--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A million years ago there had been no…" description: "\"“A million years ago there had been no river here and in a million years to come there might be no river – but in a million years from now there would ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/clifford-d-simak-12884_caring_a-million-years-ago-there-had-been-no-ri_1999901.jpg" --- # A million years ago there had been no river here and in a… ![“A million years ago there had been no river here and in a million years to come there might be no river – but in a million years from now there would be, if not Man, at least a caring thing. And that was the secret of the universe, Enoch told himself – a thing that went on caring.” quote by Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/clifford-d-simak-12884_caring_a-million-years-ago-there-had-been-no-ri_1999901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/clifford-d-simak-12884_caring_a-million-years-ago-there-had-been-no-ri_1999901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/clifford-d-simak-12884_caring_a-million-years-ago-there-had-been-no-ri_1999901.jpg) > ““A million years ago there had been no river here and in a million years to come there might be no river – but in a million years from now there would be, if not Man, at least a caring thing. And that was the secret of the universe, Enoch told himself – a thing that went on caring.”” [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human care is the enduring force that will persist beyond natural cycles, giving meaning to existence. **In simple terms:** Caring outlasts nature. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy and stewardship. Themes environment philosophy legacy humanity care Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - conservation work - community building - long‑term planning - intergenerational projects Key Concepts Existentialism anthropocentrism ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can we embed caring into daily decisions? - What responsibilities arise from knowing our actions affect future generations? A Different Perspective Human impact can be limited by ecological constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) [Enoch Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enoch-told-3512500/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Million years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-years/) [Universe Enoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-enoch-3512501/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) [Years Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-come/) [Years Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-man-689909/) ## Related quotes > [Could that have been what happened to the human race - a willing perversity that set at naught all human values which had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/could-that-have-been-what-happened-to-the-human-race-a-willing/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [I have been together 33 years with the man of my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-hilton/i-have-been-together-33-years-with-the-man-of-my-dreams/) [Kathy Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-hilton/) > [How many years must a man do nothing, before he can at all know what is to be done and how to do it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/how-many-years-must-a-man-do-nothing-before-he-can-at-all-know-what/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It has been 20,000 years since man and dog formed their partnership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-mccaig/it-has-been-20-000-years-since-man-and-dog-formed-their-partnership/) [Donald McCaig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-mccaig/) > [“A man doesn't have time in his life to have time for everything. He doesn't have seasons enough to have a season for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-amichai/a-man-doesn-t-have-time-in-his-life-to-have-time-for-everything-he/) [Yehuda Amichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-amichai/) > [“New landscapes, new customs. The accumulation of memories. A long life is not a question of years. A man without memories might reach the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/new-landscapes-new-customs-the-accumulation-of-memories-a-long-life/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“...your twenties are the years when a man wends and wanders, searching for who knows what - we say money or love or adventure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-doyle/your-twenties-are-the-years-when-a-man-wends-and-wanders-searching/) [Brian Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-doyle/) > [“A man doesn’t grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/a-man-doesn-t-grow-old-because-he-has-lived-a-certain-number-of-years-2/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [I spent thirty-three years in another man's shadow. I went everywhere he went, I helped him with everything he did. I was in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-spent-thirty-three-years-in-another-man-s-shadow-i-went-everywhere/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [There are parts of Texas where a fly lives ten thousand years and a man can't die soon enough. Time gets strange there from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/there-are-parts-of-texas-where-a-fly-lives-ten-thousand-years-and-a/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [If entertainment years were dog years, man, Id be like Gandhi. Id be like 250 years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-timberlake/if-entertainment-years-were-dog-years-man-id-be-like-gandhi-id-be/) [Justin Timberlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-timberlake/) > [A man doesn't grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/a-man-doesn-t-grow-old-because-he-has-lived-a-certain-number-of-years/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [It requires twenty years for a man to rise from the vegetable state in which he is within his mother's womb, and from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-requires-twenty-years-for-a-man-to-rise-from-the-vegetable-state/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [For 60 years man has been putting plastic into the ocean. And from that day onward we're also taking it back out again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/for-60-years-man-has-been-putting-plastic-into-the-ocean-and-from/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) > [Every ten years a man should give himself a good kick in the pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/every-ten-years-a-man-should-give-himself-a-good-kick-in-the-pants/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) ## More by Clifford D. Simak > [Must faith be exactly that, the