--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many years ago it was taught that plants…" description: "\"Many years ago it was taught that plants and animals were composed of different materials: plants, of a chemical substance of three elements,- carbon, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/asa-gray-20258_animal_many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants_2428872.jpg" --- # Many years ago it was taught that plants and animals were… ![“Many years ago it was taught that plants and animals were composed of different materials: plants, of a chemical substance of three elements,- carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; animals of one of four elements, nitrogen being added to the other three.” quote by Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/asa-gray-20258_animal_many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants_2428872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/asa-gray-20258_animal_many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants_2428872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/asa-gray-20258_animal_many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants_2428872.jpg) > “Many years ago it was taught that plants and animals were composed of different materials: plants, of a chemical substance of three elements,- carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; animals of one of four elements, nitrogen being added to the other three.” [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects outdated scientific belief separating plant and animal composition by elemental makeup, showing early attempts to classify life. **In simple terms:** Plants and animals were once thought to have different basic elements. Key Takeaway Recognize science evolves; question old classifications. Themes science history biology classification philosophy Mood informative reflective Type historical educational When to use this quote - education curricula - public understanding of science - historical research - science communication Key Concepts elemental theory scientific progress taxonomy Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about current scientific paradigms? - How can we better communicate scientific change? A Different Perspective Modern chemistry disproves elemental separation, making the view obsolete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Four elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four-elements/) [Hydrogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hydrogen/) [Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxygen/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plants and animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants-and-animals/) ## Related quotes > [“They take them from the plants and animals or the elements. Still Waters, Gentle Breeze, pah. Why not Dead Deer, or Rutting Ehat?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-vaughan/they-take-them-from-the-plants-and-animals-or-the-elements-still/) [Elizabeth Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-vaughan/) > [On love, not harming others, and respecting all beings. Even animals have these elements in their behavioral patterns. We should start by observing how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/on-love-not-harming-others-and-respecting-all-beings-even-animals/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The best opinion now is, that there are multitudinous forms which are not sufficiently differentiated to be distinctively either plant or animal, while, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/the-best-opinion-now-is-that-there-are-multitudinous-forms-which-are/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [It was always understood that plants and animals, though completely contrasted in their higher representatives, approached each other very closely in their lower and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/it-was-always-understood-that-plants-and-animals-though-completely/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“the world is better without them. only the plants and the animals are true comrades. I drink to them and with them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-world-is-better-without-them-only-the-plants-and-the-animals-are/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“The trees are a thousand times taller than me, and hundreds of years older, and the rocks and leaves and plants and animals never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stephenson/the-trees-are-a-thousand-times-taller-than-me-and-hundreds-of-years/) Ben Stephenson > [“Even plants and animals were mechanised. Around the time that Homo sapiens was elevated to divine status by humanist religions, farm animals stopped being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/even-plants-and-animals-were-mechanised-around-the-time-that-homo/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [We need to preserve these sacred locations for ourselves, for the species of plants and animals that coexist in harmony there, and for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-need-to-preserve-these-sacred-locations-for-ourselves-for-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Life is literally a process of one creature eating another, whether it’s bacteria breaking down plants or animals, plants strangling each other, animals going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/life-is-literally-a-process-of-one-creature-eating-another-whether-it/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“There is no doubt that plants and animals have minds, emotions, feelings, and survival instincts. This means that we must also consider a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/there-is-no-doubt-that-plants-and-animals-have-minds-emotions/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [I think coexisting with another life form is a very rich experience. It's why people keep plants and animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/i-think-coexisting-with-another-life-form-is-a-very-rich-experience/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) > [Plants and animals repeat routine, but men who are not restrained will go into the future like explorers into a new country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-wilder-lane/plants-and-animals-repeat-routine-but-men-who-are-not-restrained-will/) [Rose Wilder Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-wilder-lane/) > [“But if humans can make new varieties of plants and animals, must not nature do so also? This related process is called natural selection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/but-if-humans-can-make-new-varieties-of-plants-and-animals-must-not/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [What a