--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He did not know how hawks mated but he…" description: "\"“He did not know how hawks mated but he knew that all things fought.”\" — Cormac McCarthy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cormac-mccarthy-181_hawks_he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-k_2707984.jpg" --- # He did not know how hawks mated but he knew that all… ![“He did not know how hawks mated but he knew that all things fought.” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cormac-mccarthy-181_hawks_he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-k_2707984.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cormac-mccarthy-181_hawks_he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-k_2707984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cormac-mccarthy-181_hawks_he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-k_2707984.jpg) > ““He did not know how hawks mated but he knew that all things fought.”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes ignorance of nature’s details yet recognizes universal conflict. **In simple terms:** He knows all things fight, even without specifics. Key Takeaway Accept unknowns, focus on common struggles. Themes conflict ignorance nature Mood thoughtful somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - wildlife study - political analysis - personal adversity Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What fights are universal? - How does ignorance shape perception? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hawks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawks/) [Hawks Mated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawks-mated-2785156/) [Know Hawks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-hawks-2785157/) [Mated Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mated-knew-2785158/) [Things Fought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-fought-2543214/) ## Related quotes > [Wars are generally fought for material things; they're not fought over ideals. After we get into them, we are told we are fighting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-jordan/wars-are-generally-fought-for-material-things-they-re-not-fought-over/) [Clarence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-jordan/) > [“The war had been a daily thought, a continual consciousness in her life for two years, but never a real presence. Battles were things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-war-had-been-a-daily-thought-a-continual-consciousness-in-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You couldn't find two people more different than my mother and I. There are a thousand things about me that she fought against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/you-couldn-t-find-two-people-more-different-than-my-mother-and-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, Malcolm MacPherson vividly brings to life this harrowing story of courage, pathos, and war at its grittiest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-winik/in-the-tradition-of-black-hawk-down-malcolm-macpherson-vividly-brings/) [Jay Winik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-winik/) > [The wolf dreads the pitfall, the hawk suspects the snare, and the kite the covered hook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-wolf-dreads-the-pitfall-the-hawk-suspects-the-snare-and-the-kite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [In the world outside this glass room, songbirds are feeding and resting in the trees. Some will take off tonight and not land until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/in-the-world-outside-this-glass-room-songbirds-are-feeding-and/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [In Washington they have their hawks and doves and in Ottawa we have our parrots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-douglas/in-washington-they-have-their-hawks-and-doves-and-in-ottawa-we-have/) [Tommy Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-douglas/) > [Cirrus sky hawk drift, blue haze in the autumn air, and my mouth is dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-boddy/cirrus-sky-hawk-drift-blue-haze-in-the-autumn-air-and-my-mouth-is-dry/) [Gregg Boddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-boddy/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [About five years ago, the courses we run in the Field Trials were 52 percent timber. The hawks live in trees, and the quail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/about-five-years-ago-the-courses-we-run-in-the-field-trials-were-52/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [“Their rapid, shifting, dancing motion had been so deft and graceful that it was difficult to believe that hunger was the cause of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/their-rapid-shifting-dancing-motion-had-been-so-deft-and-graceful/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [Every Democrat on Capitol Hill professes to be a fiscal hawk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beauprez/every-democrat-on-capitol-hill-professes-to-be-a-fiscal-hawk/) [Bob Beauprez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beauprez/) > [In some parts of the ancient world, the hawk symbolized the sun. Back when I got this, I figured if I always had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/in-some-parts-of-the-ancient-world-the-hawk-symbolized-the-sun-back/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“We'd had sex like we were whores to each other, and when it was done, we each moved to our side of the bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-d-had-sex-like-we-were-whores-to-each-other-and-when-it-was-done/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More Hawks quotes > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [“We'd had sex like we were whores to each other, and when it was done, we each moved to our side of the bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-d-had-sex-like-we-were-whores-to-each-other-and-when-it-was-done/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [In some parts of the ancient world, the hawk symbolized the sun. Back when I got this, I figured if I always had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/in-some-parts-of-the-ancient-world-the-hawk-symbolized-the-sun-back/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Every Democrat on Capitol Hill professes to be a fiscal hawk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beauprez/every-democrat-on-capitol-hill-professes-to-be-a-fiscal-hawk/) [Bob Beauprez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beauprez/) > [“Their rapid, shifting, dancing motion had been so deft and graceful that it was difficult to believe that hunger was the cause of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-baker/their-rapid-shifting-dancing-motion-had-been-so-deft-and-graceful/) [J.A. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-baker/) > [About five years ago, the courses we run in the Field Trials were 52 percent timber. The hawks live in trees, and the quail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/about-five-years-ago-the-courses-we-run-in-the-field-trials-were-52/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [Cirrus sky hawk drift, blue haze in the autumn air, and my mouth is dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-boddy/cirrus-sky-hawk-drift-blue-haze-in-the-autumn-air-and-my-mouth-is-dry/) [Gregg Boddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-boddy/) > [In Washington they have their hawks and doves and in Ottawa we have our parrots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-douglas/in-washington-they-have-their-hawks-and-doves-and-in-ottawa-we-have/) [Tommy Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-douglas/) > [In the world outside this glass room, songbirds are feeding and resting in the trees. Some will take off tonight and not land until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-steingraber/in-the-world-outside-this-glass-room-songbirds-are-feeding-and/) [Sandra Steingraber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-steingraber/) > [The wolf dreads the pitfall, the hawk suspects the snare, and the kite the covered hook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-wolf-dreads-the-pitfall-the-hawk-suspects-the-snare-and-the-kite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, Malcolm MacPherson vividly brings to life this harrowing story of courage, pathos, and war at its grittiest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-winik/in-the-tradition-of-black-hawk-down-malcolm-macpherson-vividly-brings/) [Jay Winik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-winik/) > [When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/when-i-bestride-him-i-soar-i-am-a-hawk-he-trots-the-air-the-earth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In honoring the Wright Brothers, it is customary and proper to recognize their contribution to scientific progress. But I believe it is equally important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-honoring-the-wright-brothers-it-is-customary-and-proper-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I worked for John Ford, Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway, Raoul Walsh - I worked for some real good directors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-farnsworth/i-worked-for-john-ford-howard-hawks-henry-hathaway-raoul-walsh-i/) [Richard Farnsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-farnsworth/) [Browse all 214 Hawks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hawks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He did not know how hawks mated but he knew that all things fought.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cormac McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-knew-that-all-things-fought/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hawks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-knew-that-all-things-fought/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cormac-mccarthy-181_hawks_he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-k_2707984.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cormac-mccarthy-181_hawks_he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-k_2707984.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cormac-mccarthy-181_hawks_he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-k_2707984.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He did not know how hawks mated but he knew that all things fought.” — Cormac McCarthy", "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": "Cormac McCarthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He did not know how hawks...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-knew-that-all-things-fought/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-did-not-know-how-hawks-mated-but-he-knew-that-all-things-fought/#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 } } ] } ```