We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species.
Desmond MorrisRead
Life is like a very short visit to a toyshop between birth and death.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is fleeting and should be cherished, akin to a brief visit to a playful place.
Desmond Morris's quote reflects on the brevity and transitory nature of life. By comparing life to a short visit to a toyshop, he suggests that we should appreciate the joy and wonder of our existence, as it is limited in duration and filled with moments of delight, much like choosing toys in a shop before leaving.
Themes
LifeFleetingJoyAppreciationExistence
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote in a motivational speech about making the most of our time.
More from Desmond Morris
All quotes βClearly, then, the city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.
Desmond MorrisRead
We read off the many signals that our companions' clothes transmit to us in every social encounter. In this way, clothing is as much a part of human body language as gestures, facial expressions and postures.Even those people who insist that they despise attention to clothing, and dress as casually as possible, are making quite specific comments on their social roles and their attitudes towards the culture in which they live.
Desmond MorrisRead
...In little more than a single century from 1820 to 19450, no less than fifty-nine million human animals were killed in inter-group clashes of one sort or another.... We describe these killings as men behaving "like animals," but if we could find a wild animal that showed signs of acting this way, it would be more precise to describe it as behaving like men.
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