--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: a spider and a fly i heard a spider and a…" description: "\"“a spider and a fly i heard a spider and a fly arguing wait said the fly do not eat me i serve a great purpose in the world you will have to show me sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/don-marquis-4181_art_a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and_1445055.jpg" --- # a spider and a fly i heard a spider and a fly arguing wait… ![“a spider and a fly i heard a spider and a fly arguing wait said the fly do not eat me i serve a great purpose in the world you will have to show me said the spider i scurry around gutters and sewers and garbage cans said the fly and gather up the germs of typhoid influenza and pneumonia on my feet…” quote by Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/don-marquis-4181_art_a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and_1445055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/don-marquis-4181_art_a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and_1445055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/don-marquis-4181_art_a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and_1445055.jpg) > ““a spider and a fly i heard a spider and a fly arguing wait said the fly do not eat me i serve a great purpose in the world you will have to show me said the spider i scurry around gutters and sewers and garbage cans said the fly and gather up the germs of typhoid influenza and pneumonia on my feet and wings then i carry these germs into households of men and give them diseases all the people who have lived the right sort of life recover from the diseases and the old soaks who have weakened their systems with liquor and iniquity succumb it is my mission to help rid the world of these wicked persons i am a vessel of righteousness scattering seeds of justice and serving the noblest uses it is true said the spider that you are more useful in a plodding material sort of way than i am but i do not serve the utilitarian deities i serve the gods of beauty look at the gossamer webs i weave they float in the sun like filaments of song if you get what i mean i do not work at anything i play all the time i am busy with the stuff of enchantment and the materials of fairyland my works transcend utility i am the artist a creator and demi god it is ridiculous to suppose that i should be denied the food i need in order to continue to create beauty i tell you plainly mister fly it is all damned nonsense for that food to rear up on its hind legs and say it should not be eaten you have convinced me said the fly say no more and shutting all his eyes he prepared himself for dinner and yet he said i could have made out a case for myself too if i had had a better line of talk of course you could said the spider clutching a sirloin from him but the end would have been just the same if neither of us had spoken at all boss i am afraid that what the spider said is true and it gives me to think furiously upon the futility of literature archy”” [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A dialogue where a spider argues its artistic purpose while a fly sees itself as a disease vector, highlighting conflicting views on utility and beauty. **In simple terms:** Spider claims artistic purpose; fly sees disease role. Key Takeaway Recognize differing values in work. Themes purpose art utility conflict beauty Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - literary analysis - creative writing - philosophical debate Key Concepts existentialism symbolism morality Questions to Reflect On - What defines true value in one's work? - Can art justify neglecting basic survival? A Different Perspective The spider's claim of higher purpose may be self‑delusion; practical needs can outweigh aesthetic pursuits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Spider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spider/) [Wicked person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked-person/) ## Related quotes > [“Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-howitt/will-you-walk-into-my-parlour-said-the-spider-to-the-fly/) [Mary Howitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-howitt/) > [“There are three things, and three things only, that can lift the pain of mortality and ease the ravages of life,” said Spider. “These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-are-three-things-and-three-things-only-that-can-lift-the-pain/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high; Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-howitt/i-m-sure-you-must-be-weary-dear-with-soaring-up-so-high-will-you-rest/) [Mary Howitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-howitt/) > [“I don’t know how they catch the birds. I know the Goliath Fucking Bird-Eating Spider can’t fly because if it could, it would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/i-don-t-know-how-they-catch-the-birds-i-know-the-goliath-fucking-bird/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [“I know the Goliath Fucking Bird-Eating Spider can't fly because if it could, it would have a different name entirely. We would call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/i-know-the-goliath-fucking-bird-eating-spider-can-t-fly-because-if-it/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Me and my mom at the laundry place doing laundry, haha I seen a dead spider and I asked my mom if thats a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/me-and-my-mom-at-the-laundry-place-doing-laundry-haha-i-seen-a-dead/) Patience > [“The Promise" Stay, I said to the cut flowers. They bowed their heads lower. Stay, I said to the spider, who fled. Stay, leaf.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-promise-stay-i-said-to-the-cut-flowers-they-bowed-their-heads/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Will you walk into my parlour? Said the spider to a fly: '"Tis the prettiest little parlour That ever you did spy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-howitt/will-you-walk-into-my-parlour-said-the-spider-to-a-fly-tis-the/) [Mary Howitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-howitt/) > [“It hit me,then,while he stared down at me with a slight frown.I was standing almost chest to chest with Alex Bainbridge in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/it-hit-me-then-while-he-stared-down-at-me-with-a-slight-frown-i-was/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [The ties of blood," said Spider, "are stronger than water." Water's not strong," objected Fat Charlie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-ties-of-blood-said-spider-are-stronger-than-water-water-s-not/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Let’s see if I can unsettle you enough to shake your aim.” He swallowed the rest of his wine, rose, and crooked his finger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bealevon-nolan/let-s-see-if-i-can-unsettle-you-enough-to-shake-your-aim-he-swallowed/) Bealevon Nolan > [“Of course,' Spider said. 'I'd bring you Popsicles and cheesy celebrity magazines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-r-kling/of-course-spider-said-i-d-bring-you-popsicles-and-cheesy-celebrity/) [Heidi R. Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-r-kling/) > [“Once he asked me what I thought had turned me gay." "I hope you told him you were bitten by a gay spider," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/once-he-asked-me-what-i-thought-had-turned-me-gay-i-hope-you-told-him/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“ Turned you gay?” She sounded incredulous. “ Alec, you didn’ t tell me gay?” She sounded incredulous. “ Alec, you didn’ t tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/turned-you-gay-she-sounded-incredulous-alec-you-didn-t-tell-me-gay/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“Spider?” I’d said, with a question mark in my voice. “Yeah.” “You know at school . . . what did you do that for?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-ward/spider-i-d-said-with-a-question-mark-in-my-voice-yeah-you-know-at/) [Rachel Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-ward/) ## More by Don Marquis > [We pay for the mistakes of our ancestors, and it seems only fair that they should leave us the money to pay with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/we-pay-for-the-mistakes-of-our-ancestors-and-it-seems-only-fair-that/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [A certain alloy of expediency improves the gold of morality and makes it wear all the longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/a-certain-alloy-of-expediency-improves-the-gold-of-morality-and-makes/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [In all systems of theology the devil figures as a male person. Yes, it is women who keep the church going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/in-all-systems-of-theology-the-devil-figures-as-a-male-person-yes-it/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [“How often when they find a sage As sweet as Socrates or Plato They hand him hemlock for his wage Or bake him like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/how-often-when-they-find-a-sage-as-sweet-as-socrates-or-plato-they/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Man cannot be uplifted; he must be seduced into virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/man-cannot-be-uplifted-he-must-be-seduced-into-virtue/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [An optimist is the person who has never had any experience at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/an-optimist-is-the-person-who-has-never-had-any-experience-at-all/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [For all of the creeds are false, and all of the creeds are true; And low at the shrines where my brothers bow, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/for-all-of-the-creeds-are-false-and-all-of-the-creeds-are-true-and/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [“Vibrations are the key to everything. Atoms used to be, but atoms have quite gone out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/vibrations-are-the-key-to-everything-atoms-used-to-be-but-atoms-have/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Honesty is a good thing, but it is not profitable to its possessor unless it is kept under control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/honesty-is-a-good-thing-but-it-is-not-profitable-to-its-possessor/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [I once heard the survivors of a colony of ants that had been partially obliterated by a cow's foot seriously debating the intention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/i-once-heard-the-survivors-of-a-colony-of-ants-that-had-been/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [He worked like hell in the country so he could live in the city, where he worked like hell so he could live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/he-worked-like-hell-in-the-country-so-he-could-live-in-the-city-where/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [An old stomach reforms more whiskey drinkers than a new resolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/an-old-stomach-reforms-more-whiskey-drinkers-than-a-new-resolve/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Did you ever notice that when a politician does get an idea he usually gets it all wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/did-you-ever-notice-that-when-a-politician-does-get-an-idea-he/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Poetry is what Milton saw when he went blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/poetry-is-what-milton-saw-when-he-went-blind/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Blood will tell, but often it tells too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/blood-will-tell-but-often-it-tells-too-much/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) [Explore all 115 Don Marquis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“a spider and a fly i heard a spider and a fly arguing wait said the fly do not eat me i serve a great purpose in the world you will have to show me said the spider i scurry around gutters and sewers and garbage cans said the fly and gather up the germs of typhoid influenza and pneumonia on my feet and wings then i carry these germs into households of men and give them diseases all the people who have lived the right sort of life recover from the diseases and the old soaks who have weakened their systems with liquor and iniquity succumb it is my mission to help rid the world of these wicked persons i am a vessel of righteousness scattering seeds of justice and serving the noblest uses it is true said the spider that you are more useful in a plodding material sort of way than i am but i do not serve the utilitarian deities i serve the gods of beauty look at the gossamer webs i weave they float in the sun like filaments of song if you get what i mean i do not work at anything i play all the time i am busy with the stuff of enchantment and the materials of fairyland my works transcend utility i am the artist a creator and demi god it is ridiculous to suppose that i should be denied the food i need in order to continue to create beauty i tell you plainly mister fly it is all damned nonsense for that food to rear up on its hind legs and say it should not be eaten you have convinced me said the fly say no more and shutting all his eyes he prepared himself for dinner and yet he said i could have made out a case for myself too if i had had a better line of talk of course you could said the spider clutching a sirloin from him but the end would have been just the same if neither of us had spoken at all boss i am afraid that what the spider said is true and it gives me to think furiously upon the futility of literature archy”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don Marquis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and-a-fly-arguing-wait-said-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and-a-fly-arguing-wait-said-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/don-marquis-4181_art_a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and_1445055.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/don-marquis-4181_art_a-spider-and-a-fly-i-heard-a-spider-and_1445055.jpg", "url": 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