See there but for the grace of God go I on Wiktionary
{ "etymology_text": "There are several variants of this phrase, but all make reference to the same concept: an admission of humility that were it not for the work of God's grace (and perhaps also one's upbringing among those also formed in God's grace), any number of trials or tribulations could have befallen a person. The original is most often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, who may well have been quoting or paraphrasing the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:8–10, which states, \"Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am...\"\nIt has also been attributed to a mid-16th-century statement by a protestant, John Bradford: \"There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford\", in reference to a group of prisoners being led to execution.", "head_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en", "2": "proverb" }, "expansion": "there but for the grace of God go I", "name": "head" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "proverb", "senses": [ { "categories": [ { "kind": "other", "name": "English entries with incorrect language header", "parents": [ "Entries with incorrect language header", "Entry maintenance" ], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "English proverbs", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Entries with translation boxes", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with 1 entry", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with entries", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Terms with Hebrew translations", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Terms with Russian translations", "parents": [], "source": "w" } ], "examples": [ { "ref": "2001, J. G. Thirlwell (lyrics and music), “Grace of God”, in Flow, performed by Foetus:", "text": "I been turned out of places all over town\nMy smile is a frown turned upside down\nThere but for the grace of God go I", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "A recognition that others' misfortune could be one's own, if it weren't for the blessing of the Divine, or for fortune or fate." ], "id": "en-there_but_for_the_grace_of_God_go_I-en-proverb-NqQVYjq-", "links": [ [ "fortune", "fortune" ], [ "fate", "fate" ] ], "related": [ { "word": "but for the grace of God" }, { "word": "good graces" }, { "word": "so help me God" } ], "translations": [ { "code": "ru", "lang": "Russian", "roman": "vse pod Bogom xódim", "sense": "humankind's fate is in God's hands", "word": "все под Богом хо́дим" }, { "code": "he", "lang": "Hebrew", "sense": "others' misfortune could be one's own", "word": "רק במזל אני לא שם" }, { "code": "he", "lang": "Hebrew", "sense": "others' misfortune could be one's own", "word": "רק בחסדי אלוהים זה לא קרה גם לי" } ], "wikipedia": [ "John Bradford" ] } ], "word": "there but for the grace of God go I" }
{ "etymology_text": "There are several variants of this phrase, but all make reference to the same concept: an admission of humility that were it not for the work of God's grace (and perhaps also one's upbringing among those also formed in God's grace), any number of trials or tribulations could have befallen a person. The original is most often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, who may well have been quoting or paraphrasing the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:8–10, which states, \"Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am...\"\nIt has also been attributed to a mid-16th-century statement by a protestant, John Bradford: \"There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford\", in reference to a group of prisoners being led to execution.", "head_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en", "2": "proverb" }, "expansion": "there but for the grace of God go I", "name": "head" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "proverb", "related": [ { "word": "but for the grace of God" }, { "word": "good graces" }, { "word": "so help me God" } ], "senses": [ { "categories": [ "English entries with incorrect language header", "English lemmas", "English multiword terms", "English proverbs", "English terms with quotations", "Entries with translation boxes", "Pages with 1 entry", "Pages with entries", "Terms with Hebrew translations", "Terms with Russian translations" ], "examples": [ { "ref": "2001, J. G. Thirlwell (lyrics and music), “Grace of God”, in Flow, performed by Foetus:", "text": "I been turned out of places all over town\nMy smile is a frown turned upside down\nThere but for the grace of God go I", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "A recognition that others' misfortune could be one's own, if it weren't for the blessing of the Divine, or for fortune or fate." ], "links": [ [ "fortune", "fortune" ], [ "fate", "fate" ] ], "wikipedia": [ "John Bradford" ] } ], "translations": [ { "code": "ru", "lang": "Russian", "roman": "vse pod Bogom xódim", "sense": "humankind's fate is in God's hands", "word": "все под Богом хо́дим" }, { "code": "he", "lang": "Hebrew", "sense": "others' misfortune could be one's own", "word": "רק במזל אני לא שם" }, { "code": "he", "lang": "Hebrew", "sense": "others' misfortune could be one's own", "word": "רק בחסדי אלוהים זה לא קרה גם לי" } ], "word": "there but for the grace of God go I" }
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