willingness and ability to believe in the face of a lack of evidence? If one could find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/must-faith-be-exactly-that-the-willingness-and-ability-to-believe-in/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [Time is still the great mystery to us. It is no more than a concept; we don't know if it even exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/time-is-still-the-great-mystery-to-us-it-is-no-more-than-a-concept-we/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [My reluctance to use alien invasion is due to the feeling that we are not likely to be invaded and taken over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/my-reluctance-to-use-alien-invasion-is-due-to-the-feeling-that-we-are/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [Inside the time bubble we do not age. We age only when we are outside of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/inside-the-time-bubble-we-do-not-age-we-age-only-when-we-are-outside/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [The chain of life runs smoothly from one generation to the next and none of the links stand out except here and there a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/the-chain-of-life-runs-smoothly-from-one-generation-to-the-next-and/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [“Man's inability to understand and appreciate the thought and viewpoint of another man would be a stumbling block which no amount of mechanical ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/man-s-inability-to-understand-and-appreciate-the-thought-and/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [Here lies one from a distant star, but the soil is not alien to him, for in death he belongs to the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/here-lies-one-from-a-distant-star-but-the-soil-is-not-alien-to-him/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [I have not long to live. I have lasted more than a man's average allotted span, and while I still am hale and hearty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/i-have-not-long-to-live-i-have-lasted-more-than-a-man-s-average/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [I did not want to move. For I had the feeling that this was a place, once seen, that could not be seen again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/i-did-not-want-to-move-for-i-had-the-feeling-that-this-was-a-place/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [“Money here on Earth is more than the paper or the metal that you use for money, more than the rows of figures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/money-here-on-earth-is-more-than-the-paper-or-the-metal-that-you-use/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [“Bridgeport, Wis. July 11, 1987 I write this letter to myself, so that the postmark may prove beyond controversy the day and year that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/bridgeport-wis-july-11-1987-i-write-this-letter-to-myself-so-that-the/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [It is only of life on Earth, however, that one can speak with any certainty. It seems to me that all life on Earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/it-is-only-of-life-on-earth-however-that-one-can-speak-with-any/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [This is the very center of everything there is. A huge black hole eating up the galaxy. The end of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/this-is-the-very-center-of-everything-there-is-a-huge-black-hole/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [When I talk of the purpose of life, I am thinking not only of human life, but of all life on Earth and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/when-i-talk-of-the-purpose-of-life-i-am-thinking-not-only-of-human/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) > [I have tried at times to place humans in perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have been concerned with where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-d-simak/i-have-tried-at-times-to-place-humans-in-perspective-against-the/) [Clifford D. Simak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) [Explore all 52 Clifford D. Simak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-d-simak/) ## More Caring quotes > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [There is nothing about myself that I wouldn't reveal or write about. I don't care how horrendous or ridiculous I may appear in person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/there-is-nothing-about-myself-that-i-wouldn-t-reveal-or-write-about-i/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [A happy family needs a loving and caring father, and he who knows how to be a mother sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-happy-family-needs-a-loving-and-caring-father-and-he-who-knows-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Just remember that when nobody was there for you, I was. And when nobody else gave a damn, I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-remember-that-when-nobody-was-there-for-you-i-was-and-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Without a vision there is no possibility of creating something larger than what al-ready exists. An entrepreneur has to be able to bring something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/without-a-vision-there-is-no-possibility-of-creating-something-larger/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Hmmm! life zz about caring the life that u have as the rest of the things are of secondary value tc n ks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sardar-hyder-abbas/hmmm-life-zz-about-caring-the-life-that-u-have-as-the-rest-of-the/) [Sardar Hyder Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sardar-hyder-abbas/) > [You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved ,the rest is up to the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-make-someone-love-you-all-you-can-do-is-be-someone-who-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-re-20-you-care-what-everyone-thinks-when-you-re-40-you-stop/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“As you travel along the roads in life, there is a certain kind of peace that comes with knowing you're on the right path.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-nkosazana/as-you-travel-along-the-roads-in-life-there-is-a-certain-kind-of/) [Amaka Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-nkosazana/) > [“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/) [Browse all 2,651 Caring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A million years ago there had been no river here and in a million years to come there might be no river – but in a million years from now there would be, if not Man, at least a caring thing. 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