--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Other generations perceived a plethora of…" description: "\"“Other generations perceived a plethora of swords hanging over their heads. But generally what they feared were shadows, for neither they nor their god..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/david-brin-3024_sword_other-generations-perceived-a-plethora-o_2732178.jpg" --- # Other generations perceived a plethora of swords hanging… ![“Other generations perceived a plethora of swords hanging over their heads. But generally what they feared were shadows, for neither they nor their gods could actually end the world. Fate might reap an individual, a family, or even a whole nation, but not the entire world. Not then. We, in the…” quote by David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/david-brin-3024_sword_other-generations-perceived-a-plethora-o_2732178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/david-brin-3024_sword_other-generations-perceived-a-plethora-o_2732178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/david-brin-3024_sword_other-generations-perceived-a-plethora-o_2732178.jpg) > ““Other generations perceived a plethora of swords hanging over their heads. But generally what they feared were shadows, for neither they nor their gods could actually end the world. Fate might reap an individual, a family, or even a whole nation, but not the entire world. Not then. We, in the mid-twenty-first century, are the first to look up at a sword we ourselves forged, and know, with absolute certainty, it is real...”” [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern humanity creates its own existential threats, recognizing them as real and unavoidable. **In simple terms:** We forged our own sword and must face it. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and confront self‑made dangers. Themes technology existential risk human agency Mood cautionary thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education - environmental planning - ethical AI development Key Concepts self‑inflicted peril future studies Questions to Reflect On - What “swords” have we forged today? - How can societies prevent self‑destruction? A Different Perspective May inspire fatalism if not paired with agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sword/) [Swords](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swords/) ## Related quotes > [To this wonderful page in our country's history another more glorious still will be added, and the slave shall show at last to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-garibaldi/to-this-wonderful-page-in-our-country-s-history-another-more-glorious/) [Giuseppe Garibaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-garibaldi/) > [If the U.S. monopoly capitalist groups persist in pushing their policies of aggression and war, the day is bound to come when they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-u-s-monopoly-capitalist-groups-persist-in-pushing-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The United States does not have a choice as to whether or not is will or will not play a great part in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-united-states-does-not-have-a-choice-as-to-whether-or-not-is-will/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [...it has been well said that it is precisely these moments when we are feeling that ours is the world and everything that's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-has-been-well-said-that-it-is-precisely-these-moments-when-we-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With the world's fate resting on your shoulder - you're gonna need someone on your side. You can't do it by yourself any longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-the-world-s-fate-resting-on-your-shoulder-you-re-gonna-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An ending will come to everything in this world. It may be a fate that one could never avoid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-ending-will-come-to-everything-in-this-world-it-may-be-a-fate-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When the world's fate is at stake, a new breed of warriors will come”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-explorers-kirsten-nimwey/when-the-world-s-fate-is-at-stake-a-new-breed-of-warriors-will-come/) The Explorers Kirsten Nimwey > [“Those were great big angry men with sharp swords actually wanting to cut pieces off me. 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"Drothe's 'nothings' usually carry swords," said Degan, "and come with several well-armed friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hulick/sometimes-nothing-is-the-best-thing-to-chase-said-jelem-drothe-s/) [Douglas Hulick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hulick/) ## More by David Brin > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Anything done in secret is more likely to result in terrible errors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/anything-done-in-secret-is-more-likely-to-result-in-terrible-errors/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“Men can be brilliant and strong, they whispered to one another. But men can be mad, as well. 