What is man without the beasts? For if all the beast were gone, man would die of a great loneliness of the spirit.
Chief SeattleRead
Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors - the dreams of our old men, given them in solemn hours of the night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of ancestral traditions and spiritual wisdom passed down through generations.
Chief Seattle highlights the significance of cultural and spiritual inheritance in shaping individual and collective identity. He suggests that the essence of a community's belief system is rooted in the dreams and visions of their ancestors, signifying a deep connection to history and the natural world. This underscores the idea that our values and understanding of the universe are influenced by those who came before us, connecting the past with the present.
Themes
TraditionAncestorsSpiritualityIdentityWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
During a cultural celebration, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of heritage.
More from Chief Seattle
All quotes →We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children
Chief SeattleRead
Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only change of worlds.
Chief SeattleRead
All things are connected, like the blood that runs in your family "The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father." 1854 The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. You must give to the rivers the kindness you would give to any brother.
Chief SeattleRead
Revenge by young men is considered gain, even at the cost of their own lives, but old men who stay at home in times of war, and mothers who have sons to lose, know better.
Chief SeattleRead
The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of the pond, the smell of the wind itself cleansed by a midday rain, or scented with pinon pine. The air is precious to the red man, for all things are the same breath - the animals, the trees, the man.
Chief SeattleRead
Similar quotes
News networks giving a greater voice to viewers because the social web is so popular are like a chef on the Titanic who, seeing the looming iceberg and fleeing customers, figures ice is the future and starts making snow cones.
Randall MunroeRead
Every European goes on the streets and sees medieval churches. Not if you live in Indianapolis. The most exciting letters I received were from people in places like that.
Umberto EcoRead
We want freedom. We want freedom from the constraints of the cycles of the sun and the moon. We want freedom from drought and weather, freedom from the movement of game, the growth of plants, freedom from control from mendacious popes and kings, freedom from ideology, freedom from want. This idea of freeing ourselves has become the compass of the human journey.
Terence MckennaRead
The mystery of a person, indeed, is ever divine to him that has a sense for the godlike.
Thomas CarlyleRead
IT IS TIME THAT WE ALL SEE GENDER AS A SPECTRUM INSTEAD OF TWO SETS OF OPPOSING IDEALS.
Emma WatsonRead
In summary, Intelligence Intensification is desirable, because there is not a single problem confronting humanity that is not either caused or considerably worsened by the prevailing stupidity (insensitivity) of the species: badly wired robots bumping into and maiming and killing each other.
Robert Anton WilsonRead