difference that extra 120 ppm has made for plants, and for animals and humans that depend on them. The more carbon dioxide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-driessen/what-a-difference-that-extra-120-ppm-has-made-for-plants-and-for/) [Paul Driessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-driessen/) > [“After all, the sanitation and the agriculture of today are still in the rudimentary stage. The science of our time has attacked but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/after-all-the-sanitation-and-the-agriculture-of-today-are-still-in/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) ## More by Asa Gray > [This substance, which is manifold in its forms and protean in its transformations, has, in its state of living matter, one physiological name which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/this-substance-which-is-manifold-in-its-forms-and-protean-in-its/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Is it philosophical, is it quite allowable, to assume without evidence from fossil plants that the family or any of the genera was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/is-it-philosophical-is-it-quite-allowable-to-assume-without-evidence/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [The best opinion now is, that there are multitudinous forms which are not sufficiently differentiated to be distinctively either plant or animal, while, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/the-best-opinion-now-is-that-there-are-multitudinous-forms-which-are/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [It remains to consider what attitude thoughtful men and Christian believers should take respecting them, and how they stand related to beliefs of another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/it-remains-to-consider-what-attitude-thoughtful-men-and-christian/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“Botany is the name of the science of the vegetable kingdom in general; that is, of plants.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/botany-is-the-name-of-the-science-of-the-vegetable-kingdom-in-general/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Why is it not just as likely that there were as many small general nearly at first as now, and as great a disproportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/why-is-it-not-just-as-likely-that-there-were-as-many-small-general/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [I know some people who never have any difficulties to speak of. The moment I understood your premisses, I felt sure you had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/i-know-some-people-who-never-have-any-difficulties-to-speak-of-the/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [It was implicitly supposed that every living thing was distinctively plant or animal; that there were real and profound differences between the two, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/it-was-implicitly-supposed-that-every-living-thing-was-distinctively/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“This view, as a rounded whole and in all its essential elements, has very recently disappeared from science. It died a royal death with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/this-view-as-a-rounded-whole-and-in-all-its-essential-elements-has/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Faith in order, which is the basis of science, cannot reasonably be separated from faith in an Ordainer, which is the basis of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/faith-in-order-which-is-the-basis-of-science-cannot-reasonably-be/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Indeed upon much that may have to say, I expect rather the charitable judgment than the full assent of those whose approbation I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/indeed-upon-much-that-may-have-to-say-i-expect-rather-the-charitable/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [But it was soon ascertained that this quaternary matter of the animal body was chemically the same in the plant, was elaborated there, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/but-it-was-soon-ascertained-that-this-quaternary-matter-of-the-animal/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Next it was found that it was physiologically and structurally the same in the plant, that it was the living part of the plant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/next-it-was-found-that-it-was-physiologically-and-structurally-the/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [There is a class, moreover, by whom all these scientific theories, and more are held as ascertained facts, and as the basis of philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/there-is-a-class-moreover-by-whom-all-these-scientific-theories-and/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“Perhaps if zoologists would contemplate the wide variations presented by many plants of indubitably one and the same species, and the still wider diversities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/perhaps-if-zoologists-would-contemplate-the-wide-variations-presented/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) [Explore all 31 Asa Gray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many years ago it was taught that plants and animals were composed of different materials: plants, of a chemical substance of three elements,- carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; animals of one of four elements, nitrogen being added to the other three.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Asa Gray" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants-and-animals-were-composed-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants-and-animals-were-composed-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/asa-gray-20258_animal_many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants_2428872.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/asa-gray-20258_animal_many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants_2428872.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/asa-gray-20258_animal_many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants_2428872.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many years ago it was taught that plants and animals were composed of different materials: plants, of a…” — Asa Gray", "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": "Asa Gray", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Many years ago it was taught...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants-and-animals-were-composed-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/many-years-ago-it-was-taught-that-plants-and-animals-were-composed-of/#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 } } ] } ```