pages 177-178;Early Modern Texts page 16

If it be said, that an Omnipotent Creator, though under no necessity of employing contrivances such as man must use, thought fit to use them in order to leave traces that would enable man to recognize his creative hand, the answer is that this equally implies a limit to his omnipotence. For if he wanted men to know that they themselves and the world are his work, he, being omnipotent, had only to will that they should be aware of it.

— John Stuart Mill

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If it be said, that an Omnipotent Creator, though under no necessity of employing contrivances such as man must use, thought fit to use them in order to leave traces that would enable man to recognize his creative hand, the answer is that this equally implies a limit to his omnipotence. For if he wanted men to know that they themselves and the world are his work, he, being omnipotent, had only to will that they should be aware of it." in the context of "pages 177-178;Early Modern Texts page 16" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "John Stuart Mill" (Quotes, Three Essays on Religion (posthumous publication): Three Essays on Religion Three Essays On Religion. Broadview Press, 2009, Early Modern Texts: John Stuart Mill "Three essays On Religion" This text has some variations in wording, Theism, Part II: Attributes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
John Stuart Mill

About John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873), also known as J. S. Mill, was an English political philosopher and economist who was an advocate of utilitarianism.