The whole life lies in the verb seeing.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead
I would like to express the thoughts of a man who, having finally penetrated the partitions and ceilings of little countries, little coteries, little sects, rises above all these categories and finds himself a child and citizen of the Earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a desire for unity and transcending divisions among humanity.
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin suggests that once a person moves beyond the superficial divisions of society—such as those imposed by nationality, social groups, or belief systems—they become more connected to the world and humanity as a whole. This perspective promotes a sense of belonging to the Earth and emphasizes a universal identity that transcends these artificial boundaries.
Themes
UnityHumanityTranscendenceGlobal CitizenshipEarth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about global cooperation, one can highlight this quote to emphasize the need for unity.
More from Pierre Teilhard De Chardin
All quotes →Religion and science are the two conjugated faces or phases of one and the same complete act of knowledge - the only one which can embrace the past and future of evolution and so contemplate, measure and fulfil them.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead
The mineral world is a much more supple and mobile world than could be imagined by the science of the ancients. Vaguely analogous to the metamorphoses of living creatures, there occurs in the most solid rocks, as we now know, perpetual transformation of a mineral species.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead
We may, perhaps, imagine that the creation was finished long ago. But that would be quite wrong. It continues still more magnificently, and at the highest levels of the world.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead
Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to love developing until it embraces the totality of men and the earth.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead
If there is one thing I fear less than everything else, it is, I believe, persecution for my opinions. There are a good many points about which I may be diffident, but when it comes to questions of Truth and intellectual independence, there is no holding me - I can envisage no finer end than to sacrifice oneself for a conviction.
Pierre Teilhard De ChardinRead
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