--- title: "Best Olaf Stapledon Quotes" description: "William Olaf Stapledon was an English philosopher and author of science fiction. In 2014, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of F..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-olaf-stapledon-72375.jpg" --- ![Portrait of Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-olaf-stapledon-72375.jpg) # Olaf Stapledon (1886–1950) Paramedic United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland **69** quotes in **478** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet Olaf Stapledon was a paramedic from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, best known for *Star Maker*. ## Quick Facts About Olaf Stapledon Born May 10, 1886 Died September 6, 1950 Nationality United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Profession Paramedic Notable works Star Maker Known for Last and First Men, Star Maker, Odd John ## About Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon was an English philosopher and author of science fiction. In 2014, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. ## Awards & Honors Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame ## Quotes by Olaf Stapledon · Page 2 > [“lives were spent in pursuit of shadowy ends that remained ever just round the corner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/lives-were-spent-in-pursuit-of-shadowy-ends-that-remained-ever-just/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/olaf-stapledon-9950_shadowy_lives-were-spent-in-pursuit-of-shadowy-e_2391045.jpg) > [“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” ― Albert Camus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilization-from-destroying/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/olaf-stapledon-9950_writing_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1807688.jpg) > [“And so we may go forward together with laughter in our hearts, and peace, thankful for the past, and for our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/and-so-we-may-go-forward-together-with-laughter-in-our-hearts-and/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Fulfillment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fulfillment/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/olaf-stapledon-9950_fulfillment_and-so-we-may-go-forward-together-with-l_2009673.jpg) > [The Tibetan missionaries in their mood of bright confidence disconcerted the imperial governments by laughing the new movement into frustration. For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-tibetan-missionaries-in-their-mood-of-bright-confidence/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/olaf-stapledon-9950_confidence_the-tibetan-missionaries-in-their-mood-o_641500.jpg) > [The creator, if he should love his creature, would be loving only a part of himself; but the creature, praising the creator,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-creator-if-he-should-love-his-creature-would-be-loving-only-a/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/olaf-stapledon-9950_creator_the-creator-if-he-should-love-his-creatu_2817382.jpg) > [“They grew up, moulded by the harsh or kindly pressure of their fellows, to be either well nurtured, generous, sound, or mentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/they-grew-up-moulded-by-the-harsh-or-kindly-pressure-of-their-fellows/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/olaf-stapledon-9950_bitterness_they-grew-up-moulded-by-the-harsh-or-kin_2882166.jpg) > [In that instant when I had seen... the Star Maker, I had glimpsed, in the very eye of that splendor, strange vistas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/in-that-instant-when-i-had-seen-the-star-maker-i-had-glimpsed-in-the/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_in-that-instant-when-i-had-seen-the-star_1826578.jpg) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/olaf-stapledon-9950_angel_no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-anoth_12107.jpg) > [To say that the cosmos was expanding is equally to say that its members were contracting. The ultimate centers of power, each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/to-say-that-the-cosmos-was-expanding-is-equally-to-say-that-its/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_to-say-that-the-cosmos-was-expanding-is_3077437.jpg) > [“For the former, activity, any kind of activity, was an end in itself; for the latter, activity was but a progress toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/for-the-former-activity-any-kind-of-activity-was-an-end-in-itself-for/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_for-the-former-activity-any-kind-of-acti_762710.jpg) > [This kind of internal "telepathic" intercourse, which was to serve me in all my wanderings, was at first difficult, innefective, and painful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/this-kind-of-internal-telepathic-intercourse-which-was-to-serve-me-in/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/olaf-stapledon-9950_able_this-kind-of-internal-telepathic-interco_2867849.jpg) > [I perceived that I was on a little round grain of rock and metal, filmed with water and with air, whirling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/i-perceived-that-i-was-on-a-little-round-grain-of-rock-and-metal/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/olaf-stapledon-9950_air_i-perceived-that-i-was-on-a-little-round_2380102.jpg) > [I spent on the Other Earth many "other years," wandering from mind to mind and country to country, but I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/i-spent-on-the-other-earth-many-other-years-wandering-from-mind-to/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/olaf-stapledon-9950_aging_i-spent-on-the-other-earth-many-other-ye_2410723.jpg) > [It