--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the world is better without them. only…" description: "\"“the world is better without them. only the plants and the animals are true comrades. I drink to them and with them.”\" — Charles Bukowski" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ee/charles-bukowski-73_animals_the-world-is-better-without-them-only-th_613225.jpg" --- # the world is better without them. only the plants and the… ![“the world is better without them. only the plants and the animals are true comrades. I drink to them and with them.” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ee/charles-bukowski-73_animals_the-world-is-better-without-them-only-th_613225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ee/charles-bukowski-73_animals_the-world-is-better-without-them-only-th_613225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ee/charles-bukowski-73_animals_the-world-is-better-without-them-only-th_613225.jpg) > ““the world is better without them. only the plants and the animals are true comrades. I drink to them and with them.”” [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker values plants and animals as true companions, rejecting humanity. **In simple terms:** Nature is a truer companion than people. Key Takeaway Find solace in nature over human conflict. Themes nature solitude disillusionment Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - hiking - gardening - solo travel Key Concepts existentialism environmentalism Questions to Reflect On - Why do you feel alienated from people? - What can nature teach us about companionship? A Different Perspective Romanticizing nature may ignore human connection benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bukowski/) [Comrades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comrades/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) ## Related quotes > [I said, wouldn't it be nice, instead of having these women fight with each other over men, which seems to be more of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-beals/i-said-wouldn-t-it-be-nice-instead-of-having-these-women-fight-with/) [Jennifer Beals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-beals/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I found the best thing I could do was just to type away at my own work and let the dying die as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-found-the-best-thing-i-could-do-was-just-to-type-away-at-my-own/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“sometimes all we need to be able to continue alone are the dead rattling the walls that close us in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-all-we-need-to-be-able-to-continue-alone-are-the-dead/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“To ask them to legalize pot is something like asking them to put butter on the handcuffs before they place them on you: something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/to-ask-them-to-legalize-pot-is-something-like-asking-them-to-put/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“My cock was hard, but my spirit wasn't in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/my-cock-was-hard-but-my-spirit-wasn-t-in-it/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“You're the most unknown famous man I ever met.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/you-re-the-most-unknown-famous-man-i-ever-met/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Tell him to seek the stars and he will kill himself with climbing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/tell-him-to-seek-the-stars-and-he-will-kill-himself-with-climbing/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I run with the hunted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-run-with-the-hunted/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“when I drive the freeways I see the soul of humanity of my city and it's ugly, ugly, ugly: the living have choked the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/when-i-drive-the-freeways-i-see-the-soul-of-humanity-of-my-city-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Genius could be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way, or even to say a simple thing in a simpler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/genius-could-be-the-ability-to-say-a-profound-thing-in-a-simple-way/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“when we were kids laying around the lawn on our bellies we often talked about how we'd like to die and we all agreed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/when-we-were-kids-laying-around-the-lawn-on-our-bellies-we-often/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Love is not a candle burning down. Life is. And love and life are not the same or else Love, having choice, nobody would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/love-is-not-a-candle-burning-down-life-is-and-love-and-life-are-not/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the price of creation is never too high. the price of living with other people always is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-price-of-creation-is-never-too-high-the-price-of-living-with/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I didn't know who to believe but one thing I do know: when a man is living many claim relationships that are hardly so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thing-i-do-know-when-a-man-is/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More by Charles Bukowski > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. A writer who has to go into the streets is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-only-one-place-to-write-and-that-is-alone-at-a-typewriter-a/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I climbed the stairway (there was no elevator) and put the key in. The door swung open. Somebody had changed all the furniture around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-climbed-the-stairway-there-was-no-elevator-and-put-the-key-in-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More Animals 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 > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the world is better without them. only the plants and the animals are true comrades. I drink to them and with them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Bukowski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-world-is-better-without-them-only-the-plants-and-the-animals-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-world-is-better-without-them-only-the-plants-and-the-animals-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ee/charles-bukowski-73_animals_the-world-is-better-without-them-only-th_613225.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ee/charles-bukowski-73_animals_the-world-is-better-without-them-only-th_613225.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ee/charles-bukowski-73_animals_the-world-is-better-without-them-only-th_613225.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the world is better without them. only the plants and the animals are true comrades. I drink to them and…” — Charles Bukowski", "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": "Charles Bukowski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the world is better without them....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-world-is-better-without-them-only-the-plants-and-the-animals-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-world-is-better-without-them-only-the-plants-and-the-animals-are/#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 } } ] } ```