“Human language can but imperfectly describe God's ways. I am sensible of the fact that they are indescribable and inscrutable. But if mortal man will dare to describe them, he has no better medium than his own inarticulate speech.”
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About this quote
Some realities outrun every word we have, and honesty means admitting the gap rather than pretending to close it. Yet the pull to speak of them anyway is deeply human — you reach for clumsy, ordinary language because it's the only instrument you've got.
When to use it
- A grieving friend who knows words fall short but still sits and speaks, because staying silent feels worse.
- A physicist reaching for metaphors to explain a phenomenon no everyday language quite fits.
- A parent trying to describe love to a small child, aware the explanation will always be partial.