is enough to have been created, to have embodied for a moment the infinite and tumultuously creative spirit. It is infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/it-is-enough-to-have-been-created-to-have-embodied-for-a-moment-the/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/olaf-stapledon-9950_creation_it-is-enough-to-have-been-created-to-hav_1762784.jpg) > [ \[T\]he individual in whom the will for the light is strong and clear finds his heart inextricably bound up with the struggle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/t-he-individual-in-whom-the-will-for-the-light-is-strong-and-clear/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/olaf-stapledon-9950_bounds_t-he-individual-in-whom-the-will-for-the_1395515.jpg) > [Henceforth the cosmos, once a swarm of blazing galaxies, each a swarm of stars, was composed wholly of star-corpses. These dark grains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/henceforth-the-cosmos-once-a-swarm-of-blazing-galaxies-each-a-swarm/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_henceforth-the-cosmos-once-a-swarm-of-bl_1857616.jpg) > [“The truth of the matter was something much more subtle and tremendous than any plain physical miracle could ever be. But never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-truth-of-the-matter-was-something-much-more-subtle-and-tremendous/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/olaf-stapledon-9950_beauty_the-truth-of-the-matter-was-something-mu_509656.jpg) > [Great are the stars, and man is of no account to them. But man is a fair spirit, whom a star conceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/great-are-the-stars-and-man-is-of-no-account-to-them-but-man-is-a/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/olaf-stapledon-9950_accounts_great-are-the-stars-and-man-is-of-no-acc_375697.jpg) > [“There is much in this vision that will remind you of your mystics; yet between them and us there is far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/there-is-much-in-this-vision-that-will-remind-you-of-your-mystics-yet/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_there-is-much-in-this-vision-that-will-r_2955382.jpg) > [“There used to be a saying “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/there-used-to-be-a-saying-in-individuals-insanity-is-rare-but-in/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Emotional development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-development/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/olaf-stapledon-9950_emotional-developmen_there-used-to-be-a-saying-in-individuals_2171520.jpg) > [“They were a remarkable company, each one of them a unique person, yet characterized to some extent by his particular national type.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/they-were-a-remarkable-company-each-one-of-them-a-unique-person-yet/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/olaf-stapledon-9950_business_they-were-a-remarkable-company-each-one_1994658.jpg) > [“But what a universe, anyhow! No use blaming human-beings for what they were. Everything was made so that it had to torture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/but-what-a-universe-anyhow-no-use-blaming-human-beings-for-what-they/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/olaf-stapledon-9950_creative-work_but-what-a-universe-anyhow-no-use-blamin_1976437.jpg) > [It seemed to me that I, the spirit of so many worlds, the flower of so many ages, was the Church Cosmical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/it-seemed-to-me-that-i-the-spirit-of-so-many-worlds-the-flower-of-so/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_it-seemed-to-me-that-i-the-spirit-of-so_1131564.jpg) > [“Very soon the heavens presented an extraordinary appearance, for all the stars directly behind me were now deep red, while those directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/very-soon-the-heavens-presented-an-extraordinary-appearance-for-all/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_very-soon-the-heavens-presented-an-extra_869484.jpg) > [“We are bound to hurt one another so much, again and again. we are so terribly different.''Yes,' he said, 'But the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/we-are-bound-to-hurt-one-another-so-much-again-and-again-we-are-so/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/olaf-stapledon-9950_hurt_we-are-bound-to-hurt-one-another-so-much_165078.jpg) > [“In the tide of these wild thoughts we checked our fancy, remembering that only on the rare grains called planets can life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/in-the-tide-of-these-wild-thoughts-we-checked-our-fancy-remembering/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Humbling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humbling/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/olaf-stapledon-9950_humbling_in-the-tide-of-these-wild-thoughts-we-ch_850156.jpg) > [Myriads of individuals, each one unique, live out their lives in rapt intercourse with one another, contribute their heart's pulses to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/myriads-of-individuals-each-one-unique-live-out-their-lives-in-rapt/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_myriads-of-individuals-each-one-unique-l_2988738.jpg) > [Individuals of the earlier species had suffered from an almost insurmountable spiritual isolation from one another. Not even lovers, and scarcely