--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then I could not help wondering what the…" description: "\"Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. What we think of crickets, perhaps, whose si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gene-wolfe-2530_clever_then-i-could-not-help-wondering-what-the_553380.jpg" --- # Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods… ![“Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. What we think of crickets, perhaps, whose singing we hear with pleasure, though some of us smash them with our heels when they venture into sight.” quote by Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gene-wolfe-2530_clever_then-i-could-not-help-wondering-what-the_553380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gene-wolfe-2530_clever_then-i-could-not-help-wondering-what-the_553380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gene-wolfe-2530_clever_then-i-could-not-help-wondering-what-the_553380.jpg) > “Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. What we think of crickets, perhaps, whose singing we hear with pleasure, though some of us smash them with our heels when they venture into sight.” [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on humanity’s self‑importance and the arbitrary ways we judge other beings, highlighting our tendency to impose meaning while being indifferent to their suffering. **In simple terms:** We think we’re clever, but often ignore the impact on others. Key Takeaway Recognize humility and empathy toward all life. Themes humility empathy anthropocentrism Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - environmental activism - wildlife conservation - personal introspection - social critique Key Concepts existentialism ethical reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do our “masks” affect our perception of others? - What responsibilities arise from our ability to observe and act? A Different Perspective Our judgments can be blind to the suffering we cause. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Cricket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cricket/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“Funny thing, watching gods realize they’ve been mortal all along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/funny-thing-watching-gods-realize-they-ve-been-mortal-all-along/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [We lay out our lives in a narrative we understand, like a movie, but are you enjoying making it or are you wondering who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-glover/we-lay-out-our-lives-in-a-narrative-we-understand-like-a-movie-but/) [Donald Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-glover/) > [“I’ve replayed that moment in my mind a thousand times since then, wondering if someone was watching us, waiting for the perfect time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-butler/i-ve-replayed-that-moment-in-my-mind-a-thousand-times-since-then/) D.S. Butler > [“ Gods it's well done , she thought, bowing her head, acknowledging consummate work. She felt skeins of cause, effect, effort, and interaction tying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/gods-it-s-well-done-she-thought-bowing-her-head-acknowledging/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“The gods thought otherwise. Dis aliter visum.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/the-gods-thought-otherwise-dis-aliter-visum/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [“Don't you think the Gods put some thought into where they put the prostate gland?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/setona-mizushiro/don-t-you-think-the-gods-put-some-thought-into-where-they-put-the/) [Setona Mizushiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/setona-mizushiro/) > [He was overconfident”, she told him. “And I won so the gods must have thought I was right. Otherwise they’d have made me lose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/he-was-overconfident-she-told-him-and-i-won-so-the-gods-must-have/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [“Oh for love of the Gods, thought Jim. The last thing I need right now is philosophical discussion with a madman, on a snowy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-rattigan/oh-for-love-of-the-gods-thought-jim-the-last-thing-i-need-right-now/) [Tony Rattigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-rattigan/) > [We write and write and write until we think, 'If we have to shoot this script, we'll be happy, and it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-chandrasekhar/we-write-and-write-and-write-until-we-think-if-we-have-to-shoot-this/) [Jay Chandrasekhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-chandrasekhar/) > [A lot of my humor centers on the act of telling jokes and I think this can prevent certain audiences from suspending their feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-showalter/a-lot-of-my-humor-centers-on-the-act-of-telling-jokes-and-i-think/) [Michael Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-showalter/) > [I'm not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it's very important to be able to see the funny side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/i-m-not-a-man-who-constantly-thinks-up-jokes-but-i-think-it-s-very/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [I love to write jokes and that's all I think about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/i-love-to-write-jokes-and-that-s-all-i-think-about/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [“History doesn’t start with a tall building and a card with your name written on it, but jokes do. I think someone is taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-reese-maher/history-doesn-t-start-with-a-tall-building-and-a-card-with-your-name/) [Nathan Reese Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-reese-maher/) > [Overseas, language barriers keep me from doing a lot of talking and some of the jokes that I think are funny and they're like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avery-sunshine/overseas-language-barriers-keep-me-from-doing-a-lot-of-talking-and/) [Avery Sunshine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avery-sunshine/) > [I still think that, hopefully, you're not ahead of the jokes, and I think that has value. There is a punchline and it's pointed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/i-still-think-that-hopefully-you-re-not-ahead-of-the-jokes-and-i/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) ## More by Gene Wolfe > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-storms-by-the-swirling-of-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“There are beings—and artifacts—against which we batter our intelligence raw, and in the end make peace with reality only by saying, “It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-are-beings-and-artifacts-against-which-we-batter-our/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“The experienced feel love or desire, or both. The inexperienced are sick with a thousand feelings, most of them unformed: fearful that they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-experienced-feel-love-or-desire-or-both-the-inexperienced-are/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For those who have never attended a science fiction convention, masquerades are features of most of the larger ones. Awards are presented for best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-those-who-have-never-attended-a-science-fiction-convention/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“He had a wild yellow beard and long, tangled hair that stood out from his head in a way that made it seem too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/he-had-a-wild-yellow-beard-and-long-tangled-hair-that-stood-out-from/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ ...in some situations winning consist\[s\] of disentangling oneself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/in-some-situations-winning-consist-s-of-disentangling-oneself/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For after all, if the lives of most men are examined in detail, it will be found that they have been experts of immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-after-all-if-the-lives-of-most-men-are-examined-in-detail-it-will/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-never-learn-how-to-write-a-novel-you-just-learn-how-to-write-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-is-no-magic-there-is-only-knowledge-more-or-less-hidden/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“...the progress of science depends much less upon either theoretical considerations or systematic investigation than is commonly believed, but rather on the transmittal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-progress-of-science-depends-much-less-upon-either-theoretical/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. Some in truth hardly sleep, though some who sleep copiously swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-at-times/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“. . .Consciousness came and went. Consciousness went and came like the errant winds of spring, and I, who so often have had difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/consciousness-came-and-went-consciousness-went-and-came-like-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) [Explore all 160 Gene Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“There was once an old but clever donkey, who never liked the sting of any bee, Nor for all the Slung mud, did he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyavrat-thareja/there-was-once-an-old-but-clever-donkey-who-never-liked-the-sting-of/) [Priyavrat Thareja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyavrat-thareja/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If she is stupid enough to let you go, you're clever enough not to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-she-is-stupid-enough-to-let-you-go-you-re-clever-enough-not-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Need to go to the pharmacy, because I'm so sick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-matthews/need-to-go-to-the-pharmacy-because-i-m-so-sick/) Tasha Matthews > [My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/my-valour-is-certainly-going-it-is-sneaking-off-i-feel-it-oozing-out/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > ['I Love You' fails to sum up all the memories, smiles, laughs, trials, and tribulations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/i-love-you-fails-to-sum-up-all-the-memories-smiles-laughs-trials-and/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-clever-but-it-s-not-really-at/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." She blinked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed-her-i-her-hand-dropped-from/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [I love clever lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-hayes/i-love-clever-lyrics/) [Walker Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-hayes/) [Browse all 2,116 Clever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. 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