---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But who shall parcel out His intellect by…"
description: "\"But who shall parcel out His intellect by geometric rules, Split like a province into round and square?\" — William Wordsworth"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/william-wordsworth-403_geometric_but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-b_2143752.jpg"
---

#  But who shall parcel out His intellect by geometric rules…

![“But who shall parcel out His intellect by geometric rules, Split like a province into round and square?” quote by William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/william-wordsworth-403_geometric_but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-b_2143752.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/william-wordsworth-403_geometric_but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-b_2143752.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/william-wordsworth-403_geometric_but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-b_2143752.jpg)

> “But who shall parcel out His intellect by geometric rules, Split like a province into round and square?”

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

## About This Quote

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

Intellect cannot be confined to rigid, geometric categorization; it resists simple division.

**In simple terms:** Intellect defies strict, geometric rules.

Key Takeaway

Embrace flexible thinking.

Themes

philosophy creativity limitations

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- problem solving
- artistic creation
- education

Key Concepts

cognitive flexibility abstract thought

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance structure with creative thought?
- When is categorization helpful?

A Different Perspective

Over‑analysis can stifle intuition.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/)

## Related quotes

> [There is a deep connection between Bernoulli's dictum and John Kelly's 1956 publication. It turns out that Kelly's prescription can be restated as this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-poundstone/there-is-a-deep-connection-between-bernoulli-s-dictum-and-john-kelly/)

[William Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-poundstone/)

> [About Archimedes one remembers that he did strange things: he ran around naked shouting 'Heureka!', plunged crowns into water, drew geometric figures as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucio-russo/about-archimedes-one-remembers-that-he-did-strange-things-he-ran/)

[Lucio Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucio-russo/)

> [“The association of multiplication with vector rotation was one of the geometric interpretation's most important elements because it decisively connected the imaginaries with rotary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stipp/the-association-of-multiplication-with-vector-rotation-was-one-of-the/)

[David Stipp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stipp/)

> [I try to visualize geometric shapes and patterns slowly spinning and expanding into infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-mcbride/i-try-to-visualize-geometric-shapes-and-patterns-slowly-spinning-and/)

[Martina McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-mcbride/)

> [We all share beauty. It strikes us indiscriminately. There is no end to the beauty for the person who is aware. Even the cracks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/we-all-share-beauty-it-strikes-us-indiscriminately-there-is-no-end-to/)

[Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/)

> [So all night long the storm roared on: The morning broke without a sun; In tiny spherule traced with lines Of Nature’s geometric signs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/so-all-night-long-the-storm-roared-on-the-morning-broke-without-a-sun/)

[John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/)

> [All my work comes from perceiving. I kept seeing things that were brooding in me. I'm not a geometric artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/all-my-work-comes-from-perceiving-i-kept-seeing-things-that-were/)

[Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/)

> [I don't see how it's doing society any good to have so many members walking around with vague memories of algebraic formulas and geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/i-don-t-see-how-it-s-doing-society-any-good-to-have-so-many-members/)

[Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/)

> [As you know, Bergson pointed out that there is no such thing as disorder but rather two sorts of order, geometric and living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/as-you-know-bergson-pointed-out-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as/)

[Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/)

> [These abnormal aspects included the shapes of UFOs and their behavior. Most of the UFOs seen in the daytime were said to have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-berliner/these-abnormal-aspects-included-the-shapes-of-ufos-and-their-behavior/)

[Don Berliner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-berliner/)

> [The only thing that I could get with chance, and I never was able to use it, was that I would end up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/the-only-thing-that-i-could-get-with-chance-and-i-never-was-able-to/)

[Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/)

> [Much of what I make is geometric, and has a kind of almost mathematical logic to the form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/much-of-what-i-make-is-geometric-and-has-a-kind-of-almost/)

[Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/)

> [Geometric shapes hold an energy pattern, and scientists did some experiments which say certain geometric shapes can affect matter around them. It's simply because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delonge/geometric-shapes-hold-an-energy-pattern-and-scientists-did-some/)

[Tom DeLonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delonge/)

> [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/)

[M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/)

> [New York... is a city of geometric heights, a petrified desert of grids and lattices, an inferno of greenish abstraction under a flat sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/new-york-is-a-city-of-geometric-heights-a-petrified-desert-of-grids/)

[Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/)

