--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the…" description: "\"“Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done--almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks as though this may be his u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/daniel-quinn-1786_rule-the-world_man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-th_269607.png" --- # Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this… ![“Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done--almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks as though this may be his undoing. The problem is that man's conquest of the world has itself devastated the world. And in spite of all the mastery we've attained, we don't…” quote by Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/daniel-quinn-1786_rule-the-world_man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-th_269607.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/daniel-quinn-1786_rule-the-world_man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-th_269607.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/daniel-quinn-1786_rule-the-world_man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-th_269607.png) > ““Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done--almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks as though this may be his undoing. The problem is that man's conquest of the world has itself devastated the world. And in spite of all the mastery we've attained, we don't have enough mastery to stop devastating the world--or to repair the devastation we've already wrought. We've poured our poisons into the world as though it were a bottomless pit--and we go on pouring our poisons into the world. We've gobbled up irreplaceable resources as though they could never run out--and we go on gobbling them up. It's hard to imagine how the world could survive another century of this abuse, but nobody's really doing anything about it. It's a problem our children will have to solve, or their children." --> Ishmael”” [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human ambition to dominate nature leads to ecological collapse; despite technological mastery we lack the ability to halt or reverse environmental damage. **In simple terms:** We overuse and damage the planet while thinking we control it. Key Takeaway Recognize limits and act responsibly now. Themes environment responsibility future generations human hubris Mood concerned urgent reflective Type warning philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - education - personal consumption - community activism Key Concepts sustainability ecology ethical stewardship Questions to Reflect On - What changes can you make today to reduce your ecological footprint? - How can societies balance progress with planetary health? A Different Perspective Our current actions may be insufficient to prevent irreversible harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Rule the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-the-world/) ## Related quotes > [Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done.. almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-the-world-and-this-is-what-he-s/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [And in spite of all the mastery we've attained, we don't have enough mastery to stop devastating the world, or to repair the devastation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/and-in-spite-of-all-the-mastery-we-ve-attained-we-don-t-have-enough/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [This is an ugly and mean world, and only to spite it we mustn't weep. If you want to know, this is the constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-an-ugly-and-mean-world-and-only-to-spite-it-we-mustn-t-weep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can all do our share to redeem the world in spite of all absurdities and all frustrations and all disappointments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/we-can-all-do-our-share-to-redeem-the-world-in-spite-of-all/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do so without the Holy Mass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/it-would-be-easier-for-the-world-to-survive-without-the-sun-than-to/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [“You cannot leave me. The world would never survive my wrath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelynn-drake/you-cannot-leave-me-the-world-would-never-survive-my-wrath/) [Jocelynn Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelynn-drake/) > [Without love, the world itself would not survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lope-de-vega/without-love-the-world-itself-would-not-survive/) [Lope de Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lope-de-vega/) > [It's scary times for humanity, it seems. But as my octogenarian father tells me, "The world has seen harder times, and the world will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-harry/it-s-scary-times-for-humanity-it-seems-but-as-my-octogenarian-father/) [Debbie Harry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-harry/) > [There are three things in this world that will survive a nuclear explosion: Twinkies, cockroaches and Dean Ambroses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ambrose/there-are-three-things-in-this-world-that-will-survive-a-nuclear/) [Dean Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ambrose/) > [I may not have everything in the world but at least I have something to survive on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/i-may-not-have-everything-in-the-world-but-at-least-i-have-something/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I just feel like there hasn't been enough time away from all this other stuff and into this new world or sort of big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lowry/i-just-feel-like-there-hasn-t-been-enough-time-away-from-all-this/) [Mike Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lowry/) > [I would have ten children. I think they are the most fascinating, and it's the only thing in the world that hasn't been overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deidre-hall/i-would-have-ten-children-i-think-they-are-the-most-fascinating-and/) [Deidre Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deidre-hall/) > [The one way the world hasn't changed: teaching is still the most important job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/the-one-way-the-world-hasn-t-changed-teaching-is-still-the-most/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [“Americans can face the world with open arms, Marianne had once said, because the world hasn’t yet come to knock it down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-shattuck/americans-can-face-the-world-with-open-arms-marianne-had-once-said/) [Jessica Shattuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-shattuck/) > [The world still hasn't seen the best of Sean Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-paul/the-world-still-hasn-t-seen-the-best-of-sean-paul/) [Sean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-paul/) ## More by Daniel Quinn > [“Because we imagine that we are what humanity was divinely destined to become, we assume that our prehistoric ancestors were trying to be us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/because-we-imagine-that-we-are-what-humanity-was-divinely-destined-to/) [daniel quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The deer aren't our prey or our possessions -- they're us. They're us at one point in the cycle of life and we're them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-deer-aren-t-our-prey-or-our-possessions-they-re-us-they-re-us-at/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [ “\[N\]ow we have a clearer idea what this story is all about: The world was made for man, and man was made to