even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/individuals-of-the-earlier-species-had-suffered-from-an-almost/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/olaf-stapledon-9950_accurate_individuals-of-the-earlier-species-had-s_1331726.jpg) > [He should avail himself of their resources in such ways as to advance the expression of the spirit in the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/he-should-avail-himself-of-their-resources-in-such-ways-as-to-advance/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_he-should-avail-himself-of-their-resourc_1028838.jpg) ## Olaf Stapledon by topic [Time (12)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/olaf-stapledon/) [Religion (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/olaf-stapledon/) [Spirit (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/olaf-stapledon/) [Olaf (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olaf/olaf-stapledon/) [Astronomy (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/olaf-stapledon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/#itemlist", "name": "Olaf Stapledon Quotes", "numberOfItems": 29, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“lives were spent in pursuit of shadowy ends that remained ever just round the corner.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/lives-were-spent-in-pursuit-of-shadowy-ends-that-remained-ever-just/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/olaf-stapledon-9950_shadowy_lives-were-spent-in-pursuit-of-shadowy-e_2391045.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/olaf-stapledon-9950_shadowy_lives-were-spent-in-pursuit-of-shadowy-e_2391045.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/olaf-stapledon-9950_shadowy_lives-were-spent-in-pursuit-of-shadowy-e_2391045.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“lives were spent in pursuit of shadowy ends that remained ever just round the corner.” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” ― Albert Camus”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilization-from-destroying/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/olaf-stapledon-9950_writing_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1807688.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/olaf-stapledon-9950_writing_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1807688.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/olaf-stapledon-9950_writing_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1807688.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” ― Albert Camus” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And so we may go forward together with laughter in our hearts, and peace, thankful for the past, and for our own courage. For we shall make after all a fair conclusion to this brief music that is man.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/and-so-we-may-go-forward-together-with-laughter-in-our-hearts-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/olaf-stapledon-9950_fulfillment_and-so-we-may-go-forward-together-with-l_2009673.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/olaf-stapledon-9950_fulfillment_and-so-we-may-go-forward-together-with-l_2009673.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/olaf-stapledon-9950_fulfillment_and-so-we-may-go-forward-together-with-l_2009673.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And so we may go forward together with laughter in our hearts, and peace, thankful for the past, and for our…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Tibetan missionaries in their mood of bright confidence disconcerted the imperial governments by laughing the new movement into frustration. For a sham faith cannot stand ridicule.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-tibetan-missionaries-in-their-mood-of-bright-confidence/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/olaf-stapledon-9950_confidence_the-tibetan-missionaries-in-their-mood-o_641500.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/olaf-stapledon-9950_confidence_the-tibetan-missionaries-in-their-mood-o_641500.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/olaf-stapledon-9950_confidence_the-tibetan-missionaries-in-their-mood-o_641500.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Tibetan missionaries in their mood of bright confidence disconcerted the imperial governments by…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The creator, if he should love his creature, would be loving only a part of himself; but the creature, praising the creator, praises an infinity beyond himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-creator-if-he-should-love-his-creature-would-be-loving-only-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/olaf-stapledon-9950_creator_the-creator-if-he-should-love-his-creatu_2817382.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/olaf-stapledon-9950_creator_the-creator-if-he-should-love-his-creatu_2817382.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea3/olaf-stapledon-9950_creator_the-creator-if-he-should-love-his-creatu_2817382.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The creator, if he should love his creature, would be loving only a part of himself; but the creature…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They grew up, moulded by the harsh or kindly pressure of their fellows, to be either well nurtured, generous, sound, or mentally crippled, bitter, unwittingly vindictive.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/they-grew-up-moulded-by-the-harsh-or-kindly-pressure-of-their-fellows/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/olaf-stapledon-9950_bitterness_they-grew-up-moulded-by-the-harsh-or-kin_2882166.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/olaf-stapledon-9950_bitterness_they-grew-up-moulded-by-the-harsh-or-kin_2882166.