--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know this apodictic rock beneath our…" description: "\"We know this apodictic rock beneath our feet. That dogmatic sun above our heads. The world of dreams, the agony of love and the foresight of death. Tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/edward-abbey-254_agony_we-know-this-apodictic-rock-beneath-our_2630563.jpg" --- # We know this apodictic rock beneath our feet. That… ![“We know this apodictic rock beneath our feet. That dogmatic sun above our heads. The world of dreams, the agony of love and the foresight of death. That is all we know. And all we need to know? Challenge that statement.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/edward-abbey-254_agony_we-know-this-apodictic-rock-beneath-our_2630563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/edward-abbey-254_agony_we-know-this-apodictic-rock-beneath-our_2630563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c54/edward-abbey-254_agony_we-know-this-apodictic-rock-beneath-our_2630563.jpg) > “We know this apodictic rock beneath our feet. That dogmatic sun above our heads. The world of dreams, the agony of love and the foresight of death. That is all we know. And all we need to know? Challenge that statement.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We accept basic truths about earth and cosmos, but questioning them challenges our understanding of existence. **In simple terms:** Question accepted truths to deepen insight. Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions about reality. Themes skepticism philosophy existence Mood curious serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - public debates - personal introspection - creative projects Key Concepts metaphysics environmental ethics critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions limit your perception? - How can doubt inspire growth? A Different Perspective Questioning can lead to existential anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Foresight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foresight/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [What helps luck is a habit of watching for opportunities, of having a patient but restless mind, of sacrificing one's ease or vanity, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cherbuliez/what-helps-luck-is-a-habit-of-watching-for-opportunities-of-having-a/) Victor Cherbuliez > [“What do we know? What do we really know? He licks his dried cracked lips. We know this apodictic rock beneath our feet. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-do-we-know-what-do-we-really-know-he-licks-his-dried-cracked/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [I have been called a curmudgeon, which my obsolescent dictionary defines as a "surly, illmannered, badtempered fellow." ... Nowadays, curmudgeon is likely to refer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-have-been-called-a-curmudgeon-which-my-obsolescent-dictionary-2/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Under the desert sun, in the dogmatic clarity, the fables of theology and the myths of classical philosophy dissolve like mist. The air is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/under-the-desert-sun-in-the-dogmatic-clarity-the-fables-of-theology/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive - perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-death-of-someone-we-know-always-reminds-us-that-we-are-still/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [I have already seen death, and I know that death is supporting me in my cause of education. Death does not want to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-have-already-seen-death-and-i-know-that-death-is-supporting-me-in/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [“If one does not have fear at the time of death, then know that the 'visa' for liberation has been attained!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/if-one-does-not-have-fear-at-the-time-of-death-then-know-that-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“If they know nothing of death, it is because they know little of life, for the secrets of life and death belong to those,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-they-know-nothing-of-death-it-is-because-they-know-little-of-life/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I think most of us who live into our 50s have had a few experiences with death. You know, we see people we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-think-most-of-us-who-live-into-our-50s-have-had-a-few-experiences/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Of course, we avoid death. To know something is inevitable is one thing. To accept, to truly feel it... that's different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/of-course-we-avoid-death-to-know-something-is-inevitable-is-one-thing/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [I rebel against death, yet I know that it is how I respond to death's inevitability that is going to make me less or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-rebel-against-death-yet-i-know-that-it-is-how-i-respond-to-death-s/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“...a million bureaucrats are diligently plotting death and some of them even know it...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-million-bureaucrats-are-diligently-plotting-death-and-some-of-them/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [I thought I had a clear picture of death, but now I know it's a mystery and it will always be a mystery, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-gibbons/i-thought-i-had-a-clear-picture-of-death-but-now-i-know-it-s-a/) [Beth Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-gibbons/) > [Do you know what it means to be loved by Death?... Do you know what it means to have Death know your name?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/do-you-know-what-it-means-to-be-loved-by-death-do-you-know-what-it/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I'm not fixated on death but I know tomorrows are not guaranteed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ross/i-m-not-fixated-on-death-but-i-know-tomorrows-are-not-guaranteed/) [Jim Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ross/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Agony quotes > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“aaron would not come out aaron entered into agony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/aaron-would-not-come-out-aaron-entered-into-agony/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [As we look upon that agony and those tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness; but let that kneeling Saviour teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/as-we-look-upon-that-agony-and-those-tearful-prayers-let-us-not-only/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Love masters agony; the soul that seemed Forsaken feels her present God again And in her Father's arms Contented dies away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keble/love-masters-agony-the-soul-that-seemed-forsaken-feels-her-present/) [John Keble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keble/) > [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“Anger was a reliable defense, but one that allowed no chance of final victory. Anger was a medicine but never a cure, briefly numbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/anger-was-a-reliable-defense-but-one-that-allowed-no-chance-of-final/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [There’s been a problem, a problem eating away at me from the inside out. I’ve become weak, I’ve shown human compassion, and it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/there-s-been-a-problem-a-problem-eating-away-at-me-from-the-inside/) [Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/) > [Pay special attention to their agony so I might take some pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/pay-special-attention-to-their-agony-so-i-might-take-some-pleasure/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Die, enemies of Ra!" Sekhemet yelled. "Perish in agony!" "She's almost as annoying as you," I told Horus. "Impossible," Horus said. "No one bests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/die-enemies-of-ra-sekhemet-yelled-perish-in-agony-she-s-almost-as/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) [Browse all 813 Agony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We know this apodictic rock beneath our feet. 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