rule… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/n-ow-we-have-a-clearer-idea-what-this-story-is-all-about-the-world/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The premise of the Taker story is 'the world belongs to man'. … The premise of the Leaver story is 'man belongs to the world'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-premise-of-the-taker-story-is-the-world-belongs-to-man-the/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Pharaohs It took Khufu twenty-three years to build his Great Pyramid at Giza, where some eleven hundred stone blocks, each weighing about two and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/pharaohs-it-took-khufu-twenty-three-years-to-build-his-great-pyramid/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done.. almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-the-world-and-this-is-what-he-s/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Many peoples practiced agriculture, but they were never obsessed by the delusion that what they were doing was \*right\*, that everyone in the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/many-peoples-practiced-agriculture-but-they-were-never-obsessed-by/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“No undesirable behavior has ever been eliminated by passing a law against it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/no-undesirable-behavior-has-ever-been-eliminated-by-passing-a-law/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“How easy it is first to leap to a false conclusion about someone and then to view everything he does in light of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/how-easy-it-is-first-to-leap-to-a-false-conclusion-about-someone-and/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Far and away the most futile admonition Christ ever offered was when he said, 'Have no care for tomorrow. Don't worry about whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/far-and-away-the-most-futile-admonition-christ-ever-offered-was-when/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [During your lifetime, the people of our culture are going to figure out how to live sustainably on this planet--or they're not. Either way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/during-your-lifetime-the-people-of-our-culture-are-going-to-figure/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Everyone in your culture knows this. Man was born to turn the world into a paradise, but tragically he was born flawed. And so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/everyone-in-your-culture-knows-this-man-was-born-to-turn-the-world/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Most beginning writers - and I was the same - are like chefs trying to cook great dishes that they've never tasted themselves. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/most-beginning-writers-and-i-was-the-same-are-like-chefs-trying-to/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [“Westereners often think that the East is one vast Buddhist temple, which is rather like thinking the West is one vast Carthusian monastery. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/westereners-often-think-that-the-east-is-one-vast-buddhist-temple/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The mythology of your culture hums in your ears so constantly that no one pays the slightest bit of attention to it. Of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-mythology-of-your-culture-hums-in-your-ears-so-constantly-that-no/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) [Explore all 208 Daniel Quinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) ## More Rule the world quotes > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [“An ideological movement is a collection of people many of whom could hardly bake a cake, fix a car, sustain a friendship or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-minogue/an-ideological-movement-is-a-collection-of-people-many-of-whom-could/) [Kenneth Minogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-minogue/) > [I used to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coldplay/i-used-to-rule-the-world/) [Coldplay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coldplay/) > [I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-firmly-believe-that-with-the-right-footwear-one-can-rule-the-world/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [In another life, I would be your girl. Capable of making promises. We would rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/in-another-life-i-would-be-your-girl-capable-of-making-promises-we/) [Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A band of thieves in ripped up jeans got to rule the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/a-band-of-thieves-in-ripped-up-jeans-got-to-rule-the-world/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [We have shown that Islam can rule the world perfectly for 14 centuries, and during this time of Muslim power we did not borrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-bakar-bashir/we-have-shown-that-islam-can-rule-the-world-perfectly-for-14/) [Abu Bakar Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-bakar-bashir/) > [“We live in a thinker's world, thinkers rule the world; If you are not a thinker, you end up as a slave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyedepo/we-live-in-a-thinker-s-world-thinkers-rule-the-world-if-you-are-not-a/) [David Oyedepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyedepo/) > [Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done.. almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/man-s-destiny-was-to-conquer-and-rule-the-world-and-this-is-what-he-s/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The English are such a frightened, nervous, insecure group of people - they no longer rule the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-gilliam/the-english-are-such-a-frightened-nervous-insecure-group-of-people/) [Terry Gilliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-gilliam/) > [“Many peoples practiced agriculture, but they were never obsessed by the delusion that what they were doing was \*right\*, that everyone in the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/many-peoples-practiced-agriculture-but-they-were-never-obsessed-by/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than politicians think. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/there-are-more-ideas-on-earth-than-intellectuals-imagine-and-these/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“But on the question of whether the robots will eventually take over, he { Rodney A. Brooks } says that this will probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/but-on-the-question-of-whether-the-robots-will-eventually-take-over/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“Blessings on the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours” (Matt. 5:3) doesn’t mean, “You will go to heaven when you die.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/blessings-on-the-poor-in-spirit-the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-yours-matt-5/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) [Browse all 246 Rule the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done--almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks as though this may be his undoing. The problem is that man's conquest of the world has itself devastated the world. And in spite of all the mastery we've attained, we don't have enough mastery to stop devastating the world--or to repair the devastation we've already wrought. We've poured our poisons into the world as though it were a bottomless pit--and we go on pouring our poisons into the world. We've gobbled up irreplaceable resources as though they could never run out--and we go on gobbling them up. It's hard to imagine how the world could survive another century of this abuse, but nobody's really doing anything about it. 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