## More by William Wordsworth

> [Spade! Thou art a tool of honor in my hands. I press thee, through a yielding soil, with pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/spade-thou-art-a-tool-of-honor-in-my-hands-i-press-thee-through-a/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Brothers all In honour, as in one community, Scholars and gentlemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/brothers-all-in-honour-as-in-one-community-scholars-and-gentlemen/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [The eye— it cannot choose but see; we cannot bid the ear be still; our bodies feel, where'er they be, against or with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-eye-it-cannot-choose-but-see-we-cannot-bid-the-ear-be-still-our/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [“Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, Are a substantial world, both pure and good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/dreams-books-are-each-a-world-and-books-we-know-are-a-substantial/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Now when the primrose makes a splendid show, And lilies face the March-winds in full blow, And humbler growths as moved with one desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/now-when-the-primrose-makes-a-splendid-show-and-lilies-face-the-march/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [“Where are your books? - that light bequeathed To beings else forlorn and blind! Up! up! and drink the spirit breathed From dead men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/where-are-your-books-that-light-bequeathed-to-beings-else-forlorn-and/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Knowledge and increase of enduring joy From the great Nature that exists in works Of mighty Poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/knowledge-and-increase-of-enduring-joy-from-the-great-nature-that/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [The common growth of Mother Earth Suffices me,-her tears, her mirth, Her humblest mirth and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-common-growth-of-mother-earth-suffices-me-her-tears-her-mirth-her/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [And he is oft the wisest manWho is not wise at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/and-he-is-oft-the-wisest-manwho-is-not-wise-at-all/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [The oldest man he seemed that ever wore grey hairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-oldest-man-he-seemed-that-ever-wore-grey-hairs/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [“She was a Phantom of delight When first she gleam'd upon my sight; A lovely Apparition, sent To be a moment's ornament: Her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/she-was-a-phantom-of-delight-when-first-she-gleam-d-upon-my-sight-a/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [“If the time should ever come when what is now called science, thus familiarised to men, shall be ready to put on, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/if-the-time-should-ever-come-when-what-is-now-called-science-thus/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Truth takes no account of centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/truth-takes-no-account-of-centuries/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/i-have-felt-a-presence-that-disturbs-me-with-the-joy-of-elevated/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Like thoughts whose very sweetness yielded proof that they were born for immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/like-thoughts-whose-very-sweetness-yielded-proof-that-they-were-born/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

[Explore all 587 William Wordsworth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

## More Geometric quotes

> [There is a deep connection between Bernoulli's dictum and John Kelly's 1956 publication. It turns out that Kelly's prescription can be restated as this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-poundstone/there-is-a-deep-connection-between-bernoulli-s-dictum-and-john-kelly/)

[William Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-poundstone/)

> [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/)

[M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/)

> [Geometric shapes hold an energy pattern, and scientists did some experiments which say certain geometric shapes can affect matter around them. It's simply because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delonge/geometric-shapes-hold-an-energy-pattern-and-scientists-did-some/)

[Tom DeLonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delonge/)

> [Much of what I make is geometric, and has a kind of almost mathematical logic to the form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/much-of-what-i-make-is-geometric-and-has-a-kind-of-almost/)

[Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/)

> [The only thing that I could get with chance, and I never was able to use it, was that I would end up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/the-only-thing-that-i-could-get-with-chance-and-i-never-was-able-to/)

[Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/)

> [These abnormal aspects included the shapes of UFOs and their behavior. Most of the UFOs seen in the daytime were said to have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-berliner/these-abnormal-aspects-included-the-shapes-of-ufos-and-their-behavior/)

[Don Berliner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-berliner/)

> [As you know, Bergson pointed out that there is no such thing as disorder but rather two sorts of order, geometric and living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/as-you-know-bergson-pointed-out-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as/)

[Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/)

> [I don't see how it's doing society any good to have so many members walking around with vague memories of algebraic formulas and geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/i-don-t-see-how-it-s-doing-society-any-good-to-have-so-many-members/)

[Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/)

> [All my work comes from perceiving. I kept seeing things that were brooding in me. I'm not a geometric artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/all-my-work-comes-from-perceiving-i-kept-seeing-things-that-were/)

[Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/)

> [So all night long the storm roared on: The morning broke without a sun; In tiny spherule traced with lines Of Nature’s geometric signs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/so-all-night-long-the-storm-roared-on-the-morning-broke-without-a-sun/)

[John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/)

> [We all share beauty. It strikes us indiscriminately. There is no end to the beauty for the person who is aware. Even the cracks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/we-all-share-beauty-it-strikes-us-indiscriminately-there-is-no-end-to/)

[Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/)

> [I try to visualize geometric shapes and patterns slowly spinning and expanding into infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-mcbride/i-try-to-visualize-geometric-shapes-and-patterns-slowly-spinning-and/)

[Martina McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-mcbride/)

> [“The association of multiplication with vector rotation was one of the geometric interpretation's most important elements because it decisively connected the imaginaries with rotary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stipp/the-association-of-multiplication-with-vector-rotation-was-one-of-the/)

[David Stipp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stipp/)

> [About Archimedes one remembers that he did strange things: he ran around naked shouting 'Heureka!', plunged crowns into water, drew geometric figures as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucio-russo/about-archimedes-one-remembers-that-he-did-strange-things-he-ran/)

[Lucio Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucio-russo/)

> [New York... is a city of geometric heights, a petrified desert of grids and lattices, an inferno of greenish abstraction under a flat sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/new-york-is-a-city-of-geometric-heights-a-petrified-desert-of-grids/)

[Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/)

Browse all 87 Geometric quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "But who shall parcel out His intellect by geometric rules, Split like a province into round and square?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Wordsworth"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-by-geometric-rules-split-like/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Geometric"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-by-geometric-rules-split-like/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/william-wordsworth-403_geometric_but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-b_2143752.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/william-wordsworth-403_geometric_but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-b_2143752.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/william-wordsworth-403_geometric_but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-b_2143752.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“But who shall parcel out His intellect by geometric rules, Split like a province into round and square?” — William Wordsworth",
                "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 Wordsworth",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "But who shall parcel out His...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-by-geometric-rules-split-like/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/but-who-shall-parcel-out-his-intellect-by-geometric-rules-split-like/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
