--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have heard people bewailing man's…" description: "\"“I have heard people bewailing man's landing on the moon, as though before it was touched by an astronaut's foot it was made of silver or mother-of-pea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/diana-athill-33371_moon_i-have-heard-people-bewailing-man-s-land_2077473.jpg" --- # I have heard people bewailing man's landing on the moon… ![“I have heard people bewailing man's landing on the moon, as though before it was touched by an astronaut's foot it was made of silver or mother-of-pearl, and that footprint turned it into gray dust. But the moon never was made of mother-of-pearl, and it still shines as if it were so made.” quote by Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/diana-athill-33371_moon_i-have-heard-people-bewailing-man-s-land_2077473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/diana-athill-33371_moon_i-have-heard-people-bewailing-man-s-land_2077473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/diana-athill-33371_moon_i-have-heard-people-bewailing-man-s-land_2077473.jpg) > ““I have heard people bewailing man's landing on the moon, as though before it was touched by an astronaut's foot it was made of silver or mother-of-pearl, and that footprint turned it into gray dust. But the moon never was made of mother-of-pearl, and it still shines as if it were so made.”” [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The moon’s appearance is not altered by human footprints; its enduring beauty is inherent, not dependent on our actions. **In simple terms:** Moon stays beautiful regardless of our marks. Key Takeaway Appreciate intrinsic value. Themes nature beauty human impact perception philosophy Mood contemplative hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - environmental advocacy - art criticism - personal reflection - space exploration - education Key Concepts intrinsic worth subjective perception cosmic perspective Questions to Reflect On - Do we overestimate our impact on nature? - How does recognizing intrinsic value change our behavior? A Different Perspective Human actions can’t change fundamental nature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Landing On The Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landing-on-the-moon/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) ## Related quotes > [ What \[man landing on the moon\] is doing up there is indulging his obsession with the impossible. The impossible infuriates and tantalizes him. Show… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/what-man-landing-on-the-moon-is-doing-up-there-is-indulging-his/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [We've all heard about space and landing on the moon, but somehow it's a very tom-boyish adventure. It's planting the flag on the moon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-koppel/we-ve-all-heard-about-space-and-landing-on-the-moon-but-somehow-it-s/) [Lily Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-koppel/) > [There's a historical milestone in the fact that our Apollo 11 landing on the moon took place a mere 66 years after the Wright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/there-s-a-historical-milestone-in-the-fact-that-our-apollo-11-landing/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [Neil Armstrong, when he was out there landing on the moon, I was there first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-roberts/neil-armstrong-when-he-was-out-there-landing-on-the-moon-i-was-there/) [Mark Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-roberts/) > [If you look, like, in 1960, there was no such thing as an astronaut. It was a totally fanciful concept, but nine years later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-beacham/if-you-look-like-in-1960-there-was-no-such-thing-as-an-astronaut-it/) [Travis Beacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-beacham/) > [Landing on the moon was a dream that millions of kids have had for hundreds of years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/landing-on-the-moon-was-a-dream-that-millions-of-kids-have-had-for/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [There is film of the Americans landing on the moon. Does that mean the moon shot really happened? In the film, the Yanqui flag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/there-is-film-of-the-americans-landing-on-the-moon-does-that-mean-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [The exciting part for me, as a pilot, was the landing on the moon. That was the time that we had achieved the national…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/the-exciting-part-for-me-as-a-pilot-was-the-landing-on-the-moon-that/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [The successful landing on the moon, very probably, is the best story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/the-successful-landing-on-the-moon-very-probably-is-the-best-story/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [“The moon touched my shoulder and I longed for a vanished love”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agha-shahid-ali/the-moon-touched-my-shoulder-and-i-longed-for-a-vanished-love/) [Agha Shahid Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agha-shahid-ali/) > [We children sat transfixed before that moon our mother had called forth from the waters. When the moon had reached its deepest silver, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/we-children-sat-transfixed-before-that-moon-our-mother-had-called/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“Lances, leaning like drunken soldiers standing guard, lined the perimeter of the property, feathers fluttering, their slender shafts black lines in the moonlight. Henry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/lances-leaning-like-drunken-soldiers-standing-guard-lined-the/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [“We have developed communications systems to permit man on earth to talk with man on the moon. Yet mother often cannot talk with daughter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadley-read/we-have-developed-communications-systems-to-permit-man-on-earth-to/) Hadley Read > [“Lunar Paraphrase" The moon is the mother of pathos and pity. When, at the wearier end of November, Her old light moves