The truth is, indeed, that love is the threshold of another universe. Beyond the vibrations with which we are familiar, the rainbow-like range of its colors is still in full growth.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Truth Is That
Topic: Truth, Law, & Principle
The truth is, indeed, that love is the threshold of another universe. Beyond the vibrations with which we are familiar, the rainbow-like range of its colors is still in full growth. But, for all the fascination that the lower shades have for us, it is only towards the “ultra” that the creation of light advances. It is in these invisible and, we might almost say, immaterial zones that we can look for true initiation into unity. The depths we attribute to matter are no more than the reflection of the peaks of spirit.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French Jesuit priest, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher, and teacher. He was born on May 1, 1881, in Sarcenat, France. He studied geology and paleontology at the University of Paris, and was ordained a priest in 1911.
During World War I, Teilhard served as a stretcher bearer on the front lines. He was decorated for his bravery, and his experiences in the war led him to develop a new understanding of the relationship between science and religion. He believed that evolution was a process of spiritual as well as biological transformation, and that humanity was evolving towards a final spiritual unity. He coined the term "Omega Point" to describe this final spiritual unity.
After the war, Teilhard taught at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He also traveled to China, where he participated in the discovery of Peking Man. In the 1930s, he traveled to other parts of Asia, including the Gobi Desert, Sinkiang, Kashmir, Java, and Burma.
Teilhard's writings were controversial, and he was not allowed to publish his work in the Catholic Church until after his death. However, his ideas have since been published and translated into many languages. His ideas have been praised by some for their insights into the relationship between science and religion, but they have also been criticized by others for being too optimistic or even heretical.
Teilhard de Chardin was a brilliant and passionate thinker, and his work continues to be influential and thought-provoking. He was a pioneer in the field of evolutionary theology, and his ideas have helped to shape the way we think about the relationship between science and religion.
The Evolution of Chastity
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. "The Evolution of Chastity." In Toward the Future, translated by René Hague, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Theme: Truth
About This Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Quotation [Commentary]
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin presents love as “the threshold of another universe,” a force that extends beyond our familiar experience. He describes it as a “rainbow-like range” still unfolding, suggesting that love is in constant growth, revealing new dimensions of existence. Love, in his view, is not merely a feeling but a gateway to a deeper reality, shaping both human experience and the evolution of the universe. Its vast spectrum points to possibilities yet to be fully understood, inviting a shift in awareness toward something greater.
Teilhard de Chardin encourages looking beyond love’s more tangible expressions toward its finer, more luminous aspects—the “ultra.” While physical existence may hold depth, he writes, “The depths we attribute to matter are no more than the reflection of the peaks of spirit.” This suggests that what appears substantial in the material world mirrors something higher in the spiritual realm. Love, then, is more than connection—it is a force drawing creation toward unity. In reaching beyond the familiar, love leads to greater coherence, linking the seen with the unseen.
For Teilhard de Chardin, love and truth move together, revealing new dimensions of reality. Just as light extends beyond visible wavelengths, truth unfolds through love’s expansive energy. “It is in these invisible and, we might almost say, immaterial zones that we can look for true initiation into unity,” he writes, pointing to love as the path toward deeper understanding. Truth, in this sense, is not static but ever emerging, inviting humanity into a greater unfolding of existence.
Additional Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Quotations
“What paralyzes life is lack of faith and lack of audacity. The difficulty lies not in solving problems but expressing them. And so we cannot avoid this conclusion: it is biologically evident that to gain control of passion and so make it serve spirit must be a condition of progress. Sooner or later, then, the world will brush aside our incredulity and take this step: because whatever is the more true comes out into the open, and whatever is better is ultimately realized. The day will come when, after harnessing the ether*, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin [“The Evolution of Chastity” (1934), as translated by René Hague in Toward the Future (1975)].
*Translated and edited by René Hague, who also suggests “space” as an alternate translation of “the ether.”
“Science will, in all probability, be increasingly impregnated by mysticism.”
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, My Universe (1924)
“I am far from denying the destructive and disintegrating forces of passion. I will go so far as to agree that apart from the reproductive function, men have hitherto used love, on the whole, as an instrument of self-corruption and intoxication. But what do these excesses prove? Because fire consumes and electricity can kill are we to stop using them? The feminine is the most formidable of the forces of matter. True enough. “Very well, then,” say the moralists, “we must avoid it.” “Not at all,” I reply, “we take hold of it.” In every domain of the real (physical, affective, intellectual) “danger” is a sign of power. Only a mountain can create a terrifying drop. The customary education of the Christian conscience tends to make us confuse tutiorism with prudence, safety with truth. Avoiding the risk of transgression has become more important to us than carrying a difficult position for God. And it is this that is killing us. “The more dangerous a thing, the more is its conquest ordained by life”: it is from that conviction that the modern world has emerged; and from that our religion, too, must be reborn.”
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “The Evolution of Chastity” (1934), as translated by René Hague in Toward the Future (1975)
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