--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where [God] is, tragedy is only…" description: "\"“Where [God] is, tragedy is only provisional and partial, and shipwreck and dissolution are not the absolutely final things.”\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/william-james-228_tragedy_where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional_472961.png" --- # Where \[God\] is, tragedy is only provisional and partial… ![“Where [God] is, tragedy is only provisional and partial, and shipwreck and dissolution are not the absolutely final things.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/william-james-228_tragedy_where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional_472961.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/william-james-228_tragedy_where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional_472961.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/william-james-228_tragedy_where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional_472961.png) > ““Where \[God\] is, tragedy is only provisional and partial, and shipwreck and dissolution are not the absolutely final things.”” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## 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 temporary and partial; ultimate reality transcends it. **In simple terms:** Suffering is not the end. Key Takeaway Seek deeper meaning beyond pain. Themes philosophy theology existentialism Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal crisis - spiritual practice Key Concepts impermanence spirituality hope Questions to Reflect On - How do you find hope in hardship? - What does “partial” imply about suffering? A Different Perspective Suffering may persist despite belief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-tragedy-3415501/) [Partial Shipwreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partial-shipwreck-4085018/) [Shipwreck Dissolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shipwreck-dissolution-4085019/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Provisional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-provisional-4085017/) ## Related quotes > [I do not see how it is possible for an intelligent human being to conclude that the Song of Solomon is the work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-do-not-see-how-it-is-possible-for-an-intelligent-human-being-to/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“I saw a banner hanging next to city hall in downtown Philadelphia that read, "Kill them all, and let God sort them out." A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/i-saw-a-banner-hanging-next-to-city-hall-in-downtown-philadelphia/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [God does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck, some are caused by bad people, and some are simply an inevitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/god-does-not-cause-our-misfortunes-some-are-caused-by-bad-luck-some/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [The tragedy of life and of the world is not that men do not know God; the tragedy is that, knowing Him, they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-tragedy-of-life-and-of-the-world-is-not-that-men-do-not-know-god/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [“In theater, that's the whole thing about Greek tragedy. 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A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-require-character-anybody-can/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [The Kennedys have always represented a certain royal quality, Camelot, and they represent a great deal of integrity and strength and perseverance; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-kennedys-have-always-represented-a-certain-royal-quality-camelot/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [“That's tragic, also unfortunate, and often illegal. More importantly, it's also unnecessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-eastham/that-s-tragic-also-unfortunate-and-often-illegal-more-importantly-it/) [Chad Eastham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-eastham/) > [Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/divorce-isn-t-such-a-tragedy-a-tragedy-s-staying-in-an-unhappy/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Tragedy quotes > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/divorce-isn-t-such-a-tragedy-a-tragedy-s-staying-in-an-unhappy/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [“That's tragic, also unfortunate, and often illegal. More importantly, it's also unnecessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-eastham/that-s-tragic-also-unfortunate-and-often-illegal-more-importantly-it/) [Chad Eastham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-eastham/) > [The Kennedys have always represented a certain royal quality, Camelot, and they represent a great deal of integrity and strength and perseverance; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-kennedys-have-always-represented-a-certain-royal-quality-camelot/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-require-character-anybody-can/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU When I hold a rose, I see the soft, velvety petals and smile, because tucked between those precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/the-difference-between-me-and-you-when-i-hold-a-rose-i-see-the-soft/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare...neither knew chocolate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-boynton/the-greatest-tragedies-were-written-by-the-greeks-and-shakespeare/) [Sandra Boynton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-boynton/) > [“In theater, that's the whole thing about Greek tragedy. You take the audience through the—like, the realest shit, the tearing out the eyes or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riley-redgate/in-theater-that-s-the-whole-thing-about-greek-tragedy-you-take-the/) [Riley Redgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riley-redgate/) > [Out of tragedy, people often unite in pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/out-of-tragedy-people-often-unite-in-pain/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [In tragedy every moment is eternity; in comedy, eternity is a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/in-tragedy-every-moment-is-eternity-in-comedy-eternity-is-a-moment/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird's life, it sings away its grief. I believe we could well follow the pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/instead-of-weeping-when-a-tragedy-occurs-in-a-songbird-s-life-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 3,091 Tragedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Where [God] is, tragedy is only provisional and partial, and shipwreck and dissolution are not the absolutely final things.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional-and-partial-and-shipwreck/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tragedy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional-and-partial-and-shipwreck/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/william-james-228_tragedy_where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional_472961.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/william-james-228_tragedy_where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional_472961.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/william-james-228_tragedy_where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional_472961.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Where [God] is, tragedy is only provisional and partial, and shipwreck and dissolution are not the…” — William James", "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 James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Where [God] is, tragedy is only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional-and-partial-and-shipwreck/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/where-god-is-tragedy-is-only-provisional-and-partial-and-shipwreck/#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 } } ] } ```