--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is but one world and everything…" description: "\"“There is but one world and everything that is imaginable is necessary to it. For this world also which seems to us a thing of stone and flower and blo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/cormac-mccarthy-181_ecology_there-is-but-one-world-and-everything-th_2070257.jpg" --- # There is but one world and everything that is imaginable… ![“There is but one world and everything that is imaginable is necessary to it. For this world also which seems to us a thing of stone and flower and blood is not a thing at all but is a tale. And all in it is a tale and each tale the sum of all lesser tales and yet these are also the selfsame tale…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/cormac-mccarthy-181_ecology_there-is-but-one-world-and-everything-th_2070257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/cormac-mccarthy-181_ecology_there-is-but-one-world-and-everything-th_2070257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/cormac-mccarthy-181_ecology_there-is-but-one-world-and-everything-th_2070257.jpg) > ““There is but one world and everything that is imaginable is necessary to it. For this world also which seems to us a thing of stone and flower and blood is not a thing at all but is a tale. And all in it is a tale and each tale the sum of all lesser tales and yet these are also the selfsame tale and contain as well all else within them. So everything is necessary. Every least thing. This is the hard lesson. Nothing can be dispensed with. Nothing despised. Because the seams are hid from us, you see. The joinery. The way in which the world is made. We have no way to know what could be taken away. What omitted. We have no way to tell what might stand and what might fall. And those seams that are hid from us are of course in the tale itself and the tale has no abode or place of beind except in the telling only and there it lives and makes its home and therefore we can never be done with the telling. Of the telling there is no end. And . . . in whatever . . . place by whatever . . . name or by no name at all . . . all tales are one. Rightly heard all tales are one.”” [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. All aspects of existence are interwoven; every element, even the smallest, is essential to the whole narrative of life. **In simple terms:** Everything is essential and connected. Key Takeaway Recognize the value in every detail. Themes interconnectedness necessity storytelling Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing - philosophical - analysis - worldview - existential reflection Key Concepts philosophy metaphysics holism Questions to Reflect On - What seemingly insignificant detail could alter your perspective? - How do you honor the hidden connections in daily life? A Different Perspective The claim may overlook practical limits of change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ecology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecology/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“For this world also which seems to us a thing of stone and flower and blood is not a thing at all but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/for-this-world-also-which-seems-to-us-a-thing-of-stone-and-flower-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It is not a bad thing in a tale that you understand only half of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/it-is-not-a-bad-thing-in-a-tale-that-you-understand-only-half-of-it/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“Does the Sower feed the tale Or the tale feed the Sower?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachna-gilmore/does-the-sower-feed-the-tale-or-the-tale-feed-the-sower/) Rachna Gilmore > [“All life is bound to a simple truth... that time goes on, that in each person's life begins a tale, a tale that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-chrisman-2/all-life-is-bound-to-a-simple-truth-that-time-goes-on-that-in-each/) M.J. Chrisman > [“This is a fairy tale. A tale of humans and creatures . . . and magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirow-miwa/this-is-a-fairy-tale-a-tale-of-humans-and-creatures-and-magic/) Shirow Miwa > [“Les contes de fées c'est comme ça. Un matin on se réveille. On dit: "Ce n'était qu'un conte de fées..." On sourit de soi.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/les-contes-de-f-es-c-est-comme-a-un-matin-on-se-r-veille-on-dit-ce-n/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > ['To Kill a Mockingbird' is really two stories. One is a coming-of-age tale told from the point of view of Scout Finch, a girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-shields/to-kill-a-mockingbird-is-really-two-stories-one-is-a-coming-of-age/) [Charles J. Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-shields/) > [I'm not sure if it's fair to call it a 'fairy tale,' but I really loved 'Mulan,' the Disney film. It was my favorite.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-cole/i-m-not-sure-if-it-s-fair-to-call-it-a-fairy-tale-but-i-really-loved/) [Lily Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-cole/) > [At every moment of our lives, we all have one foot in a fairy tale and the other in the abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/at-every-moment-of-our-lives-we-all-have-one-foot-in-a-fairy-tale-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/you-are-the-fairy-tale-told-by-your-ancestors/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Each of us has a creation tale - how we came into this world. And I'll add this: each of us has an uncreation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hainey/each-of-us-has-a-creation-tale-how-we-came-into-this-world-and-i-ll/) [Michael Hainey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hainey/) > [...a tale of too many cooks in the defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-brown/a-tale-of-too-many-cooks-in-the-defence/) [Ian Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-brown/) > [“McIntyre’s tale may have predecessors, but it is unique. I strain for literary comparisons and think: Kipling, the classical Chinese poets, early Patrick O’Brian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-bodio/mcintyre-s-tale-may-have-predecessors-but-it-is-unique-i-strain-for/) Stephen J. Bodio > [Whether we think of Disney's blonde beauty and her pumpkin carriage or Marissa Meyer's recent recasting of 'Cinderella' as a cyborg in the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-rutkoski/whether-we-think-of-disney-s-blonde-beauty-and-her-pumpkin-carriage/) [Marie Rutkoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-rutkoski/) > [A sad tale's best for winter. I have one of sprites and goblins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-sad-tale-s-best-for-winter-i-have-one-of-sprites-and-goblins/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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. 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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 Ecology quotes > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [Ecological differentiation is the necessary condition for coexistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/ecological-differentiation-is-the-necessary-condition-for-coexistence/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [The thing that bothers me the most is the recklessness and greed of the local ranchers, who run too many cattle back here, choking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/the-thing-that-bothers-me-the-most-is-the-recklessness-and-greed-of/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [“It was not enough that food aplenty was within Man’s grasp: he wanted more. 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We have no way to know what could be taken away. What omitted. We have no way to tell what might stand and what might fall. And those seams that are hid from us are of course in the tale itself and the tale has no abode or place of beind except in the telling only and there it lives and makes its home and therefore we can never be done with the telling. Of the telling there is no end. And . . . in whatever . . . place by whatever . . . name or by no name at all . . . all tales are one. 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