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/olaf-stapledon-9950_bitterness_they-grew-up-moulded-by-the-harsh-or-kin_2882166.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They grew up, moulded by the harsh or kindly pressure of their fellows, to be either well nurtured…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In that instant when I had seen... the Star Maker, I had glimpsed, in the very eye of that splendor, strange vistas of being; as though in the depths of the hypercosmical past and the hypercosmical future also, yet coexistent in eternity, lay cosmos beyond cosmos.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/in-that-instant-when-i-had-seen-the-star-maker-i-had-glimpsed-in-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_in-that-instant-when-i-had-seen-the-star_1826578.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_in-that-instant-when-i-had-seen-the-star_1826578.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_in-that-instant-when-i-had-seen-the-star_1826578.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In that instant when I had seen... the Star Maker, I had glimpsed, in the very eye of that splendor, strange…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb [Earth] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic beasts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/olaf-stapledon-9950_angel_no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-anoth_12107.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/olaf-stapledon-9950_angel_no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-anoth_12107.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d65/olaf-stapledon-9950_angel_no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-anoth_12107.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb [Earth] teemed…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To say that the cosmos was expanding is equally to say that its members were contracting. The ultimate centers of power, each at first coincident... themselves generated the cosmical space by their disengagement from each other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/to-say-that-the-cosmos-was-expanding-is-equally-to-say-that-its/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_to-say-that-the-cosmos-was-expanding-is_3077437.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_to-say-that-the-cosmos-was-expanding-is_3077437.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_to-say-that-the-cosmos-was-expanding-is_3077437.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To say that the cosmos was expanding is equally to say that its members were contracting. The ultimate…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For the former, activity, any kind of activity, was an end in itself; for the latter, activity was but a progress toward the true end, which was rest, and peace of mind. Action was to be undertaken only when equilibrium was disturbed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/for-the-former-activity-any-kind-of-activity-was-an-end-in-itself-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_for-the-former-activity-any-kind-of-acti_762710.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_for-the-former-activity-any-kind-of-acti_762710.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_for-the-former-activity-any-kind-of-acti_762710.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For the former, activity, any kind of activity, was an end in itself; for the latter, activity was but a…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This kind of internal \"telepathic\" intercourse, which was to serve me in all my wanderings, was at first difficult, innefective, and painful. But in time I came to be able to live through the experiences of my host with vividness and accuracy, while yet preserving my own individuality, my own critical intelligence, my own desires and fears. Only when the other had come to realize my presence within him could he, by a special act of volition, keep particular thoughts secret from me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/this-kind-of-internal-telepathic-intercourse-which-was-to-serve-me-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/olaf-stapledon-9950_able_this-kind-of-internal-telepathic-interco_2867849.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/olaf-stapledon-9950_able_this-kind-of-internal-telepathic-interco_2867849.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73f/olaf-stapledon-9950_able_this-kind-of-internal-telepathic-interco_2867849.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This kind of internal \"telepathic\" intercourse, which was to serve me in all my wanderings, was at first…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I perceived that I was on a little round grain of rock and metal, filmed with water and with air, whirling in sunlight and darkness. And on the skin of that little grain all the swarms of men, generation by generation, had lived in labour and blindness, with intermittent joy and intermittent lucidity of spirit. And all their history, with its folk-wanderings, its empires, its philosophies, its proud sciences, its social revolutions, its increasing hunger for community, was but a flicker in one day of the lives of the stars.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/i-perceived-that-i-was-on-a-little-round-grain-of-rock-and-metal/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/olaf-stapledon-9950_air_i-perceived-that-i-was-on-a-little-round_2380102.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/olaf-stapledon-9950_air_i-perceived-that-i-was-on-a-little-round_2380102.