--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every human being lived behind an…" description: "\"Every human being lived behind an impenetrable wall of choking mist within which no other but he existed. Occasionally there were the dim signals from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a0/isaac-asimov-309_another-man_every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impene_2094488.jpg" --- # Every human being lived behind an impenetrable wall of… ![“Every human being lived behind an impenetrable wall of choking mist within which no other but he existed. Occasionally there were the dim signals from deep within the cavern in which another man was located so that each might grope toward the other. Yet because they did not know one another, and…” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a0/isaac-asimov-309_another-man_every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impene_2094488.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a0/isaac-asimov-309_another-man_every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impene_2094488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a0/isaac-asimov-309_another-man_every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impene_2094488.jpg) > “Every human being lived behind an impenetrable wall of choking mist within which no other but he existed. Occasionally there were the dim signals from deep within the cavern in which another man was located so that each might grope toward the other. Yet because they did not know one another, and could not understand one another, and dared not trust one another, and felt from infancy the terrors and insecurity of that ultimate isolation there was the hunted fear of man for man, the savage rapacity of man toward man.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human isolation breeds fear and aggression; lack of understanding fuels conflict. **In simple terms:** Isolation leads to fear and conflict. Key Takeaway Foster empathy and communication. Themes isolation fear conflict trust Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - teamwork - community building - conflict resolution - mental health support Key Concepts social psychology existential dread Questions to Reflect On - What steps can we take to bridge understanding? - How can trust be built in unknown groups? A Different Perspective Assuming all fear stems from isolation oversimplifies complex social dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caverns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caverns/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Infancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infancy/) [Insecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insecurity/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mist/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [Signals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signals/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [“Yet because they did not know one another, and could not understand one another, and dared not trust one another, and felt from infancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/yet-because-they-did-not-know-one-another-and-could-not-understand/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“all the suffering that humanity ever knew can be traced to the one fact that no man in the history of the Galaxy, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/all-the-suffering-that-humanity-ever-knew-can-be-traced-to-the-one/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [My greatest enemy at one point was myself, and so now once I got over the fear of myself I don't fear any man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/my-greatest-enemy-at-one-point-was-myself-and-so-now-once-i-got-over/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [I don't fear that a man will wear out as quickly as he will rust out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colonel-sanders/i-don-t-fear-that-a-man-will-wear-out-as-quickly-as-he-will-rust-out/) [Colonel Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colonel-sanders/) > [A man who throws himself on God ceases to fear man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-man-who-throws-himself-on-god-ceases-to-fear-man/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I fear no man. If you breathe oxygen, I do not fear you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/i-fear-no-man-if-you-breathe-oxygen-i-do-not-fear-you/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [Fear that man who fears not God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdelkader-el-djezairi/fear-that-man-who-fears-not-god/) [Abdelkader El Djezairi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdelkader-el-djezairi/) > [“Hunter drew her back against his chest and bent his head to press his face to her hair. “Blue Eyes…” He trailed his lips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/hunter-drew-her-back-against-his-chest-and-bent-his-head-to-press-his/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [I fear nothing so much as a man who is witty all day long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-fear-nothing-so-much-as-a-man-who-is-witty-all-day-long/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always fear a man who has nothing to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rui-pedro/always-fear-a-man-who-has-nothing-to-fear/) Rui Pedro > [“He loved nothing more than driving a little fear into a man who didn’t treat his woman right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-folsom/he-loved-nothing-more-than-driving-a-little-fear-into-a-man-who-didn/) [Tina Folsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-folsom/) > [The fear for God had saved the world better than the fear for man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/the-fear-for-god-had-saved-the-world-better-than-the-fear-for-man/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“It is not the man with a million hands that you should fear, but the man with three eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/it-is-not-the-man-with-a-million-hands-that-you-should-fear-but-the/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [I cannot find it in me to fear a man who took ten years a learning of his alphabet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-cannot-find-it-in-me-to-fear-a-man-who-took-ten-years-a-learning-of/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Another man quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“I took ten days off and by 11 o’clock on the first morning I had drunk fourteen cups of coffee, read all the newspapers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/i-took-ten-days-off-and-by-11-o-clock-on-the-first-morning-i-had/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [One day I woke up and Juventus wanted me, another Manchester United and what I know is that there were approaches made. But an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-jimenez/one-day-i-woke-up-and-juventus-wanted-me-another-manchester-united/) [Raul Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-jimenez/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) > [“One theory on cannibals, of course, is that they eat parts of their slain enemies to benefit from that person's greatest assets - their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/one-theory-on-cannibals-of-course-is-that-they-eat-parts-of-their/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“If you aren't in love, Willow Vaughn, then my name isn't Miriam Brigham." Willow started out of her daydreaming and glanced up from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mcpherren/if-you-aren-t-in-love-willow-vaughn-then-my-name-isn-t-miriam-brigham/) [Charlotte McPherren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mcpherren/) > [“One man accomplishment Is another mans failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-sargent/one-man-accomplishment-is-another-mans-failure/) Anthony Sargent > [“Hell, I bet there's another man right now on the other side of this planet, standing in the pouring rain, fighting desperately for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-montes/hell-i-bet-there-s-another-man-right-now-on-the-other-side-of-this/) EL Montes > [The perception of what we as professors provide has changed. Constant and demanding e-mails are just another manifestation of what our society has become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-payne/the-perception-of-what-we-as-professors-provide-has-changed-constant/) [Dan Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-payne/) > [Fighting, to me, seems barbaric. I don't really like it. I enjoy out-thinking another man and out-maneuvering him, but I still don't like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/fighting-to-me-seems-barbaric-i-don-t-really-like-it-i-enjoy-out/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyric/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) > [“that of dealing death, of loosing another man’s soul and sending it down to hell. You want to savor it, to twist the blade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/that-of-dealing-death-of-loosing-another-man-s-soul-and-sending-it/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) Browse all 1,112 Another man quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every human being lived behind an impenetrable wall of choking mist within which no other but he existed. Occasionally there were the dim signals from deep within the cavern in which another man was located so that each might grope toward the other. Yet because they did not know one another, and could not understand one another, and dared not trust one another, and felt from infancy the terrors and insecurity of that ultimate isolation there was the hunted fear of man for man, the savage rapacity of man toward man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaac Asimov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impenetrable-wall-of-choking-mist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Another man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impenetrable-wall-of-choking-mist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a0/isaac-asimov-309_another-man_every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impene_2094488.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a0/isaac-asimov-309_another-man_every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impene_2094488.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a0/isaac-asimov-309_another-man_every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impene_2094488.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every human being lived behind an impenetrable wall of choking mist within which no other but he existed…” — Isaac Asimov", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Isaac Asimov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every human being lived behind an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impenetrable-wall-of-choking-mist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/every-human-being-lived-behind-an-impenetrable-wall-of-choking-mist/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```