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Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/it-s-how-creativity-works-especially-in-humans-for-every-good-idea/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Tragedies such as Nevil Shute's 'On the Beach' and Stanley Kubrick's 'Dr Strangelove' are so powerful because there's an underlying assumption that this did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/tragedies-such-as-nevil-shute-s-on-the-beach-and-stanley-kubrick-s-dr/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [In contrast, markets - oft mythologized as "natural" are the most unnatural things going. Libertarians will tell you "market laws are laws of nature",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/in-contrast-markets-oft-mythologized-as-natural-are-the-most/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“Snow and soot covered the ancient tree's broken branches and seared bark. It wasn't dead, not quite yet. Here and there tiny shoots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/snow-and-soot-covered-the-ancient-tree-s-broken-branches-and-seared/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“As simple an act as reading or writing a sentence must be surrounded by perceptory nap and weave . . . an itch, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/as-simple-an-act-as-reading-or-writing-a-sentence-must-be-surrounded/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [Ideologies are too seductive anyway. It does a man good to see things from a different point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/ideologies-are-too-seductive-anyway-it-does-a-man-good-to-see-things/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Explore all 142 David Brin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) ## More Sword quotes > [“The truth is heavier than a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/the-truth-is-heavier-than-a-sword/) [Naiyem Chowdhury Rony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/) > [“If the pen is mightier than the sword, then what is the laptop? A light saber or a life saver?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-pen-is-mightier-than-the-sword-then-what-is-the-laptop-a-light/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But I saw the pair of them, along with everyone else. Hard to miss. Him towering like a raggedy scarecrow in that flapping black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/but-i-saw-the-pair-of-them-along-with-everyone-else-hard-to-miss-him/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) > [I find it rude to laugh at a man with a sword.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/i-find-it-rude-to-laugh-at-a-man-with-a-sword/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [“His pen spoke more to her than he ever did”. In the war of words, some are unwritten and some are unspoken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishikant/his-pen-spoke-more-to-her-than-he-ever-did-in-the-war-of-words-some/) [Nishikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishikant/) > [“Logic. It could get you every time, but he preferred to cut it down with a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-illene/logic-it-could-get-you-every-time-but-he-preferred-to-cut-it-down/) [Susan Illene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-illene/) > [Technology is, of course, a double edged sword. Fire can cook our food but also burn us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/technology-is-of-course-a-double-edged-sword-fire-can-cook-our-food/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [A sword by itself does not slay; it is merely the weapon used by the slayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/a-sword-by-itself-does-not-slay-it-is-merely-the-weapon-used-by-the/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“In Japanese swordsmanship, it is not uncommon to speak of a unity of mind, body, and sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-e-davey/in-japanese-swordsmanship-it-is-not-uncommon-to-speak-of-a-unity-of/) [H.E. Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-e-davey/) > [“Though sword shall be rusted, And throne and crown perish With strength that men trusted And wealth that they cherish, Here grass is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/though-sword-shall-be-rusted-and-throne-and-crown-perish-with/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [I couldn't pick up a sword and go fight anyone, let me put it that way. It's choreography and it's acting. The best sword…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolaj-coster-waldau/i-couldn-t-pick-up-a-sword-and-go-fight-anyone-let-me-put-it-that-way/) [Nikolaj Coster-Waldau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolaj-coster-waldau/) > [I'm useless with a sword in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bradley-west/i-m-useless-with-a-sword-in-real-life/) [John Bradley-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bradley-west/) > [“Inscribed on it was a verse from the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, the eleventh-century Persian mystic. Reading the words aloud I prepared for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/inscribed-on-it-was-a-verse-from-the-quatrains-of-omar-khayyam-the/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“The pen is truly mightier than the sword. Unless you're holding a pen and the other guy's holding a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-besseling/the-pen-is-truly-mightier-than-the-sword-unless-you-re-holding-a-pen/) Dave Besseling > [“In the words of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant: “There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-g-moore/in-the-words-of-gen-ulysses-s-grant-there-never-was-a-time-when-in-my/) [Harold G. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-g-moore/) [Browse all 721 Sword quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sword/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Other generations perceived a plethora of swords hanging over their heads. But generally what they feared were shadows, for neither they nor their gods could actually end the world. Fate might reap an individual, a family, or even a whole nation, but not the entire world. Not then. 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