along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/lunar-paraphrase-the-moon-is-the-mother-of-pathos-and-pity-when-at/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The whole period of the '60s changed a lot of us; there was never a decade like that in American history... to have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/the-whole-period-of-the-60s-changed-a-lot-of-us-there-was-never-a/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) ## More by Diana Athill > [An important aspect of the ebbing of sex was that other things became interesting. Sex obliterates the individuality of young women more often than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/an-important-aspect-of-the-ebbing-of-sex-was-that-other-things-became/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“I am not sure that digging in our past guilts is a useful occupation for the very old, given that one can do so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/i-am-not-sure-that-digging-in-our-past-guilts-is-a-useful-occupation/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“We must always remember that we are only midwives—if we want praise for progeny we must give birth to our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only-midwives-if-we-want-praise/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“To me it was plain silly. It is so obvious that life works in terms of species rather than individuals. The individual just has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/to-me-it-was-plain-silly-it-is-so-obvious-that-life-works-in-terms-of/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“She was an object lesson on the essential luck, whatever hardships may come their way, of those born able to make things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/she-was-an-object-lesson-on-the-essential-luck-whatever-hardships-may/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“Dwindling energy is one of the most boring things about being old. From time to time you get a day when it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/dwindling-energy-is-one-of-the-most-boring-things-about-being-old/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [The extension of power offered by a pony, the ease and speed of movement, the tapping of unsuspected courage, the satisfaction of collaboration with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/the-extension-of-power-offered-by-a-pony-the-ease-and-speed-of/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“All through my sixties I felt I was still within hailing distance of middle age, not safe on its shores, perhaps, but navigating its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/all-through-my-sixties-i-felt-i-was-still-within-hailing-distance-of/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“Generally office and home were far apart, and home was much more important than office. I was not ashamed of valuing my private life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/generally-office-and-home-were-far-apart-and-home-was-much-more/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [You don't always have to go so far as to murder your darlings – those turns of phrase or images of which you felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/you-don-t-always-have-to-go-so-far-as-to-murder-your-darlings-those/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“How, then, does the written word work? What part of a reader absorbs it - or should that be a double question: what part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/how-then-does-the-written-word-work-what-part-of-a-reader-absorbs-it/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [Writing shouldn't come between the reader and what's being described. It should be as transparent as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/writing-shouldn-t-come-between-the-reader-and-what-s-being-described/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/read-it-aloud-to-yourself-because-that-s-the-only-way-to-be-sure-the/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“It was like removing layers of crumpled brown paper from an awkwardly shaped parcel, and revealing the attractive present which it contained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/it-was-like-removing-layers-of-crumpled-brown-paper-from-an-awkwardly/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) [Explore all 15 Diana Athill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) ## More Moon quotes > [“Because as the moon followed the sun, when Illium ascended to become an archangel, Aodhan would go with him as his second.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/because-as-the-moon-followed-the-sun-when-illium-ascended-to-become/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/) [Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/) > [The moon of a bright silver, which dazzles by its shining, illumines a world which surely is no longer ours; for it resembles in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-loti/the-moon-of-a-bright-silver-which-dazzles-by-its-shining-illumines-a/) [Pierre Loti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-loti/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > ['The Choirboys' is very much a product of its mid-1970s time, especially in its two-dimensional portrayals of cop groupies Ora Lee and Carolina Moon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/the-choirboys-is-very-much-a-product-of-its-mid-1970s-time-especially/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) Sylviek > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we can send a guy to the moon we can certainly go a quarter of a mile and not get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-prudhomme/if-we-can-send-a-guy-to-the-moon-we-can-certainly-go-a-quarter-of-a/) Don Prudhomme > [Never ignore a person who love you, care fot you,and misses you,because one day,you might wake up and realize, you lost the moon while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chou/never-ignore-a-person-who-love-you-care-fot-you-and-misses-you/) Chou > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) [Browse all 6,418 Moon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have heard people bewailing man's landing on the moon, as though before it was touched by an astronaut's foot it was made of silver or mother-of-pearl, and that footprint turned it into gray dust. 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