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.
Madness is tonic and invigorating. It makes the sane more sane. The only ones who are unable to profit by it are the insane.
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Fame is not just. She never finely or discriminatingly praises, but coarsely hurrahs.
If you want to know everything about the market, go to the beach. Push and pull your hands with the waves. Some are bigger waves, some are smaller. But if you try to push the wave out when it's coming in, it'll never happen. The market is always right.
Modern travelling is not travelling at all; it is merely being sent to a place, and very little different from becoming a parcel.
Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.
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