Creation Quote by Cormac McCarthy
““His origins are become remote as is his destiny and not again in all the world’s turnings will there be terrains so wild and barbarous to try whether the stuff of creation may be shaped to man’s will or whether his own heart is not another kind of clay.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, 1985
Human ambition confronts untamed nature, questioning whether will can shape creation or if humanity is itself malleable.
In simple terms: We struggle to control nature and ourselves.
Key Takeaway
Recognize limits of control.
Themes
nature
ambition
humanity
destiny
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- exploration
- environmental policy
- personal growth
- philosophical debate
Key Concepts
existentialism
free will
determinism
Questions to Reflect On
- Can we truly shape the world, or does it shape us?
- What does “clay” symbolize about human nature?
A Different Perspective
Nature may resist any attempt at domination.
![“Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this [step by step, from humans to apes to monkeys to lemurs] - leading us insensibly from the crown and summit of the animal creation down to creatures, from which there is but a step, as it seems, to the…” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0b/thomas-huxley-1183_animal_perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us_3051.jpg)
