We seek not what God could have done but what He has done.… God could have caused birds to fly with bones of solid gold, with veins full of quicksilver, with flesh heavier than lead and very small and heavy wings, so as to better show His power … but He wanted to make their bones, flesh and feathers very light … to teach us that He likes simplicity and ease.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "We seek not what God could have done but what He has done.… God could have caused birds to fly with bones of solid gold, with veins full of quicksilver, with flesh heavier than lead and very small and heavy wings, so as to better show His power … but He wanted to make their bones, flesh and feathers very light … to teach us that He likes simplicity and ease." in the context of "Notes in a copy of Jean-Baptiste Morin's "Famous and ancient problems of the earth's motion or rest, yet to be solved" (published 1631). Some English sources incorrectly attribute this to the Dialogue, concluding it (also inaccurately): "It is only to shield your ignorance that you put the Lord at every turn to the refuge of a miracle." See "Misattributed" below for details." to mean that wisdom is timeless.