Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Daniel Quinn

Quote by Daniel Quinn

“[I]n Africa I was a member of a family—of a sort of family that the people of your culture haven't known for thousands of years. If gorillas were capable of such an expression, they would tell you that their family is like a hand, of which they are the fingers. They are fully aware of being a family but are very little aware of being individuals. Here in the zoo there were other gorillas—but there was no family. Five severed fingers do not make a hand.”

Quote by Daniel Quinn

Create image

Author

Daniel Quinn
Daniel Quinn

Daniel Quinn is an American novelist known for his profound insights into human history and culture. His works often explore the relationship between humans and nature, as well as the development of human civilization. more

You May Also Like

“Hence, in all countries the chief occupation of society is card-playing, and it is the gauge of its value, and an outward sign that it is bankrupt in thought. Because people have no thoughts to deal in, they deal cards, and try and win one another’s money. Idiots!”

PeopleTryingCountryValuesWinningDealsCardsChiefsIdiotOccupationGauges
Book:The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer - The Wisdom of Life (illustrated)
Create image

“There's nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at odds with the world, as yours does, they will live at odds with the world. Given a story to enact in which they are the lords of the world, they will ACT like lords of the world. And, given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered, they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now.”

PeopleWorldDoeStoriesLyingGivenLordFeetOne DayConquerOddsFoeAccordBleeding
Book:Ishmael: A Novel
Create image

“Diversity is a survival factor for the community itself. A community of a hundred million species can survive anything short of total global catastrophe. Within that hundred million will be thousands that could survive a global temperature drop of twenty degrees—which would be a lot more devastating than it sounds. Within that hundred million will be thousands that could survive a global temperature rise of twenty degrees. But a community of a hundred species or a thousand species has almost no survival value at all.”

Would BeValuesSoundCommunityMillionsThousandDegreesDiversitySurvivalHundredTwentiesSpeciesFactorsEcologyCatastropheTemperature
Author:Daniel Quinn
Create image