--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is precisely how someone speaks who…" description: "\"“This is precisely how someone speaks who imagines that he is the world's divinely appointed ruler: 'I will not LET them starve. I will not LET the dro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9b/daniel-quinn-1786_civilization_this-is-precisely-how-someone-speaks-who_733491.png" --- # This is precisely how someone speaks who imagines that he… ![“This is precisely how someone speaks who imagines that he is the world's divinely appointed ruler: 'I will not LET them starve. I will not LET the drought come. I will not LET the river flood.” quote by Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9b/daniel-quinn-1786_civilization_this-is-precisely-how-someone-speaks-who_733491.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9b/daniel-quinn-1786_civilization_this-is-precisely-how-someone-speaks-who_733491.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9b/daniel-quinn-1786_civilization_this-is-precisely-how-someone-speaks-who_733491.png) > ““This is precisely how someone speaks who imagines that he is the world's divinely appointed ruler: 'I will not LET them starve. I will not LET the drought come. I will not LET the river flood.”” [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. A speaker claims divine authority to control nature, refusing to let suffering or disaster happen, reflecting hubris. **In simple terms:** Powerful claims of control reveal arrogance. Key Takeaway Question authority that claims to dominate nature. Themes philosophy ethics environment authority Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - environmental policy debates - religious discourse - political speeches - activist rallies Key Concepts hubris human exceptionalism moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - Who truly has the right to decide nature’s fate? - What responsibilities accompany power over the environment? A Different Perspective Such absolutist rhetoric can ignore systemic causes of suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appointed Ruler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appointed-ruler-5741141/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Divinely Appointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinely-appointed-4356117/) [Imagines World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagines-world-3784058/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Speaks Imagines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaks-imagines-5741142/) [World Divinely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-divinely-5741143/) ## Related quotes > [“God created the world in the way that he saw fit, and humans should not question the divinely appointed order. All wisdom literature, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-r-osborne/god-created-the-world-in-the-way-that-he-saw-fit-and-humans-should/) [Grant R. 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Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## 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. 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Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. 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