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26f/olaf-stapledon-9950_air_i-perceived-that-i-was-on-a-little-round_2380102.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I perceived that I was on a little round grain of rock and metal, filmed with water and with air, whirling…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spent on the Other Earth many \"other years,\" wandering from mind to mind and country to country, but I did not gain any clear understanding of the psychology of the Other Men and the significance of their history till I encountered one of their philosophers, an aging but still vigorous man whose eccentric and unpalatable views had prevented him from attaining eminence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/i-spent-on-the-other-earth-many-other-years-wandering-from-mind-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/olaf-stapledon-9950_aging_i-spent-on-the-other-earth-many-other-ye_2410723.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/olaf-stapledon-9950_aging_i-spent-on-the-other-earth-many-other-ye_2410723.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/olaf-stapledon-9950_aging_i-spent-on-the-other-earth-many-other-ye_2410723.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I spent on the Other Earth many \"other years,\" wandering from mind to mind and country to country, but I did…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is enough to have been created, to have embodied for a moment the infinite and tumultuously creative spirit. It is infinitely more than enough to have been used, to have been the rough sketch for some perfected creation. Looking into the future, I saw without sorrow, rather with quiet interest, my own decline and fall.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/it-is-enough-to-have-been-created-to-have-embodied-for-a-moment-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/olaf-stapledon-9950_creation_it-is-enough-to-have-been-created-to-hav_1762784.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/olaf-stapledon-9950_creation_it-is-enough-to-have-been-created-to-hav_1762784.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/olaf-stapledon-9950_creation_it-is-enough-to-have-been-created-to-hav_1762784.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is enough to have been created, to have embodied for a moment the infinite and tumultuously creative…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[T]he individual in whom the will for the light is strong and clear finds his heart inextricably bound up with the struggle of the forces of light in his native place and time. Much as he may long for the opportunity of fuller self- expression in a happier world, he knows that for him self-expression is impossible save in the world in which his mind is rooted. The individual in whom the will for the light is weak soon persuades himself that his opportunity lies elsewhere.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/t-he-individual-in-whom-the-will-for-the-light-is-strong-and-clear/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/olaf-stapledon-9950_bounds_t-he-individual-in-whom-the-will-for-the_1395515.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/olaf-stapledon-9950_bounds_t-he-individual-in-whom-the-will-for-the_1395515.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/233/olaf-stapledon-9950_bounds_t-he-individual-in-whom-the-will-for-the_1395515.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[T]he individual in whom the will for the light is strong and clear finds his heart inextricably bound up…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Henceforth the cosmos, once a swarm of blazing galaxies, each a swarm of stars, was composed wholly of star-corpses. These dark grains drifted through the dark void, like an infinitely tenuous smoke rising from an extinguished fire. Upon these motes, these gigantic worlds, the ultimate populations had created here and there with their artificial lighting a pale glow, invisible even from the innermost ring of lifeless planets.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/henceforth-the-cosmos-once-a-swarm-of-blazing-galaxies-each-a-swarm/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_henceforth-the-cosmos-once-a-swarm-of-bl_1857616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_henceforth-the-cosmos-once-a-swarm-of-bl_1857616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_henceforth-the-cosmos-once-a-swarm-of-bl_1857616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Henceforth the cosmos, once a swarm of blazing galaxies, each a swarm of stars, was composed wholly of…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The truth of the matter was something much more subtle and tremendous than any plain physical miracle could ever be. But never mind that. The important thing was that, when I did see the stars (riotously darting in all directions according to the caprice of their own wild natures, yet in every movement confirming the law), the whole tangled horror that had tormented me finally presented itself to me in its truth and beautiful shape. And I knew that the first, blind stage of my childhood had ended.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-truth-of-the-matter-was-something-much-more-subtle-and-tremendous/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/olaf-stapledon-9950_beauty_the-truth-of-the-matter-was-something-mu_509656.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/olaf-stapledon-9950_beauty_the-truth-of-the-matter-was-something-mu_509656.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/olaf-stapledon-9950_beauty_the-truth-of-the-matter-was-something-mu_509656.