Bird Quote by John Crowley
““Nothing was stranger to Crows than this: how People thought that only by their own actions would the seasons be made to turn, the days grow warm after winter and the green things grow up that they planted. They thought the sun was a person like them, and did what it pleased; on the longest of winter nights, they must fire a great pile of dry brush on a hilltop to cause the sun to wake and rise rather than remaining below the daywise edge of the world. The Crows knew the world had no edge, because they flew, and could see the steady arising of it up from the far-off, tree by hill, and then beneath them and away—but the People didn’t know it and wouldn’t have believed the Crows if the Crows had told them. But People knew the day on which the season of the long sun changed into the season of the short sun; they knew when the moon would brighten and when it would darken, and for how long: and about those things they were never wrong.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Little, Big by John Crowley, 1981
People often attribute natural cycles to their own actions, but reality operates independently of belief.
In simple terms: Belief vs. natural order
Key Takeaway
Recognize limits of human control
Themes
myth
perception
nature
Mood
thoughtful
skeptical
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- environmental policy
- science communication
- education
- philosophy
- spirituality
Key Concepts
causality
human hubris
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we accept forces beyond our control?
- What role should belief play in understanding nature?
A Different Perspective
People may resist evidence that contradicts their worldview
