And yet we knew, for a certainty, that when first emissaries of Earth went walking among the planets, Earth's other sons would be dreaming not about such expeditions but about a piece of bread.
Interpretation
The quote underscores the contrast between the lofty aspirations of exploration and the basic needs of survival.
Stanislaw Lem's quote reflects on the dual nature of human existence, where aspirations for exploration and understanding of the universe starkly contrast with the immediate, primal concerns of daily life, such as hunger and survival. It suggests that while some may dream of reaching other planets, the majority of humanity remains focused on fundamental needs, highlighting the disparity between higher ambitions and basic human requirements.
In practice
In a discussion about technological advancements vs. basic needs, this quote can emphasize the need to remember our roots.
The only writers who have any peace are the ones who don't write. And there are some like that. They wallow in a sea of possibilities. To express a thought, you first have to limit it, and that means kill it. Every word I speak robs me of a thousand others, and every line I write means giving up another.
We didn't know each other well. I never had the time. Now I see that it doesn't make any difference. The ones who hurry and the ones who take their time all end up in the same place. Just don't have any regrets. No regrets.
Cripple God, who always desires more than he's able to have, and doesn't always realize this to begin with. Who has built clocks, but not the time that they measure. Has built systems or mechanisms that serve particular purposes, but they too have outgrown these purposes and betrayed them. And has created an infinity that, from being the measure of the power he was supposed to have, turned into the measure of his boundless failure.
We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors. We don't know what to do with other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but we can't accept it for what it is.
No one reads; if someone does read, he doesn't understand; if he understands, he immediately forgets.
A writer should not run around with a mirror for his countrymen; he should tell his society and his times things no one ever thought before.
You have to assemble your life yourself - action by action.
Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and silence.
Represent to yourself a dark city all burning and stinking with fire and brimstone. The damned are in the depth of hell within this woful city, where they suffer unspeakable torments in all their senses and members. Consider above all the eternity of their pains, which above all things makes hell intolerable.
Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves.
The hypocrite, certainly, is a secret atheist; for if he did believe there was a God, he durst not be so bold as to deceive Him to His face.
The most familiar precepts are not always the truest.
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