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth of the matter was something much more subtle and tremendous than any plain physical miracle could…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Great are the stars, and man is of no account to them. But man is a fair spirit, whom a star conceived and a star kills. He is greater than those bright blind companies. For though in them there is incalculable potentiality, in him there is achievement, small, but actual. Too soon, seemingly, he comes to his end. But when he is done he will not be nothing, not as though he had never been; for he is eternally a beauty in the eternal form of things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/great-are-the-stars-and-man-is-of-no-account-to-them-but-man-is-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/olaf-stapledon-9950_accounts_great-are-the-stars-and-man-is-of-no-acc_375697.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/olaf-stapledon-9950_accounts_great-are-the-stars-and-man-is-of-no-acc_375697.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/olaf-stapledon-9950_accounts_great-are-the-stars-and-man-is-of-no-acc_375697.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great are the stars, and man is of no account to them. But man is a fair spirit, whom a star conceived and a…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is much in this vision that will remind you of your mystics; yet between them and us there is far more difference than similarity, in respect both of the matter and the manner of our thought. For while they are confident that the cosmos is perfect, we are sure only that it is very beautiful. While they pass to their conclusion without the aid of intellect, we have used that staff every step of the way. Thus, even when in respect of conclusions we agree with your mystics rather than your plodding intellectuals, in respect of method we applaud most your intellectuals; for they scorned to deceive themselves with comfortable fantasies.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/there-is-much-in-this-vision-that-will-remind-you-of-your-mystics-yet/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_there-is-much-in-this-vision-that-will-r_2955382.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_there-is-much-in-this-vision-that-will-r_2955382.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_there-is-much-in-this-vision-that-will-r_2955382.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is much in this vision that will remind you of your mystics; yet between them and us there is far more…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There used to be a saying “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” But as the world became networked first through newspapers, then radio, television and then the Internet mass neurosis spread more and more rapidly until a generation into the internet the average neurosis level of young adults was the same as mental patients had been in their grandparents time. The popular consensus was that knowledge was available for all, but the trade-off had become that intellectual rigour was lost and all knowledge regardless of veracity become regarded as the same worth. What was more, in the West a concept came about that knowledge should be free. This rapidly eliminated the resources which would have allow talented individuals to generate intellectual property rather than be wage slaves. The anti-intellectual trend which stemmed from the origins of universal free education expanded and insulting terms were applied to intellectuals confabulating intelligence and knowledge with poor social skills and inadequate emotional development. While this was attractive to the masses who felt that everyone had a right to equal intelligence and that any tests purporting to show differences were by definition false this offset any benefits that broader access to knowledge might have brought deterring many of the more able from high levels of attainment in a purely intellectual sphere. Combined with a belief that internalization of knowledge was no longer necessary – that it was all there on the Internet reduced the possible impact substantially as ideas on an external network could never cross pollinate and form a network of concepts in the minds of those whose primary skill was to search rather than to link concepts already internalized.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/there-used-to-be-a-saying-in-individuals-insanity-is-rare-but-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/olaf-stapledon-9950_emotional-developmen_there-used-to-be-a-saying-in-individuals_2171520.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/olaf-stapledon-9950_emotional-developmen_there-used-to-be-a-saying-in-individuals_2171520.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/olaf-stapledon-9950_emotional-developmen_there-used-to-be-a-saying-in-individuals_2171520.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There used to be a saying “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 21, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They were a remarkable company, each one of them a unique person, yet characterized to some extent by his particular national type. And all were distinctively “scientists” of the period. Formerly this would have implied a rather uncritical leaning towards materialism, and an affectation of cynicism; but by now it was fashionable to profess an equally uncritical belief that all natural phenomena were manifestations of the cosmic mind. In both periods, when a man passed beyond the sphere of his own serious scientific work he chose his beliefs irresponsibly, according to his taste, much as he chose his recreation or his food.