---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live in a modest system, a galaxy…"
description: "\"We live in a modest system, a galaxy called the Milky Way. If we named every star in the Milky Way and put them in the Hollywood telephone directory an..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/john-rhys-davies-10160_astronomy_we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-call_3014768.jpg"
---

#  We live in a modest system, a galaxy called the Milky Way…

![“We live in a modest system, a galaxy called the Milky Way. If we named every star in the Milky Way and put them in the Hollywood telephone directory and stacked those telephone directories up, we'd have a pile of telephone directories 70 miles high.” quote by John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/john-rhys-davies-10160_astronomy_we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-call_3014768.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/john-rhys-davies-10160_astronomy_we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-call_3014768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/john-rhys-davies-10160_astronomy_we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-call_3014768.jpg)

> “We live in a modest system, a galaxy called the Milky Way. If we named every star in the Milky Way and put them in the Hollywood telephone directory and stacked those telephone directories up, we'd have a pile of telephone directories 70 miles high.”

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The Milky Way contains so many stars that their total would form an enormous stack of directories.

**In simple terms:** Our galaxy is unimaginably vast.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the enormity of the universe.

Themes

scale astronomy humility

Mood

wonder humble

Type

educational philosophical

When to use this quote

- stargazing
- education
- science communication
- space exploration
- creative writing

Key Concepts

vastness cosmic perspective

Questions to Reflect On

- How does this perspective affect daily life?
- What does it teach about human significance?

A Different Perspective

Numbers can be abstract and hard to visualize.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Called Milky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-milky-4850941/) [Every](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every/) [Galaxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxy/) [Galaxy Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxy-called-233733/) [High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high/) [Hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Milky way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milky-way/) [Modest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modest/) [Named](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/named/) [Pile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pile/) [Put](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/put/) [Stacked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stacked/) [Star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/star/) [Star Milky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/star-milky-4850943/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone/) [Telephone Directories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone-directories-4850942/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/)

## Related quotes

> [“Look at any randomly selected piece of your world. Encoded deep in the biology of every cell in every blade of grass, in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cox/look-at-any-randomly-selected-piece-of-your-world-encoded-deep-in-the/)

[Brian Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cox/)

> [My favorite galaxy of all is called the Sombrero, NGC 4594. It's an amazing galaxy that is really two galaxies in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-faber/my-favorite-galaxy-of-all-is-called-the-sombrero-ngc-4594-it-s-an/)

[Sandra Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-faber/)

> [We B Rollin Ya'll Somewhere in the infinite vastness of the universe, there is a small rotating Galaxy called the Milky-way. Its moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mathews/we-b-rollin-ya-ll-somewhere-in-the-infinite-vastness-of-the-universe/)

[Jay Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mathews/)

> [Me and my sister made up a game called 'Milky Cow'. We were on holiday in France when I was 12, and there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/me-and-my-sister-made-up-a-game-called-milky-cow-we-were-on-holiday/)

[Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/)

> [ Nothing has shown more fully the prodigious ignorance of human ideas and their littleness, than the discovery of \[Sir William\] Herschell, that what used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/nothing-has-shown-more-fully-the-prodigious-ignorance-of-human-ideas/)

[Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/)

> [“the odds are stacked against”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-odds-are-stacked-against/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“What do you call a hundred blondes stacked on top of each other? An air mattress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/what-do-you-call-a-hundred-blondes-stacked-on-top-of-each-other-an/)

[Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/various/)

> [The final cover for 'Heroes Are My Weakness' feels exactly right. It reflects the cold, wintry setting of an isolated island off the coast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/the-final-cover-for-heroes-are-my-weakness-feels-exactly-right-it/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [“the odds were stacked against us. In the end, all we would ever have was the now. The beautiful now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/the-odds-were-stacked-against-us-in-the-end-all-we-would-ever-have/)

[M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/)

> ['Weary Willie' is very real to me. He is a man who has given up. The boat has gone and left him. The cards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-kelly/weary-willie-is-very-real-to-me-he-is-a-man-who-has-given-up-the-boat/)

[Emmett Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-kelly/)

> [Together, we created the STACKED brand and have really taken the product up two or three notches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-page/together-we-created-the-stacked-brand-and-have-really-taken-the/)

[Tim Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-page/)

> [If you told me to sit in a room, and you had a million dollars cash stacked right there and said, 'Don't move, don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/if-you-told-me-to-sit-in-a-room-and-you-had-a-million-dollars-cash/)

[Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/)

> [In New York, FEMA granted the Mamaroneck Beach &amp; Yacht Club's request to be remapped from the high-risk flood zone in August 2012 -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/in-new-york-fema-granted-the-mamaroneck-beach-yacht-club-s-request-to/)

[Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/)

> [Many, many steeples would have to be stacked one on top of another to reach from the bottom to the surface of the sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/many-many-steeples-would-have-to-be-stacked-one-on-top-of-another-to/)

[Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/)

> [The dice are stacked against them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-foley/the-dice-are-stacked-against-them/)

[Theo Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-foley/)

## More by John Rhys-Davies

> [I can't give a soundbite for love or money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/i-can-t-give-a-soundbite-for-love-or-money/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [In the film world, we can all be heroes. In the real world, where heroism can cost you your life or the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/in-the-film-world-we-can-all-be-heroes-in-the-real-world-where/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [I think your children are your measure of success, regardless of work and career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/i-think-your-children-are-your-measure-of-success-regardless-of-work/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [When you get back to fundamental questions - 'Why should anything exist?' A, I'm not sure what the answer is in terms of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/when-you-get-back-to-fundamental-questions-why-should-anything-exist/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [When I looked further into my mother's history, I realised that her anxieties and her neuroses could be accounted for by facts from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/when-i-looked-further-into-my-mother-s-history-i-realised-that-her/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [The most despised sector of Hollywood are the writers. A good writer is quickly promoted to a 'concept man' - and then a producer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/the-most-despised-sector-of-hollywood-are-the-writers-a-good-writer/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [I enjoy acting. It's not that I begin to think I'm getting better. I now fully know that I've made no improvement whatsoever since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/i-enjoy-acting-it-s-not-that-i-begin-to-think-i-m-getting-better-i/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [I've always been attracted to films which explore the qualities of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/i-ve-always-been-attracted-to-films-which-explore-the-qualities-of/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [Hollywood is a far safer place to work than working abroad, because of the skill level, and because of the safety considerations that experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/hollywood-is-a-far-safer-place-to-work-than-working-abroad-because-of/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [I think 'The Lost World' could've been a successful movie except for the fact that it pre-dated the good special effects and computer graphics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/i-think-the-lost-world-could-ve-been-a-successful-movie-except-for/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [Once you've got a child to the point that they've discovered books, they're safe. There's a world of the imagination that when they're hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/once-you-ve-got-a-child-to-the-point-that-they-ve-discovered-books/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [If I had a bloody tattoo for every film I'd done, I'd be a walking billboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/if-i-had-a-bloody-tattoo-for-every-film-i-d-done-i-d-be-a-walking/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [There is a demographic catastrophe happening in Europe that nobody wants to talk about, that we daren't bring up because we are so cagey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/there-is-a-demographic-catastrophe-happening-in-europe-that-nobody/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [Actually, I'm addicted to science fiction. Let me make my diction clear - I love sci-fi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/actually-i-m-addicted-to-science-fiction-let-me-make-my-diction-clear/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [Films are fun, but life is much richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/films-are-fun-but-life-is-much-richer/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

[Explore all 67 John Rhys-Davies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

## More Astronomy quotes

> [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/)

[Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/)

> [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/)

[Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/)

> [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/)

[Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/)

> [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/)

[Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/)

> [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/)

[Sylviek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylviek/)

> [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/)

[Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/)

> [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

[Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We live in a modest system, a galaxy called the Milky Way. If we named every star in the Milky Way and put them in the Hollywood telephone directory and stacked those telephone directories up, we'd have a pile of telephone directories 70 miles high.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Rhys-Davies"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-called-the-milky-way-if-we-named/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Astronomy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-called-the-milky-way-if-we-named/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/john-rhys-davies-10160_astronomy_we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-call_3014768.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/john-rhys-davies-10160_astronomy_we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-call_3014768.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f45/john-rhys-davies-10160_astronomy_we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-call_3014768.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We live in a modest system, a galaxy called the Milky Way. If we named every star in the Milky Way and put…” — John Rhys-Davies",
                "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": "John Rhys-Davies",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We live in a modest system,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-called-the-milky-way-if-we-named/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/we-live-in-a-modest-system-a-galaxy-called-the-milky-way-if-we-named/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
