-the-greatest-plague-that-can-afflict-mankind-any-scourge-is/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [If there is any one thing most needed in this time of tumult and frustration, when men and women and youth and young adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-m-dibb/if-there-is-any-one-thing-most-needed-in-this-time-of-tumult-and/)

[Ann M. Dibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-m-dibb/)

> [Our faults afflict us more than our good deeds console. Pain is ever uppermost in the conscience as in the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/our-faults-afflict-us-more-than-our-good-deeds-console-pain-is-ever/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [People will hurt you, God will heal you. People will humiliate you, God will magnify you. People will judge you you, God will justify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-will-hurt-you-god-will-heal-you-people-will-humiliate-you-god/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Make your past to be forgiven in peace. Forget thy heart breaking moments you had to go through. God will heal you out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bigheartedperson/make-your-past-to-be-forgiven-in-peace-forget-thy-heart-breaking/)

[BigHeartedPerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bigheartedperson/)

> [People will hurt you, god will heal you. people will humiliate you, god will magnify you. People will judge you, god will justify you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james/people-will-hurt-you-god-will-heal-you-people-will-humiliate-you-god-2/)

[James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james/)

> [“God can’t heal your leg?” the boy challenged. “Ben!” The mother snapped out of her stupor. “Sure God can heal my leg--” started the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessub-flower/god-can-t-heal-your-leg-the-boy-challenged-ben-the-mother-snapped-out/)

[Jessub Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessub-flower/)

> [Time doesn't heal anything... only God can heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/time-doesn-t-heal-anything-only-god-can-heal/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [“Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises. Anyone who is sick should call the church's elders. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anyone-who-is-having-troubles-should-pray-anyone-who-is-happy-should/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Do you think God would heal an adulterer? Well I believe if God would save an adulterer, then He would heal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wommack/do-you-think-god-would-heal-an-adulterer-well-i-believe-if-god-would/)

[Andrew Wommack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wommack/)

> [Remorse is cureless--the Disease Not even God--can heal-- For 'tis His institution--and The Adequate of Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/remorse-is-cureless-the-disease-not-even-god-can-heal-for-tis-his/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [“Word was that God could heal anyone. The wounded, the infirm, even lepers. I figured I should be a breeze.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/word-was-that-god-could-heal-anyone-the-wounded-the-infirm-even/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“GOD ALWAYS WAS THE HEALER. He is the healer still, and will ever remain the Healer. Healing is for YOU. Jesus healed, "all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-lake/god-always-was-the-healer-he-is-the-healer-still-and-will-ever-remain/)

[John G. Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-lake/)

> [People hurt you; God will heal you. People humiliate you; God will magnify you. People judge you; God will justify you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princeazheef/people-hurt-you-god-will-heal-you-people-humiliate-you-god-will/)

[PrinceAzheef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princeazheef/)

> [“Why does God not heal when we pray?   My wife and I discussed this question for quite a bit before I attempted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-davis/why-does-god-not-heal-when-we-pray-my-wife-and-i-discussed-this/)

[Patrick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-davis/)

## More by Sophie Swetchine

> [A good, finished scandal, fully armed and equipped, such as circulates in the world, is rarely the production of a single individual, or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/a-good-finished-scandal-fully-armed-and-equipped-such-as-circulates/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Respect is a serious thing in him who feels it, and the height of honor for him who inspires the feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/respect-is-a-serious-thing-in-him-who-feels-it-and-the-height-of/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Since there must be chimeras, why is not perfection the chimera of all men?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/since-there-must-be-chimeras-why-is-not-perfection-the-chimera-of-all/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Those who have suffered much are like those who know many languages; they have learned to understand and be understood by all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/those-who-have-suffered-much-are-like-those-who-know-many-languages/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Men are always invoking justice; yet it is justice which should make them tremble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/men-are-always-invoking-justice-yet-it-is-justice-which-should-make/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [To reveal imprudently the spot where we are most sensitive and vulnerable is to invite a blow. The demigod Achilles admitted no one to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/to-reveal-imprudently-the-spot-where-we-are-most-sensitive-and/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [God has prohibited despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/god-has-prohibited-despair/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [There are questions so indiscreet, that they deserve neither truth nor falsehood in reply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/there-are-questions-so-indiscreet-that-they-deserve-neither-truth-nor/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Antiquity is a species of aristocracy with which it is not easy to be on visiting terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/antiquity-is-a-species-of-aristocracy-with-which-it-is-not-easy-to-be/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [The best of lessons, for a good many people, would be to listen at a keyhole. It is a pity for such that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/the-best-of-lessons-for-a-good-many-people-would-be-to-listen-at-a/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [There is, by God's grace, an immeasurable distance between late and too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/there-is-by-god-s-grace-an-immeasurable-distance-between-late-and-too/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [A malicious enemy is better than a clumsy friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/a-malicious-enemy-is-better-than-a-clumsy-friend/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Truth only is prolific. Error, sterile in itself, produces only by means of the portion of truth which it contains. It may have offspring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/truth-only-is-prolific-error-sterile-in-itself-produces-only-by-means/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [By becoming unhappy, we sometimes learn how to be less so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/by-becoming-unhappy-we-sometimes-learn-how-to-be-less-so/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

> [Our faults afflict us more than our good deeds console. Pain is ever uppermost in the conscience as in the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/our-faults-afflict-us-more-than-our-good-deeds-console-pain-is-ever/)

[Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

[Explore all 123 Sophie Swetchine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/)

## More Atoms quotes

> [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/)

[Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/)

> [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/)

[Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/)

> [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/)

[Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/)

> [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/)

[Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/)

> [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [Traditional nationalism cannot survive the fissioning of the atom. One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/)

[Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/)

> [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/)

[Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/)

> [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/)

[Wilhelm Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-korner/)

> [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“An atom is mostly made up of empty space. If you remove the empty space from every atom, the entire world's human population could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weike-wang/an-atom-is-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-if-you-remove-the-empty/)

[Weike Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weike-wang/)

> [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [ “\[Think\] of an experience from your childhood. Something you remember clearly, something you can see, feel, maybe even smell, as if you were really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-grand/think-of-an-experience-from-your-childhood-something-you-remember/)

[Steve Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-grand/)

> [The books remind us that way down deep in our hearts, part of us knows that we are creatures of light and we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/the-books-remind-us-that-way-down-deep-in-our-hearts-part-of-us-knows/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

[Browse all 852 Atoms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I can understand the things that afflict mankind, but I often marvel at God those which console. An atom may wound, but God alone can heal.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sophie Swetchine"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict-mankind-but-i-often-marvel/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Atoms"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict-mankind-but-i-often-marvel/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/sophie-swetchine-3738_atoms_i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict_3102267.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/sophie-swetchine-3738_atoms_i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict_3102267.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/sophie-swetchine-3738_atoms_i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict_3102267.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I can understand the things that afflict mankind, but I often marvel at God those which console. An atom may…” — Sophie Swetchine",
                "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": "Sophie Swetchine",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I can understand the things that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict-mankind-but-i-often-marvel/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/i-can-understand-the-things-that-afflict-mankind-but-i-often-marvel/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