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/they-were-a-remarkable-company-each-one-of-them-a-unique-person-yet/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/olaf-stapledon-9950_business_they-were-a-remarkable-company-each-one_1994658.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/olaf-stapledon-9950_business_they-were-a-remarkable-company-each-one_1994658.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/983/olaf-stapledon-9950_business_they-were-a-remarkable-company-each-one_1994658.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They were a remarkable company, each one of them a unique person, yet characterized to some extent by his…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 22, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But what a universe, anyhow! No use blaming human-beings for what they were. Everything was made so that it had to torture something else. Sirius himself was no exception, of course. Made that way! Nothing was responsible for being by nature predatory on other things, dog on rabbit and Argentine beef, man on nearly everything, bugs and microbes on man, and of course man himself on man. (Nothing but man was really cruel, vindictive, except perhaps the loathly cat). Everything desperately struggling to keep its nose above water for a few breaths before its strength inevitably failed and down it went, pressed under by something else. And beyond, those brainless, handless idiotic stars, lazing away so importantly for nothing. Here and there some speck of a planet dominated by some half-awake intelligence like humanity. And here and there on such planets, one or two poor little spirits waking up and wondering what in the hell everything was for, what it was all about, what they could make of themselves; and glimpsing in a muddled way what their potentiality was, and feebly trying to express it, but always failing, always missing fire, and very often feeling themselves breaking up as he himself was doing. Just now and then they might feel the real thing, in some creative work, or in sweet community with another little spirit, or with others. Just now and then they seemed somehow to create or to be gathered up into something lovelier than their individual selves, something which demanded their selves’ sacrifice and yet have their selves new life. But how precariously, torturingly; and only just for a flicker of time! Their whole life-time would only be a flicker in the whole of titanic time. Even when all the worlds have frozen or exploded, and all the suns gone dead and cold there’ll still be time. Oh God, what for?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/but-what-a-universe-anyhow-no-use-blaming-human-beings-for-what-they/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/olaf-stapledon-9950_creative-work_but-what-a-universe-anyhow-no-use-blamin_1976437.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/olaf-stapledon-9950_creative-work_but-what-a-universe-anyhow-no-use-blamin_1976437.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b45/olaf-stapledon-9950_creative-work_but-what-a-universe-anyhow-no-use-blamin_1976437.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But what a universe, anyhow! No use blaming human-beings for what they were. Everything was made so that it…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 23, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seemed to me that I, the spirit of so many worlds, the flower of so many ages, was the Church Cosmical, fit at last to be the bride of God. But instead I was blinded and seared and struck down by terrible light.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/it-seemed-to-me-that-i-the-spirit-of-so-many-worlds-the-flower-of-so/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_it-seemed-to-me-that-i-the-spirit-of-so_1131564.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_it-seemed-to-me-that-i-the-spirit-of-so_1131564.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_it-seemed-to-me-that-i-the-spirit-of-so_1131564.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seemed to me that I, the spirit of so many worlds, the flower of so many ages, was the Church Cosmical…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 24, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Very soon the heavens presented an extraordinary appearance, for all the stars directly behind me were now deep red, while those directly ahead were violet. Rubies lay behind me, amethysts ahead of me.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/very-soon-the-heavens-presented-an-extraordinary-appearance-for-all/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_very-soon-the-heavens-presented-an-extra_869484.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_very-soon-the-heavens-presented-an-extra_869484.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/olaf-stapledon-9950_astronomy_very-soon-the-heavens-presented-an-extra_869484.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Very soon the heavens presented an extraordinary appearance, for all the stars directly behind me were now…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 25, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are bound to hurt one another so much, again and again. we are so terribly different.''Yes,' he said, 'But the more different, the more lovely the loving.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/we-are-bound-to-hurt-one-another-so-much-again-and-again-we-are-so/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/olaf-stapledon-9950_hurt_we-are-bound-to-hurt-one-another-so-much_165078.