--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there were any plan in the universe at…" description: "\"“If there were any plan in the universe at all, if there were any pattern in human life, surely it could be discovered mysteriously latent in those liv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/thornton-wilder-1495_human-life_if-there-were-any-plan-in-the-universe-a_337257.jpg" --- # If there were any plan in the universe at all, if there… ![“If there were any plan in the universe at all, if there were any pattern in human life, surely it could be discovered mysteriously latent in those lives so suddenly cut off. Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/thornton-wilder-1495_human-life_if-there-were-any-plan-in-the-universe-a_337257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/thornton-wilder-1495_human-life_if-there-were-any-plan-in-the-universe-a_337257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b58/thornton-wilder-1495_human-life_if-there-were-any-plan-in-the-universe-a_337257.jpg) > ““If there were any plan in the universe at all, if there were any pattern in human life, surely it could be discovered mysteriously latent in those lives so suddenly cut off. Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan.”” [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote ponders whether life follows a predetermined plan or is random, suggesting that both outcomes are equally mysterious. **In simple terms:** Life may be planned or random, but both are unknowable. Key Takeaway Consider the balance between fate and chance. Themes existentialism determinism randomness Mood thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - theatrical discussion - philosophical debate - personal reflection - writing workshops Key Concepts philosophy theatre human condition fate choice Questions to Reflect On - Do we have agency within a possibly predetermined universe? - How does belief in randomness affect our decisions? A Different Perspective The binary view may oversimplify complex human experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/either-we-live-by-accident-and-die-by-accident-or-we-live-by-plan-and/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [If the universe sprung into existence and then expanded exponentially, you get gravitational waves traveling through space-time. These would fill the universe, a pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-turok/if-the-universe-sprung-into-existence-and-then-expanded-exponentially/) [Neil Turok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-turok/) > [“Plan? My plan is to die in a ball of superheated plasma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/plan-my-plan-is-to-die-in-a-ball-of-superheated-plasma/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [There are so many beautiful things to see, but I'll never see them. As I plan to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-so-many-beautiful-things-to-see-but-i-ll-never-see-them-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I plan to die at my desk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-hewitt/i-plan-to-die-at-my-desk/) [Don Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-hewitt/) > [There is a coherent plan to the universe, though I don't know what it's a plan for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/there-is-a-coherent-plan-to-the-universe-though-i-don-t-know-what-it/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [It is unlikely that God's plan for the universe includes making you rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-gunther/it-is-unlikely-that-god-s-plan-for-the-universe-includes-making-you/) [Max Gunther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-gunther/) > [What's plan b?' 'We all die now.' 'What's plan c?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/what-s-plan-b-we-all-die-now-what-s-plan-c/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don't know what it's a plan for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/there-is-a-coherent-plan-in-the-universe-though-i-don-t-know-what-it/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [There is a plan to this universe. There is a high intelligence, maybe even a purpose, but it's given to us on the installment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/there-is-a-plan-to-this-universe-there-is-a-high-intelligence-maybe/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [Unity in variety is the plan of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/unity-in-variety-is-the-plan-of-the-universe/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Language helps develp life as surely as it reflects life. It is a most important part of our human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/language-helps-develp-life-as-surely-as-it-reflects-life-it-is-a-most/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [“If there is a way to victory in anything in life, it is surely found in our habits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-miyaki/if-there-is-a-way-to-victory-in-anything-in-life-it-is-surely-found/) Nate Miyaki > [And if life be, as it surely is, a problem to me, I am no less a problem to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/and-if-life-be-as-it-surely-is-a-problem-to-me-i-am-no-less-a-problem/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I have long considered it one of God's greatest mercies that the future is hidden from us. If it were not, life would surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-forsey/i-have-long-considered-it-one-of-god-s-greatest-mercies-that-the/) Eugene Forsey ## More by Thornton Wilder > [“He respected the slight nervous shadow that crossed her face when he came too near her. But there arose out of this denial itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-respected-the-slight-nervous-shadow-that-crossed-her-face-when-he/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/when-you-re-safe-at-home-you-wish-you-were-having-an-adventure-when/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Simon Stimson: "...That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/simon-stimson-that-s-what-it-was-to-be-alive-to-move-about-in-a-cloud/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Love as education is one of the great powers of the world, but it hangs in a delicate suspension; it achieves its harmony as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/love-as-education-is-one-of-the-great-powers-of-the-world-but-it/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-great-writers-have-been-extraordinarily-awkward-in-daily/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-knowledge-that-she-would-never-be-loved-in-return-acted-upon-her/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“But while they continued staring into one another’s face waiting for the miracle of science the pain grew worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-while-they-continued-staring-into-one-another-s-face-waiting-for/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-am-convinced-that-except-in-a-few-extraordinary-cases-one-form-or/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-who-have-spent-a-lifetime-in-it-can-tell-us-less-of-love-than/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Cesar is not a philosophical man. His life has been one long flight from reflection. At least he is clever enough not to expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/cesar-is-not-a-philosophical-man-his-life-has-been-one-long-flight/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Every person who has ever lived has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/every-person-who-has-ever-lived-has-lived-an-unbroken-succession-of/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Without your wounds where would your power be? It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/without-your-wounds-where-would-your-power-be-it-is-your-melancholy/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [There's nothing like mixing with woman to bring out all the foolishness in a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/there-s-nothing-like-mixing-with-woman-to-bring-out-all-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) [Explore all 232 Thornton Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## More Human life quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Art is not a pleasure, a solace, or an amusement; art is great matter. Art is an organ of human life, transmitting man's reasonable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-is-not-a-pleasure-a-solace-or-an-amusement-art-is-great-matter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I free slaves because I believe we are all created equal. I just can't think of anything that has a higher purpose than putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-williams/i-free-slaves-because-i-believe-we-are-all-created-equal-i-just-can-t/) [Virginia Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-williams/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I think we are not spend our life as it pick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-narwal/i-think-we-are-not-spend-our-life-as-it-pick/) ANKIT NARWAL > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [To all conservative women out there: If you are so sure the embryo needed for stem cell research are precious human life that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/to-all-conservative-women-out-there-if-you-are-so-sure-the-embryo/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Human life is created in God's image, and that makes it sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-s-smith/human-life-is-created-in-god-s-image-and-that-makes-it-sacred/) [Colin S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [In these years we are witnessing the gigantic spectacle of innumerable human lives wandering about lost in their own labyrinths, through not having anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-these-years-we-are-witnessing-the-gigantic-spectacle-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) [Browse all 2,309 Human life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If there were any plan in the universe at all, if there were any pattern in human life, surely it could be discovered mysteriously latent in those lives so suddenly cut off. 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