--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first serious consciousness of…" description: "\"The first serious consciousness of Nature's gesture - her attitude towards life-took form then as a phantasm, a nightmare, all insanity of force. For t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/henry-adams-1542_attitude_the-first-serious-consciousness-of-natur_298107.jpg" --- # The first serious consciousness of Nature's gesture - her… ![“The first serious consciousness of Nature's gesture - her attitude towards life-took form then as a phantasm, a nightmare, all insanity of force. For the first time, the stage-scenery of the senses collapsed; the human mind felt itself stripped naked, vibrating in a void of shapeless energies…” quote by Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/henry-adams-1542_attitude_the-first-serious-consciousness-of-natur_298107.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/henry-adams-1542_attitude_the-first-serious-consciousness-of-natur_298107.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/318/henry-adams-1542_attitude_the-first-serious-consciousness-of-natur_298107.jpg) > “The first serious consciousness of Nature's gesture - her attitude towards life-took form then as a phantasm, a nightmare, all insanity of force. For the first time, the stage-scenery of the senses collapsed; the human mind felt itself stripped naked, vibrating in a void of shapeless energies, with resistless mass, colliding, crushing, wasting, and destroying what these same energies had created and labored from eternity to perfect.” [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A profound awakening to nature’s indifferent power shatters human certainty, exposing raw, chaotic forces. **In simple terms:** Nature’s power overwhelms human certainty. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty, respect natural forces. Themes philosophy existentialism nature humanity Mood awe disquiet reflective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - scientific discovery - personal crisis - creative work Key Concepts cosmology entropy nihilism Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting nature’s indifference reshape your worldview? - What can we learn from feeling vulnerable before the cosmos? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Attitude towards life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude-towards-life/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Gestures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insanity/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Scenery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scenery/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [“Not only can nobody deny the appearance of mere consciousness whose nature is other-dependent and not affected by the flaw of conceptions of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-brunnholzl/not-only-can-nobody-deny-the-appearance-of-mere-consciousness-whose/) [Karl Brunnholzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-brunnholzl/) > [“Pity, mercy, compassion." "Thats's all I'm afraid," said Alfred. "That is everything," said the phantasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-weis/pity-mercy-compassion-thats-s-all-i-m-afraid-said-alfred-that-is/) [Margaret Weis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-weis/) > [“Whatever universal masterpiece of tomorrow may be wrought from phantasm or terror will owe its acceptance rather to a supreme workmanship than to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/whatever-universal-masterpiece-of-tomorrow-may-be-wrought-from/) [H.P. 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Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Consciousness is a being the nature of which is to be conscious of the nothingness of its being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/consciousness-is-a-being-the-nature-of-which-is-to-be-conscious-of/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We are at war between consciousness and nature, between the desire for permanence and the fact of flux. It is ourself against ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-war-between-consciousness-and-nature-between-the-desire-for/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“Consciousness is part of our nature as sentient beings, but doesn’t mean we are aware at a particular moment. By perceiving our consciousness -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilchi-lee/consciousness-is-part-of-our-nature-as-sentient-beings-but-doesn-t/) [Ilchi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilchi-lee/) > [The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God, like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-hocus-pocus-phantasm-of-a-god-like-another-cerberus-with-one-body/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“The nature of one's own consciousness is the same as the nature of God and Godhead and, therefore, to know God, one must seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tau-malachi/the-nature-of-one-s-own-consciousness-is-the-same-as-the-nature-of/) Tau Malachi > [“..a phantasm, a pink-palmed jinn, a ghost from one of the drowned cities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/a-phantasm-a-pink-palmed-jinn-a-ghost-from-one-of-the-drowned-cities/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [Nic's Charlie is something very particular. You can't really put them together. It's a phantasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilda-swinton/nic-s-charlie-is-something-very-particular-you-can-t-really-put-them/) [Tilda Swinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilda-swinton/) > [You may command Nature to the extent only in which you are willing to obey her. You cannot intelligently obey that which you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/you-may-command-nature-to-the-extent-only-in-which-you-are-willing-to-2/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [It is impossible to foretell the future with any degree of accuracy, that it is impossible to rehearse life. A fault in the scenery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-impossible-to-foretell-the-future-with-any-degree-of-accuracy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Henry Adams > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“One had heard and read a great deal about death, and even seen a little of it, and knew by heart the thousand commonplaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/one-had-heard-and-read-a-great-deal-about-death-and-even-seen-a/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The chief wonder of education is that it does not ruin everybody concerned in it, teachers and taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-chief-wonder-of-education-is-that-it-does-not-ruin-everybody/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-american-president-resembles-the-commander-of-a-ship-at-sea-he/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The proof that a philosopher does not know what he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-proof-that-a-philosopher-does-not-know-what-he-is-talking-about/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [No man should be in politics unless he would honestly rather not be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/no-man-should-be-in-politics-unless-he-would-honestly-rather-not-be/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/in-the-history-of-the-united-states-there-is-no-continuity-at-all-you/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Power when wielded by abnormal energy is the most serious of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/power-when-wielded-by-abnormal-energy-is-the-most-serious-of-facts/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [If I grapple with sin in my own strength, the devil knows he may go to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/if-i-grapple-with-sin-in-my-own-strength-the-devil-knows-he-may-go-to/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [All State education is a sort of dynamo machine for polarizing the popular mind; for turning and holding its lines of force in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/all-state-education-is-a-sort-of-dynamo-machine-for-polarizing-the/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [You may cut off the heads of every rich man now living--of every statesman--every literary, and every scientific authority, without in the least changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/you-may-cut-off-the-heads-of-every-rich-man-now-living-of-every/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [History is the most aristocratic of all literary pursuits, because it obliges the historian to be rich as well as educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/history-is-the-most-aristocratic-of-all-literary-pursuits-because-it/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The philosopher says--I am, and the church scouts his philosophy. She answers:--No! you are NOT, you have no existence of your own. You were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-philosopher-says-i-am-and-the-church-scouts-his-philosophy-she/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) [Explore all 230 Henry Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) Isaiah Harden (Me > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) Sheye Hassan > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first serious consciousness of Nature's gesture - her attitude towards life-took form then as a phantasm, a nightmare, all insanity of force. 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