“The Microbe is so very small
You cannot make him out at all,
But many sanguine people hope
To see him through a microscope.”

"The Microbe"
More Beasts for Worse Children (1897)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The Microbe is so very small You cannot make him out at all, But many sanguine people hope To see him through a micr…" by Hilaire Belloc?
Hilaire Belloc photo
Hilaire Belloc 91
writer 1870–1953

Related quotes

Robert Jordan photo

“You cannot tell a man he has the power to make the earth shake, then expect him to walk small.”

Robert Jordan (1948–2007) American writer

Mazrim Taim
(15 October 1994)

Will Cuppy photo
Ramakrishna photo

“Many are the names of God, and infinite the forms that lead us to know Him. In whatsoever name or form you desire to call Him, in that very form and name you will see Him.”

Ramakrishna (1836–1886) Indian mystic and religious preacher

Saying 5; variant translation: More are the names of God and infinite are the forms through which He may be approached. In whatever name and form you worship Him, through them you will realize Him.
Râmakrishna : His Life and Sayings (1898)

Katherine Mansfield photo

“Would you not like to try all sorts of lives — one is so very small — but that is the satisfaction of writing — one can impersonate so many people.”

Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand author

Letter to Sylvia Payne (24 April 1906), from The Collected Letters of Katherine Mansfield (1984-1996), vol. I

Emil M. Cioran photo

“A harmonious being cannot believe in God. Saints, criminals, and paupers have launched him, making him available to all unhappy people.”

Emil M. Cioran (1911–1995) Romanian philosopher and essayist

Tears and Saints (1937)

John Ruskin photo
Pope Francis photo

“You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. … There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others. They are provocateurs.”

Pope Francis (1936) 266th Pope of the Catholic Church

Statements on his official plane traveling from Sri Lanka to the Philippines, reported in "Pope Francis: 'You cannot make fun of the faith of others (15 January 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSV-GD9gA-U
2010s, 2015
Context: Not only does each person have the freedom and the right to say what they think for the common good, they have a duty to do so. Because while it is true that is wrong to react with violence, If my good friend Mr Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch in the nose. … It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others. … There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others. They are provocateurs. And what happens to them is what would happen to Mr Gasparri if he says a curse word against my mother. There is a limit. … One cannot make war… kill in the name of one’s own religion, that is, in the name of God.

Dane Cook photo
James Hudson Taylor photo

“Many there are who fail to see that there can be but one lord, and that those who do not make GOD Lord of all do not make Him Lord at all.”

James Hudson Taylor (1832–1905) Missionary in China

(J. Hudson Taylor. Separation and Service: Or Thoughts on Numbers VI, VII. London: Morgan & Scott, n.d., 47).

“Scares the bejesus out of people and makes them hate him. Because he's so [[good.]”

Maurice Sendak (1928–2012) American illustrator and writer of children's books

NOW interview (2004)
Context: Herman Melville is a god. … I cherish what he did. He was a genius. Wrote Moby-Dick. Wrote Pierre. Wrote The Confidence-Man, wrote Billy Budd. … Oh, yes. Look at him. … Scares the bejesus out of people and makes them hate him. Because he's so good. ] Claggart has him killed in that book. Claggart has his [[eye on that boy. He will not tolerate such goodness, such blondeness, such blue eye. Goodness is scary. It's like you want to knock it. You want to hit it. Are we a country of beating down things? We love seeing people go down.

Related topics