--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The night is quiet. Like a camp before…" description: "\"The night is quiet. Like a camp before battle. The city beset by a thing unknown and will it come from forest or sea? The murengers have walled the pal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/cormac-mccarthy-181_battle_the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-ba_2333693.jpg" --- # The night is quiet. Like a camp before battle. The city… ![“The night is quiet. Like a camp before battle. The city beset by a thing unknown and will it come from forest or sea? The murengers have walled the pale, the gates are shut, but lo the thing's inside and can you guess his shape? Where he's kept or what's the counter of his face? Is he a weaver…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/cormac-mccarthy-181_battle_the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-ba_2333693.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/cormac-mccarthy-181_battle_the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-ba_2333693.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/cormac-mccarthy-181_battle_the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-ba_2333693.jpg) > “The night is quiet. Like a camp before battle. The city beset by a thing unknown and will it come from forest or sea? The murengers have walled the pale, the gates are shut, but lo the thing's inside and can you guess his shape? Where he's kept or what's the counter of his face? Is he a weaver, bloody shuttle shot through a time warp, a carder of souls from the world's nap? Or a hunter with hounds or do bone horses draw his dead cart through the streets and does he call his trade to each? Dear friend he is not to be dwelt upon for it is by just such wise that he's invited in” [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. Depicts an ominous, shape‑shifting threat looming over a city, using vivid, unsettling imagery to evoke dread **In simple terms:** A mysterious danger approaches, described in haunting, symbolic language Key Takeaway Beware hidden threats that defy easy understanding Themes fear unknown apocalypse myth identity Mood eerie dark poetic Type literary gothic apocalyptic When to use this quote - creative writing - world‑building - character design - game narrative - horror storytelling Key Concepts existential dread symbolism urban decay Questions to Reflect On - What does the “thing” symbolize in modern society? - How can such imagery be used to explore collective anxieties? A Different Perspective The abstract nature may alienate readers seeking concrete meaning ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Bloody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloody/) [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camps/) [Carts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carts/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Dear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear/) [Dear friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear-friend/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gates/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Hounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hounds/) [Hunters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunters/) [Invited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invited/) [Murengers Walled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murengers-walled-5623709/) [Naps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naps/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Night Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-quiet-1259503/) [Pale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Shots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shots/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thing Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-unknown-1928030/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Unknown Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknown-come-796566/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Warp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warp/) [Weavers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weavers/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Doesn’t part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/doesn-t-part-of-the-awe-that-fills-us-when-we-confront-the-unknown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“But whether or not they chose to take a step into the unknown, the unknown would still come, the yawning precipice would still swallow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/but-whether-or-not-they-chose-to-take-a-step-into-the-unknown-the/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [You can only get next to God through the effort of preparation. 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But sometimes we're lost in an unknown place for no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-jeff-walker/gonzo-means-taking-an-unknown-thing-to-an-unknown-place-for-a-known/) [Jerry Jeff Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-jeff-walker/) > [William Blake once wrote; There are things that are known and thing that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/william-blake-once-wrote-there-are-things-that-are-known-and-thing/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [As long as a thing is unknown, it belongs to us in a way that well-known things do not. For we have the opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dokey/as-long-as-a-thing-is-unknown-it-belongs-to-us-in-a-way-that-well/) [Cameron Dokey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dokey/) > [Tokyo is a very safe city. At night it becomes quiet the way New York never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-kennedy/tokyo-is-a-very-safe-city-at-night-it-becomes-quiet-the-way-new-york/) [Rick Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-kennedy/) > [“The night is quiet but for the chirping crickets, and dark too, lit only by a few lanterns still shimmering in windows and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini-and-the-mountains-echoed/the-night-is-quiet-but-for-the-chirping-crickets-and-dark-too-lit/) [Khaled Hosseini And The Mountains Echoed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini-and-the-mountains-echoed/) > [Night is a more quiet time to work. It aids thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/night-is-a-more-quiet-time-to-work-it-aids-thought/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [There is something about talking in the night, with the shreds of sleep around your ears, with the silences between one remark and another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/there-is-something-about-talking-in-the-night-with-the-shreds-of/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [I am a late starter. I like to go on into the night when it's quiet and everything has shut down. I find that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-lynne/i-am-a-late-starter-i-like-to-go-on-into-the-night-when-it-s-quiet/) [Shelby Lynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-lynne/) > [We love the night and it's quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fitz-james-o-brien/we-love-the-night-and-it-s-quiet/) [Fitz James O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fitz-james-o-brien/) > [It was always late at night, when everything and everyone else was quiet, that those voices would rise like ghosts, soft and haunting, filling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-was-always-late-at-night-when-everything-and-everyone-else-was/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“I cared that at night, when everything was quiet and I started thinking about him, my heart would start hurting so much that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-gregg-gilmore/i-cared-that-at-night-when-everything-was-quiet-and-i-started/) [Susan Gregg Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-gregg-gilmore/) ## 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 Battle quotes > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [Only great and general battles can produce great results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/only-great-and-general-battles-can-produce-great-results/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Life is a battle of wits, and many people have to fight it unarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-and-many-people-have-to-fight-it-unarmed/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [When I step into the batters box. The fans, the noise, the cheers, they all disappear. For that moment, the world is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/when-i-step-into-the-batters-box-the-fans-the-noise-the-cheers-they/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [I knew Jimmy Dean. He tested for 'Battle Cry'. Paul Newman tested for 'Battle Cry'. I did nine tests to finally get that role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/i-knew-jimmy-dean-he-tested-for-battle-cry-paul-newman-tested-for/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Love is a battle," said Marie-Claude, still smiling. "And I plan to go on fighting. To the end." Love is a battle?" said Franz.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/love-is-a-battle-said-marie-claude-still-smiling-and-i-plan-to-go-on/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [It's almost ironic sitting here watching stories about Norm's courageous 'battle' with cancer. He actually did a bit on stage about how stupid that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/it-s-almost-ironic-sitting-here-watching-stories-about-norm-s/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) > [“Other folk thought the Rage was simple bloodlust, a berserk savagery that neither knew nor cared what its target was, and so it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weber/other-folk-thought-the-rage-was-simple-bloodlust-a-berserk-savagery/) [David Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weber/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) [Browse all 4,526 Battle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The night is quiet. Like a camp before battle. The city beset by a thing unknown and will it come from forest or sea? The murengers have walled the pale, the gates are shut, but lo the thing's inside and can you guess his shape? Where he's kept or what's the counter of his face? Is he a weaver, bloody shuttle shot through a time warp, a carder of souls from the world's nap? Or a hunter with hounds or do bone horses draw his dead cart through the streets and does he call his trade to each? Dear friend he is not to be dwelt upon for it is by just such wise that he's invited in", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cormac McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-battle-the-city-beset-by-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Battle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-battle-the-city-beset-by-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/cormac-mccarthy-181_battle_the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-ba_2333693.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/cormac-mccarthy-181_battle_the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-ba_2333693.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/cormac-mccarthy-181_battle_the-night-is-quiet-like-a-camp-before-ba_2333693.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The night is quiet. 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