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/olaf-stapledon-9950_hurt_we-are-bound-to-hurt-one-another-so-much_165078.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/olaf-stapledon-9950_hurt_we-are-bound-to-hurt-one-another-so-much_165078.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are bound to hurt one another so much, again and again. we are so terribly different.''Yes,' he said…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 26, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the tide of these wild thoughts we checked our fancy, remembering that only on the rare grains called planets can life gain foothold, and that all this wealth of restless jewels was but a waste of fire.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/in-the-tide-of-these-wild-thoughts-we-checked-our-fancy-remembering/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/olaf-stapledon-9950_humbling_in-the-tide-of-these-wild-thoughts-we-ch_850156.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/olaf-stapledon-9950_humbling_in-the-tide-of-these-wild-thoughts-we-ch_850156.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4b/olaf-stapledon-9950_humbling_in-the-tide-of-these-wild-thoughts-we-ch_850156.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the tide of these wild thoughts we checked our fancy, remembering that only on the rare grains called…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 27, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Myriads of individuals, each one unique, live out their lives in rapt intercourse with one another, contribute their heart's pulses to the universal music, and presently vanish, giving place to others. All this age-long sequence of private living, which is the actual tissue of humanity's flesh, I cannot describe. I can only trace, as it were, the disembodied form of its growth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/myriads-of-individuals-each-one-unique-live-out-their-lives-in-rapt/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_myriads-of-individuals-each-one-unique-l_2988738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_myriads-of-individuals-each-one-unique-l_2988738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/olaf-stapledon-9950_age_myriads-of-individuals-each-one-unique-l_2988738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Myriads of individuals, each one unique, live out their lives in rapt intercourse with one another…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 28, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Individuals of the earlier species had suffered from an almost insurmountable spiritual isolation from one another. Not even lovers, and scarcely even the geniuses with special insight into personality, ever had anything like accurate vision of one another... The most precious gift that a lover could bring to the beloved was not virginity but sexual experience. The union, it was felt, was the more pregnant the more each party could contribute from previous sexual and spiritual intimacy with others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/individuals-of-the-earlier-species-had-suffered-from-an-almost/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/olaf-stapledon-9950_accurate_individuals-of-the-earlier-species-had-s_1331726.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/olaf-stapledon-9950_accurate_individuals-of-the-earlier-species-had-s_1331726.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/olaf-stapledon-9950_accurate_individuals-of-the-earlier-species-had-s_1331726.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Individuals of the earlier species had suffered from an almost insurmountable spiritual isolation from one…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 29, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He should avail himself of their resources in such ways as to advance the expression of the spirit in the life of mankind. He should use them so as to afford to every human being the greatest possible opportunity for developing and expressing his distinctively human capacity as an instrument of the spirit, as a centre of sensitive and intelligent awareness of the objective universe, as a centre of love of all lovely things, and of creative action for the spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/he-should-avail-himself-of-their-resources-in-such-ways-as-to-advance/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_he-should-avail-himself-of-their-resourc_1028838.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_he-should-avail-himself-of-their-resourc_1028838.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/olaf-stapledon-9950_action_he-should-avail-himself-of-their-resourc_1028838.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He should avail himself of their resources in such ways as to advance the expression of the spirit in the…” — Olaf Stapledon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/#person", "name": "Olaf Stapledon", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/", "image": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-olaf-stapledon-72375.jpg" }, { "@type": "ProfilePage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/page/2/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/page/2/", "name": "Olaf Stapledon", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/#person" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/olaf-stapledon-9950_shadowy_lives-were-spent-in-pursuit-of-shadowy-e_2391045.jpg" }, "description": "William Olaf Stapledon was an English philosopher and author of science fiction. 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