No single thing abides; but all things flow. Fragment to fragment clings - the things thus grow Until we know them and name them. By degrees They melt, and are no more the things we know.
LucretiusRead
Huts they made then, and fire, and skins for clothing, And a woman yielded to one man in wedlock... ... Common, to see the offspring they had made; The human race began to mellow then. Because of fire their shivering forms no longer Could bear the cold beneath the covering sky.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the early stages of human civilization and the significant advancements that led to societal development.
Lucretius illustrates the foundational aspects of human life, highlighting the creation of basic necessities such as huts, fire, and clothing, as well as the emergence of relationships and family structures. This progression marks a pivotal shift in human existence, moving from mere survival to the establishment of a more organized and harmonious society, influenced by the comforts provided by fire and communal living.
Themes
HumanityCivilizationRelationshipsFireSurvival
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the evolution of human society, one might quote Lucretius to emphasize the importance of early innovations.
More from Lucretius
All quotes →What is food to one man is bitter poison to others.
LucretiusRead
The water hollows out the stone, not by force but drop by drop.
LucretiusRead
Thus the sum of things is ever being reviewed, and mortals dependent one upon another. Some nations increase, others diminish, and in a short space the generations of living creatures are changed and like runners pass on the torch of life.
LucretiusRead
Many animals even now spring out of the soil, Coalescing from the rains and the heat of the sun. Small wonder, then, if more and bigger creatures, Full-formed, arose from the new young earth and sky. The breed, for instance, of the dappled birds Shucked off their eggshells in the springtime, as Crickets in summer will slip their slight cocoons All by themselves, and search for food and life. Earth gave you, then, the first of mortal kinds, For all the fields were soaked with warmth and moisture.
LucretiusRead
So potent was religion in persuading to evil deeds.
LucretiusRead
Similar quotes
I don't want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did.
Henry JamesRead
Any time I claimed to be white, that would be unacceptable. It just doesn't make sense in people's minds. If I'm white, how can I walk through a department store and still have people scared that I'm going to rob them? Which, that can still happen.
Jordan PeeleRead
Europe has been a place of refuge. Why should it stop with black and brown bodies?
Kehinde WileyRead
So far are we generally from thinking what we often say of the shortness of life, that at the time when it is necessarily shortest we form projects which we delay to execute, indulge such expectations as nothing but along train of events can gratify, and suffer those passions to gain upon us which are only excusable in the prime of life.
Lyndon B. JohnsonRead
There is a common perception that compassion is, if not actually an impediment, at least irrelevant to professional life. Personally, I would argue that not only is it relevant, but that when compassion is lacking, our activities are in danger of becoming destructive. This is because when we ignore the question of the impact our actions have on others' well-being, inevitably we end up hurting them.
Dalai LamaRead
The most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency.
W. Somerset MaughamRead