--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth about the world, he said, is…" description: "\"“The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible. Had you not seen it all from birth and thereby bled it of its strangeness it would a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/cormac-mccarthy-181_dreams_the-truth-about-the-world-he-said-is-tha_2146976.jpg" --- # The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is… ![“The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible. Had you not seen it all from birth and thereby bled it of its strangeness it would appear to you for what it is, a hat trick in a medicine show, a fevered dream, a trance bepopulate with chimeras having neither analogue nor…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/cormac-mccarthy-181_dreams_the-truth-about-the-world-he-said-is-tha_2146976.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/cormac-mccarthy-181_dreams_the-truth-about-the-world-he-said-is-tha_2146976.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/cormac-mccarthy-181_dreams_the-truth-about-the-world-he-said-is-tha_2146976.jpg) > ““The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible. Had you not seen it all from birth and thereby bled it of its strangeness it would appear to you for what it is, a hat trick in a medicine show, a fevered dream, a trance bepopulate with chimeras having neither analogue nor precedent, an itinerant carnival, a migratory tentshow whose ultimate destination after many a pitch in many a mudded field is unspeakable and calamitous beyond reckoning. The universe is no narrow thing and the order within it is not constrained by any latitude in its conception to repeat what exists in one part in any other part. Even in this world more things exist without our knowledge than with it and the order in creation which you see is that which you have put there, like a string in a maze, so that you shall not lose your way. For existence has its own order and that no man's mind can compass, that mind itself being but a fact among others.”” [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. The universe is vast and chaotic, beyond human comprehension; order is a construct we impose, and truth is elusive. **In simple terms:** The world is unpredictable and beyond our control. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and seek personal meaning. Themes uncertainty chaos order truth human limitation Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - scientific research - creative writing - spiritual contemplation - policy planning Key Concepts cosmology philosophy epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate unknowns? - What structures help you find order? A Different Perspective Human understanding is limited; overconfidence can mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Even in this world, more things exist without our knowledge than with it and the order in creation which you see is that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/even-in-this-world-more-things-exist-without-our-knowledge-than-with/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [The universe is no narrow thing and the order within it is not constrained by any latitude in its conception to repeat what exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-universe-is-no-narrow-thing-and-the-order-within-it-is-not/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“We tend to think of future inventions and discoveries, but in reality, these things already exist in the knowledge bank of the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/we-tend-to-think-of-future-inventions-and-discoveries-but-in-reality/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [Perfection is not the way of existence Growth is the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/perfection-is-not-the-way-of-existence-growth-is-the-way/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [“Reality is mainly based on knowledge, what you do not know doesn't exist to you. Above all get knowledge and wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-lucas-d-shallua/reality-is-mainly-based-on-knowledge-what-you-do-not-know-doesn-t/) [Dr. Lucas D. Shallua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-lucas-d-shallua/) > [ Knowledge does away with darkness, \[anxiety\], and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/knowledge-does-away-with-darkness-anxiety-and-doubt-for-these-cannot/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [Knowledge does away with darkness, suspense, and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is . . . In knowledge there is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/knowledge-does-away-with-darkness-suspense-and-doubt-for-these-cannot/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [The human form is a microcosm of the universe. All that supposedly exists outside us in reality exists in us. The world is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-klein/the-human-form-is-a-microcosm-of-the-universe-all-that-supposedly/) [Jean Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-klein/) > [The world encyclopedia, the universal library, exists, and it is the world itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-world-encyclopedia-the-universal-library-exists-and-it-is-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [One great thing about fly fishing is that after a while nothing exists of the world but thoughts about fly fishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-maclean/one-great-thing-about-fly-fishing-is-that-after-a-while-nothing/) [Norman Maclean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-maclean/) > [Politics, war, marriage, crime, adultery. Everything that exists in the world has something to do with money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/politics-war-marriage-crime-adultery-everything-that-exists-in-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“This natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/this-natural-world-is-only-an-image-and-a-copy-of-paradise-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Nothing exists in this world but me and my bed…” (p. 141).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/nothing-exists-in-this-world-but-me-and-my-bed-p-141/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [“In our lifetimes, we can only know a small portion of what exists. The world is endless and its treasures are inexhaustible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-webster/in-our-lifetimes-we-can-only-know-a-small-portion-of-what-exists-the/) [Barry Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-webster/) > [“Yoga exists in the world because everything is linked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-k-v-desikachar-2/yoga-exists-in-the-world-because-everything-is-linked/) [T.K.V. Desikachar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-k-v-desikachar-2/) ## 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 Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible. Had you not seen it all from birth and thereby bled it of its strangeness it would appear to you for what it is, a hat trick in a medicine show, a fevered dream, a trance bepopulate with chimeras having neither analogue nor precedent, an itinerant carnival, a migratory tentshow whose ultimate destination after many a pitch in many a mudded field is unspeakable and calamitous beyond reckoning. The universe is no narrow thing and the order within it is not constrained by any latitude in its conception to repeat what exists in one part in any other part. Even in this world more things exist without our knowledge than with it and the order in creation which you see is that which you have put there, like a string in a maze, so that you shall not lose your way. 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