“When you're dancing the mystical dance of the molecules, you're not the one who's leading.”
Jane Wagner (1935) Playwright, actress
"Trudy"
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1985)
“I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic process…”
Transition (1927)
Context: I felt more keenly than before the need of a philosophy that would do justice to the infinite vitality of nature. In the inexhaustible activity of the atom, in the endless resourcefulness of plants, in the teeming fertility of animals, in the hunger and movement of infants, in the laughter and play of children, in the love and devotion of youth, in the restless ambition of fathers and the lifelong sacrifice of mothers, in the undiscourageable researches of scientists and the sufferings of genius, in the crucifixion of prophets and the martyrdom of saints — in all things I saw the passion of life for growth and greatness, the drama of everlasting creation. I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic process... I became almost reconciled to mortality, knowing that my spirit would survive me enshrined in a fairer mold... and that my little worth would somehow be preserved in the heritage of men. In a measure the Great Sadness was lifted from me, and, where I had seen omnipresent death, I saw now everywhere the pageant and triumph of life.
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Will Durant85
American historian, philosopher and writer 1885–1981Related quotes
“When you're dancing the mystical dance of the molecules, you're not the one who's leading.”
Lily Tomlin (1939) American actress, comedian, writer, and producer
As "Trudy"
Contributions of Jane Wagner, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1985)
“Life is water, dancing to the tune of macro molecules.”
Albert Szent-Györgyi (1893–1986) Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937
Water, Energy, and Life: Fresh Views From the Water's Edge, Gerald Pollack, 01/30/2008, University of Washington TV, February 5, 2011 http://www.uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.aspx?rID=22222,.
Edward Everett (1794–1865) American politician, orator, statesman
Letter to Abraham Lincoln on his Gettysburg Address (20 November 1863).
Friedrich Nietzsche book Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Variant: One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.
Source: Thus Spoke Zarathustra
“For a minute there
I lost myself”
Thom Yorke (1968) English musician, philanthropist and singer-songwriter
"Karma Police"
Lyrics, OK Computer (1997)
Ray Kurzweil (1948) Author, scientist, inventor, and futurist
The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence (1999)
Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist
Autobiography of Values (1978)
Context: I grow aware of various forms of man and of myself. I am form and I am formless, I am life and I am matter, mortal and immortal. I am one and many — myself and humanity in flux. I extend a multiple of ways in experience in space. I am myself now, lying on my back in the jungle grass, passing through the ether between satellites and stars. My aging body transmits an ageless life stream. Molecular and atomic replacement change life's composition. Molecules take part in structure and in training, countless trillions of them. After my death, the molecules of my being will return to the earth and sky. They came from the stars. I am of the stars.
“You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.”
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist