---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shape I may take, converse I may, but…"
description: "\"Shape I may take, converse I may, but neither god nor Buddha am I, rather an insensate being whose heart thus differs from that of man.\" — Ueda Akinari"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/ueda-akinari-53173_heart_shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neit_1531604.jpg"
---

#  Shape I may take, converse I may, but neither god nor…

![“Shape I may take, converse I may, but neither god nor Buddha am I, rather an insensate being whose heart thus differs from that of man.” quote by Ueda Akinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/ueda-akinari-53173_heart_shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neit_1531604.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/ueda-akinari-53173_heart_shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neit_1531604.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/ueda-akinari-53173_heart_shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neit_1531604.jpg)

> “Shape I may take, converse I may, but neither god nor Buddha am I, rather an insensate being whose heart thus differs from that of man.”

[Ueda Akinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker acknowledges a non-divine, non-human nature, emphasizing a raw, senseless existence distinct from humanity.

**In simple terms:** Existence can be raw and non-human.

Key Takeaway

Reflect on our nature.

Themes

existential philosophy identity

Mood

pensive detached

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- artistic creation
- spiritual contemplation
- loneliness

Key Concepts

nihilism metaphysics

Questions to Reflect On

- What does it mean to be an insensate being?
- How does this view affect moral responsibility?

A Different Perspective

Such self-description may alienate readers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Buddha Insensate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddha-insensate-5683443/) [Converse God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/converse-god-651107/) [Differs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differs/) [Differs Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differs-man-395866/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Differs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-differs-5683442/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/)

## Related quotes

> [Man differs more from man than man from beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilmot/man-differs-more-from-man-than-man-from-beast/)

[John Wilmot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilmot/)

> [For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/for-the-meaning-of-life-differs-from-man-to-man-from-day-to-day-and/)

[Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/)

> [One man's mind differs from another man's mind far more widely than all women's minds differ from all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-carey-thomas/one-man-s-mind-differs-from-another-man-s-mind-far-more-widely-than/)

[M. Carey Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-carey-thomas/)

> [All decays begin in the closet; no heart thrives with out much secret converse with God, and nothing will make amends for the want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berridge/all-decays-begin-in-the-closet-no-heart-thrives-with-out-much-secret/)

[John Berridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berridge/)

> [To-despise the world is the way to enjoy heaven; and blessed are they who delight to converse with God by prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/to-despise-the-world-is-the-way-to-enjoy-heaven-and-blessed-are-they/)

[John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/)

> [Live with men as if God saw you; converse with God as if men heard you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/live-with-men-as-if-god-saw-you-converse-with-god-as-if-men-heard-you/)

[Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/)

> [This conversion into prayer of our everyday joys, sorrows, hopes and desires is at first a conscious labor, but after a while it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-cassidy/this-conversion-into-prayer-of-our-everyday-joys-sorrows-hopes-and/)

[Sheila Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-cassidy/)

> [In books I converse with men, in the Bible I converse with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-romaine/in-books-i-converse-with-men-in-the-bible-i-converse-with-god/)

[William Romaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-romaine/)

> [Prayer is converse with God, equal honor with the Angels, progress in good things, averting of evils, righting of sinners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ephrem-the-syrian/prayer-is-converse-with-god-equal-honor-with-the-angels-progress-in/)

[Ephrem the Syrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ephrem-the-syrian/)

> [“Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dandemis/do-not-condemn-the-judgement-of-another-because-it-differs-from-your/)

[Dandemis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dandemis/)

> [These differences, they say, are three: shape, arrangement, and position; because they hold that what is differs only in contour, inter-contact, inclination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/these-differences-they-say-are-three-shape-arrangement-and-position/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [The morning glory which blooms for an hour differs not at heart from a giant pine that lives for a thousand years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-morning-glory-which-blooms-for-an-hour-differs-not-at-heart-from/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [“The Divine "goodness" differs from ours, but it is not sheerly different; it differs from ours not as white from black, but as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-divine-goodness-differs-from-ours-but-it-is-not-sheerly-different/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/)

[Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/)

> [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

## More by Ueda Akinari

> [The moon glows on the river, wind rustles the pines. Long night clear evening--what are they for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/the-moon-glows-on-the-river-wind-rustles-the-pines-long-night-clear/)

[Ueda Akinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/)

> [In friendship, bond not with a shallow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/in-friendship-bond-not-with-a-shallow-man/)

[Ueda Akinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/)

> [“...wealth without pride is the way of the great sage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/wealth-without-pride-is-the-way-of-the-great-sage/)

[Ueda Akinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/)

> [Though I cannot flee from the world of corruption, I can prepare tea with water from a mountain stream and put my heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/though-i-cannot-flee-from-the-world-of-corruption-i-can-prepare-tea/)

[Ueda Akinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/)

> [Without a constant livelihood, there will be no constant heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/without-a-constant-livelihood-there-will-be-no-constant-heart/)

[Ueda Akinari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/)

[Explore all 6 Ueda Akinari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/)

## More Differs quotes

> [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/)

[Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/)

> [“The Divine "goodness" differs from ours, but it is not sheerly different; it differs from ours not as white from black, but as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-divine-goodness-differs-from-ours-but-it-is-not-sheerly-different/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [The morning glory which blooms for an hour differs not at heart from a giant pine that lives for a thousand years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-morning-glory-which-blooms-for-an-hour-differs-not-at-heart-from/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [These differences, they say, are three: shape, arrangement, and position; because they hold that what is differs only in contour, inter-contact, inclination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/democritus/these-differences-they-say-are-three-shape-arrangement-and-position/)

[Democritus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/democritus/)

> [“Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dandemis/do-not-condemn-the-judgement-of-another-because-it-differs-from-your/)

[Dandemis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dandemis/)

> [That each from other differs, first confess; next that he varies from himself no less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/that-each-from-other-differs-first-confess-next-that-he-varies-from/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> ["Legacy code" often differs from its suggested alternative by actually working and scaling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarne-stroustrup/legacy-code-often-differs-from-its-suggested-alternative-by-actually/)

[Bjarne Stroustrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarne-stroustrup/)

> [Virginity, albeit some highly prize it, Compared with marriage, had you tried them both, Differs as much as wine and water doth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/virginity-albeit-some-highly-prize-it-compared-with-marriage-had-you/)

[Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/)

> [There's been an Israeli position, which is 'We love Mubarak,' that permeates their whole society, the political class. That certainly differs from many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/there-s-been-an-israeli-position-which-is-we-love-mubarak-that/)

[Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/)

> [A contract for the establishment of government, being nothing but a voluntary contract between individuals for their mutual benefit, differs, in nothing that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/a-contract-for-the-establishment-of-government-being-nothing-but-a/)

[Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/)

> [Life is change, how it differs from the rocks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kantner/life-is-change-how-it-differs-from-the-rocks/)

[Paul Kantner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kantner/)

> [“We all have some value but our net value differs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/we-all-have-some-value-but-our-net-value-differs/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [Oh! this opponent, this collaborator against your will, whose notion of beauty always differs from yours and whose means are often too limited for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-alekhine/oh-this-opponent-this-collaborator-against-your-will-whose-notion-of/)

[Alexander Alekhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-alekhine/)

> [Mortals are equal; their mask differs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/mortals-are-equal-their-mask-differs/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

[Browse all 43 Differs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differs/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Shape I may take, converse I may, but neither god nor Buddha am I, rather an insensate being whose heart thus differs from that of man.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ueda Akinari"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neither-god-nor-buddha-am-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Differs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neither-god-nor-buddha-am-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/ueda-akinari-53173_heart_shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neit_1531604.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/ueda-akinari-53173_heart_shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neit_1531604.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a9/ueda-akinari-53173_heart_shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neit_1531604.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Shape I may take, converse I may, but neither god nor Buddha am I, rather an insensate being whose heart…” — Ueda Akinari",
                "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": "Ueda Akinari",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueda-akinari/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Shape I may take, converse I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neither-god-nor-buddha-am-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueda-akinari/shape-i-may-take-converse-i-may-but-neither-god-nor-buddha-am-i/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```