--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was that what people learned between the…" description: "\"“Was that what people learned between the stars? To care for other people very much indeed and to spring upon them only to reveal love and not devourin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/cordwainer-smith-32342_learned_was-that-what-people-learned-between-the_588593.jpg" --- # Was that what people learned between the stars? To care… ![“Was that what people learned between the stars? To care for other people very much indeed and to spring upon them only to reveal love and not devouring to their prey?” quote by Cordwainer Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/cordwainer-smith-32342_learned_was-that-what-people-learned-between-the_588593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/cordwainer-smith-32342_learned_was-that-what-people-learned-between-the_588593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/cordwainer-smith-32342_learned_was-that-what-people-learned-between-the_588593.jpg) > ““Was that what people learned between the stars? To care for other people very much indeed and to spring upon them only to reveal love and not devouring to their prey?”” [Cordwainer Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordwainer-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator wonders if humanity’s purpose among the stars is to love others deeply rather than to dominate or consume them. **In simple terms:** Love, not domination, is humanity’s true purpose. Key Takeaway Choose compassion over exploitation. Themes compassion humanity purpose interstellar Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - space exploration - philanthropy - community service - environmental stewardship Key Concepts existentialism altruism cosmic perspective Questions to Reflect On - What does love look like in your daily life? - How can we balance love with practical needs? A Different Perspective Love alone may not resolve practical survival challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned/) [Learned Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-stars-4459581/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [People Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-learned/) [Prey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prey/) [Reveal Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reveal-love-797143/) ## Related quotes > [Forget everything you've ever learned about the stars and they'll once more be transformed into angels, or into children, or into whatever you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/forget-everything-you-ve-ever-learned-about-the-stars-and-they-ll/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“@unveiledwife God’s purpose for my marriage is to reveal His love to the world.” #WifeAfterGod”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unveiled-wife/unveiledwife-god-s-purpose-for-my-marriage-is-to-reveal-his-love-to/) [Unveiled Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unveiled-wife/) > [If God wishes to reveal the love that he harbors for the world, this love has to be something that the world can recognize,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/if-god-wishes-to-reveal-the-love-that-he-harbors-for-the-world-this/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [I don't reveal to her that I love her. 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Do you believe that life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/do-you-not-know-that-there-comes-a-midnight-hour-when-every-one-has-2/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [For gay people, we learned about our lives in secrecy and a lot of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-sachs/for-gay-people-we-learned-about-our-lives-in-secrecy-and-a-lot-of-fear/) [Ira Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-sachs/) > [If the only thing people learned was not to be afraid of their experience, that alone would change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-banks/if-the-only-thing-people-learned-was-not-to-be-afraid-of-their/) [Sydney Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-banks/) > [I have no use for people who have learned the limits of the possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-have-no-use-for-people-who-have-learned-the-limits-of-the-possible/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I usually tell people that everything I learned about being an entrepreneur I learned by f'ing up at my first company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-suster/i-usually-tell-people-that-everything-i-learned-about-being-an/) [Mark Suster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-suster/) > [If people learned to understand, they would have no time to assume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/if-people-learned-to-understand-they-would-have-no-time-to-assume/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) > [“Simon, she'd learned, was a man who studied people. 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I am sorry you are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordwainer-smith/chang-nodded-sagely-my-father-insisted-on-it-he-said-you-may-be-proud/) [Cordwainer Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordwainer-smith/) > [“... crowding together to see something which would ease the boredom of perfection and time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordwainer-smith/crowding-together-to-see-something-which-would-ease-the-boredom-of/) [Cordwainer Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordwainer-smith/) > [“At sixteen Helen was already famous, and at seventeen already forgotten, and very much alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordwainer-smith/at-sixteen-helen-was-already-famous-and-at-seventeen-already/) [Cordwainer Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordwainer-smith/) > [“It was all of this: The beat and the heat and the neat repeat of the notes which poured from the congohelium—metal never made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordwainer-smith/it-was-all-of-this-the-beat-and-the-heat-and-the-neat-repeat-of-the/) [Cordwainer Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordwainer-smith/) > [“She is a cat," he thought. 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