--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Time's noblest offspring is the last.'…" description: "\"'Time's noblest offspring is the last.' This line of Bishop Berkeley's expresses the real cause of the belief in progress in the animal creation.\" — Ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/charles-lyell-17452_animal_time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-thi_1088985.png" --- # 'Time's noblest offspring is the last.' This line of… ![“'Time's noblest offspring is the last.' This line of Bishop Berkeley's expresses the real cause of the belief in progress in the animal creation.” quote by Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/charles-lyell-17452_animal_time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-thi_1088985.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/charles-lyell-17452_animal_time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-thi_1088985.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/charles-lyell-17452_animal_time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-thi_1088985.png) > “'Time's noblest offspring is the last.' This line of Bishop Berkeley's expresses the real cause of the belief in progress in the animal creation.” [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Berkeley’s line suggests that time’s ultimate product is the final stage of creation, implying a teleological view of progress. **In simple terms:** Time’s greatest outcome is its end. Key Takeaway Consider the ultimate purpose of time. Themes philosophy progress teleology Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - long‑term planning - legacy building - scientific research Key Concepts metaphysics history Questions to Reflect On - What does “last” signify? - How does this view influence present actions? A Different Perspective Interpretations of “offspring” vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-creation-270800/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berkeley/) [Bishop Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bishop-berkeley-961399/) [Bishops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bishops/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Noblest Offspring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noblest-offspring-2804906/) [Offspring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offspring/) [Offspring Line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offspring-line-2804908/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Time Noblest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-noblest-2804907/) ## Related quotes > [Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day: Time's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/westward-the-course-of-empire-takes-its-way-the-four-first-acts/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [When Bishop Berkeley said "there was no matter." And proved it--'t was no matter what he said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/when-bishop-berkeley-said-there-was-no-matter-and-proved-it-t-was-no/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Bishop Berkeley destroyed this world in one volume octavo; and nothing remained, after his time, but mind; which experienced a similar fate from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/bishop-berkeley-destroyed-this-world-in-one-volume-octavo-and-nothing/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [“And so they would go on talking or rather, understanding, which has become the main art of speech in an age when words are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/and-so-they-would-go-on-talking-or-rather-understanding-which-has/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-day-may-come-when-the-rest-of-the-animal-creation-may-acquire/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [The animal creation shall again gladden a new Paradise as they did when Adam and Eve called them by name, and carressed them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-buckner/the-animal-creation-shall-again-gladden-a-new-paradise-as-they-did/) [Ed Buckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-buckner/) > [If we bestow but a very little attention to the economy of the animal creation, we shall find manifest examples of premeditation, perseverance, resolution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bartram/if-we-bestow-but-a-very-little-attention-to-the-economy-of-the-animal/) [William Bartram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bartram/) > [Man is more than merely an animal to exist and propagate his species. His mind gives him capacity to search out the great truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-franklin-rutherford/man-is-more-than-merely-an-animal-to-exist-and-propagate-his-species/) [Joseph Franklin Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-franklin-rutherford/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Oh my research. Well, I got an English Degree. And I got that degree in a certain time/at a certain place. If you add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/oh-my-research-well-i-got-an-english-degree-and-i-got-that-degree-in/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) > [At the very top state institutions, like UCLA, Berkeley and the University of Texas, however, the trend of downward minority enrollment remains persistent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-schiff/at-the-very-top-state-institutions-like-ucla-berkeley-and-the/) [Adam Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-schiff/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Therein lies the rub of a place like Berkeley Bowl. You get seduced by an 11-pound apple that turns out to be a fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jad-abumrad/therein-lies-the-rub-of-a-place-like-berkeley-bowl-you-get-seduced-by/) [Jad Abumrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jad-abumrad/) > [Sometimes I can think of nothing more blissful than going to Berkeley and reading Byron for three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-riseborough/sometimes-i-can-think-of-nothing-more-blissful-than-going-to-berkeley/) [Andrea Riseborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-riseborough/) > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## More by Charles Lyell > [It was a profound saying of Wilhelm Humboldt, that 'Man is man only by means of speech, but in order to invent speech he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/it-was-a-profound-saying-of-wilhelm-humboldt-that-man-is-man-only-by/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [In reply, I can only plead that a discovery which seems to contradict the general tenor of previous investigations is naturally received with much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/in-reply-i-can-only-plead-that-a-discovery-which-seems-to-contradict/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Such discoveries have led me, and other geologists, to reconsider the evidence previously derived from caves brought forward in proof of the high antiquity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/such-discoveries-have-led-me-and-other-geologists-to-reconsider-the/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Man, whose organization is regarded as the highest, departs from the vertebrate archetype; and it is because the study of anatomy is usually commenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/man-whose-organization-is-regarded-as-the-highest-departs-from-the/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Probably there was a beginning-it is a metaphysical question, worthy a theologian-species have begun and ended-but the analogy is faint and distant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/probably-there-was-a-beginning-it-is-a-metaphysical-question-worthy-a/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [I may conclude this chapter by quoting a saying of Professor Agassiz, that whenever a new and startling fact is brought to light in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/i-may-conclude-this-chapter-by-quoting-a-saying-of-professor-agassiz/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Amidst the vicissitudes of the earth's surface, species cannot be immortal, but must perish, one after another, like the individuals which compose them. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/amidst-the-vicissitudes-of-the-earth-s-surface-species-cannot-be/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [It must have appeared almost as improbable to the earlier geologists, that the laws of earthquakes should one day throw light on the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/it-must-have-appeared-almost-as-improbable-to-the-earlier-geologists/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Millions of our race are now supported by lands situated where deep seas once prevailed in earlier ages. In many districts not yet occupied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/millions-of-our-race-are-now-supported-by-lands-situated-where-deep/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [So far, therefore, as we can draw safe conclusions from a single specimen, there has been no marked change of race in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/so-far-therefore-as-we-can-draw-safe-conclusions-from-a-single/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [There is no foundation in geological facts, for the popular theory of the successive development of the animal and vegetable world, from the simplest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/there-is-no-foundation-in-geological-facts-for-the-popular-theory-of/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [That ere long, now that curiosity has been so much excited on this subject, some human remains will be detected in the older alluvium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/that-ere-long-now-that-curiosity-has-been-so-much-excited-on-this/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Hitherto, no rival hypothesis has been proposed as a substitute for the doctrine of transmutation; for 'independent creation,' as it is often termed, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/hitherto-no-rival-hypothesis-has-been-proposed-as-a-substitute-for/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [The present is the key to the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/the-present-is-the-key-to-the-past/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [The question now at issue, whether the living species are connected with the extinct by a common bond of descent, will best be cleared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/the-question-now-at-issue-whether-the-living-species-are-connected/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) [Explore all 37 Charles Lyell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "'Time's noblest offspring is the last.' This line of Bishop Berkeley's expresses the real cause of the belief in progress in the animal creation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Lyell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-this-line-of-bishop-berkeley-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-this-line-of-bishop-berkeley-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/charles-lyell-17452_animal_time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-thi_1088985.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/charles-lyell-17452_animal_time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-thi_1088985.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/charles-lyell-17452_animal_time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-thi_1088985.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'Time's noblest offspring is the last.' This line of Bishop Berkeley's expresses the real cause of the…” — Charles Lyell", "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 Lyell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "'Time's noblest offspring is the last.'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-this-line-of-bishop-berkeley-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/time-s-noblest-offspring-is-the-last-this-line-of-bishop-berkeley-s/#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 } } ] } ```