--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would indeed be a tragedy if the…" description: "\"It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a pet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/anonymous-1_apes_it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-hist_788415.jpg" --- # It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human… ![“It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/anonymous-1_apes_it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-hist_788415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/anonymous-1_apes_it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-hist_788415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/anonymous-1_apes_it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-hist_788415.jpg) > “It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human history may be reduced to primitive beings misusing dangerous tools, warning of self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** Technology can be misused by humanity. Key Takeaway Beware reckless innovation. Themes technology danger human nature Mood cautionary serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education - risk assessment Key Concepts self‑destruction ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards prevent misuse? - How can we balance progress and safety? A Different Perspective Not all technological use is harmful; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [It would indeed be the ultimate tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more noble than the story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-indeed-be-the-ultimate-tragedy-if-the-history-of-the-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Years later, my wife, Ilusion, woke me up to the realization that you can't just "dump" your whole species simply because you've had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/years-later-my-wife-ilusion-woke-me-up-to-the-realization-that-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've decided to call him Norbert,' said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. 'He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-decided-to-call-him-norbert-said-hagrid-looking-at-the-dragon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never dump the guy who will do anything for you, for the guy who will do anything to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-dump-the-guy-who-will-do-anything-for-you-for-the-guy-who-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we have another 2,000 people killed, I want Nancy Pelosi and George Soros, John Conyers and Pat Leahy to go to the funeral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-have-another-2-000-people-killed-i-want-nancy-pelosi-and-george/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whoever becomes the head of the National Theater finds himself in a position like that of Nelson's Column - pigeons dump on you because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whoever-becomes-the-head-of-the-national-theater-finds-himself-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than a shower followed by huge dump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-a-shower-followed-by-huge-dump/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The smallest atom of truth represents some man's bitter toil and agony; for every ponderable chunk of it there is a brave truth-seeker's grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-smallest-atom-of-truth-represents-some-man-s-bitter-toil-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/boy-when-you-re-dead-they-really-fix-you-up-i-hope-to-hell-when-i-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With the ability to dump someone, you'll have to have the ability to suffer being dumped!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-the-ability-to-dump-someone-you-ll-have-to-have-the-ability-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a certain class of people who prefer to say that their fathers came down in the world through their own follies than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-certain-class-of-people-who-prefer-to-say-that-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Now, as light stayed longer every day, the bears and hyaenas and bony hippos, the lonely alopex and the apes, lay still-tensely, it seemed-for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-as-light-stayed-longer-every-day-the-bears-and-hyaenas-and-bony/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Laughing at ourselves is possible when we are able to see humanity as it is - a little lower than the angels and at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laughing-at-ourselves-is-possible-when-we-are-able-to-see-humanity-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What? A great man? I only ever see the ape of his own ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-a-great-man-i-only-ever-see-the-ape-of-his-own-ideal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Apes quotes > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) J. Lee Thompson > [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-history-of-the-human-race-proved/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-history-of-the-human-race-proved/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/anonymous-1_apes_it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-hist_788415.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/anonymous-1_apes_it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-hist_788415.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/anonymous-1_apes_it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-hist_788415.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It would indeed be a tragedy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-history-of-the-human-race-proved/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-history-of-the-human-race-proved/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```