---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the mind that could dream and shape…"
description: "\"“To the mind that could dream and shape our beaconed universe, what is injustice to us may be unfathomable tenderness, and our horror only loveliness m..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/william-alexander-percy-49301_comfort_to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-o_560428.png"
---

#  To the mind that could dream and shape our beaconed…

![“To the mind that could dream and shape our beaconed universe, what is injustice to us may be unfathomable tenderness, and our horror only loveliness misunderstood.” quote by William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/william-alexander-percy-49301_comfort_to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-o_560428.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/william-alexander-percy-49301_comfort_to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-o_560428.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/william-alexander-percy-49301_comfort_to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-o_560428.png)

> ““To the mind that could dream and shape our beaconed universe, what is injustice to us may be unfathomable tenderness, and our horror only loveliness misunderstood.””

[William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

## About This Quote

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

Dreams shape reality, and perceived injustice may hide profound tenderness; our fears often misinterpret beauty.

**In simple terms:** Dreams create worlds; pain can be hidden love.

Key Takeaway

Seek deeper understanding.

Themes

dreams justice beauty

Mood

poetic contemplative

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- therapy
- artistic critique

Key Concepts

metaphysics psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you distinguish injustice from misunderstood kindness?
- What role do dreams play in your moral judgments?

A Different Perspective

Interpretation can be subjective, leading to misjudgment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Injustice Unfathomable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice-unfathomable-4647920/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Loveliness Misunderstood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loveliness-misunderstood-4647918/) [Misunderstood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misunderstood/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Tenderness Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness-horror-4647921/) [Unfathomable Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfathomable-tenderness-4647919/)

## Related quotes

> [Failure's relative. I've always felt, even early on, if I lose the freedom to fail, something's not right about that. It's how you treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/failure-s-relative-i-ve-always-felt-even-early-on-if-i-lose-the/)

[Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/)

> [TEENAGER the most misunderstood people on earth, treated like children but expected to act like adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/teenager-the-most-misunderstood-people-on-earth-treated-like-children/)

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

> [To refrain from storytelling is perhaps one of the highest forms of respect we can pay. Those people, with no stories to circle them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/to-refrain-from-storytelling-is-perhaps-one-of-the-highest-forms-of/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [In my long and colorful career, one thing stands out: I have been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/in-my-long-and-colorful-career-one-thing-stands-out-i-have-been/)

[Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/)

> [“Mental illness People assume you aren’t sick unless they see the sickness on your skin like scars forming a map of all the ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emm-roy/mental-illness-people-assume-you-aren-t-sick-unless-they-see-the/)

[Emm Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emm-roy/)

> [As evangelical Christians we have tended to relegate art to the very fringe of life. The rest of human life we feel is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/as-evangelical-christians-we-have-tended-to-relegate-art-to-the-very/)

[Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/)

> [“The 'bad guys' are the ones who are often misunderstood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-myklusch/the-bad-guys-are-the-ones-who-are-often-misunderstood/)

[Matt Myklusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-myklusch/)

> [Nothing can prepare you for living or working with a sociopathic serial bully. It is the most devastating, draining, misunderstood, and ultimately futile experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/nothing-can-prepare-you-for-living-or-working-with-a-sociopathic/)

[Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/)

> [I always feel like I've been slightly misunderstood. As a woman, you get judged for appearances or things like that I don't really care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lykke-li/i-always-feel-like-i-ve-been-slightly-misunderstood-as-a-woman-you/)

[Lykke Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lykke-li/)

> [I love Crowley for being an audacious man at certain point in time. I think he's greatly misunderstood. He was a good guy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-renck/i-love-crowley-for-being-an-audacious-man-at-certain-point-in-time-i/)

[Johan Renck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-renck/)

> [I was so unsuccessful for so long. I was used to the word no. I was used to you're not good enough or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamar-braxton/i-was-so-unsuccessful-for-so-long-i-was-used-to-the-word-no-i-was/)

[Tamar Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamar-braxton/)

> [Teenagers: The most misunderstood people on earth. Treated like children and expected to act like adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/teenagers-the-most-misunderstood-people-on-earth-treated-like/)

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

> [Tell me that I misunderstood a joke, but don't tell me that my choice of cravat is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-niven/tell-me-that-i-misunderstood-a-joke-but-don-t-tell-me-that-my-choice/)

[David Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-niven/)

> [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/)

[William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/)

> [“Until you have stood in another woman’s stilettos, you will never begin to know the year of pain she felt breaking them in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/until-you-have-stood-in-another-woman-s-stilettos-you-will-never/)

[Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/)

## More by William Alexander Percy

> [It is a very nice world-that is, if you remember that while morals are all-important between the Lord and His creatures, what counts between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/it-is-a-very-nice-world-that-is-if-you-remember-that-while-morals-are/)

[William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

> [I suspect anyway that the important things we learn we never remember because they become a part of us, we absorb them...we don't absorb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/i-suspect-anyway-that-the-important-things-we-learn-we-never-remember/)

[William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

> [With us, when you speak of ‘the river,’ though there be many, you mean always the same one, the great river, the shifting, unappeasable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/with-us-when-you-speak-of-the-river-though-there-be-many-you-mean/)

[William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

> [I have a need of silence and of stars. Too much is said too loudly. I am dazed. The silken sound of whirled infinity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/i-have-a-need-of-silence-and-of-stars-too-much-is-said-too-loudly-i/)

[William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

> [And would it not be proud romance Falling in some obscure advance, To rise, a poppy field of France?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/and-would-it-not-be-proud-romance-falling-in-some-obscure-advance-to/)

[William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

> [As with all great teachers, his curriculum was an insignificant part of what he communicated. From him you didn't learn a subject, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/as-with-all-great-teachers-his-curriculum-was-an-insignificant-part/)

[William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

[Explore all 7 William Alexander Percy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/)

## More Comfort quotes

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/)

[Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/)

> [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/)

[Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/)

> [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/)

[Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/)

> [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/)

[Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/)

> [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/)

[Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/)

> [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/)

[Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/)

> [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/)

[Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/)

> [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/)

[John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/)

> [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/)

[L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/)

> [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [I think that comfort is underrated in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/i-think-that-comfort-is-underrated-in-a-lot-of-ways/)

[Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/)

[Browse all 4,542 Comfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“To the mind that could dream and shape our beaconed universe, what is injustice to us may be unfathomable tenderness, and our horror only loveliness misunderstood.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Alexander Percy"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-our-beaconed-universe-what-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Comfort"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-our-beaconed-universe-what-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/william-alexander-percy-49301_comfort_to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-o_560428.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/william-alexander-percy-49301_comfort_to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-o_560428.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/william-alexander-percy-49301_comfort_to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-o_560428.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To the mind that could dream and shape our beaconed universe, what is injustice to us may be unfathomable…” — William Alexander Percy",
                "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": "William Alexander Percy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“To the mind that could dream...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-our-beaconed-universe-what-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/to-the-mind-that-could-dream-and-shape-our-beaconed-universe-what-is/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
