--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you look at that nature world it…" description: "\"When you look at that nature world it becomes an icon, it becomes a holy picture that speaks of the origins of the world. Almost every mythology sees t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/joseph-campbell-300_amusing_when-you-look-at-that-nature-world-it-be_877546.png" --- # When you look at that nature world it becomes an icon, it… ![“When you look at that nature world it becomes an icon, it becomes a holy picture that speaks of the origins of the world. Almost every mythology sees the origins of life coming out of water. And, curiously, that's true. It's amusing that the origin of life out of water is in myths and then again…” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/joseph-campbell-300_amusing_when-you-look-at-that-nature-world-it-be_877546.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/joseph-campbell-300_amusing_when-you-look-at-that-nature-world-it-be_877546.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/292/joseph-campbell-300_amusing_when-you-look-at-that-nature-world-it-be_877546.png) > “When you look at that nature world it becomes an icon, it becomes a holy picture that speaks of the origins of the world. Almost every mythology sees the origins of life coming out of water. And, curiously, that's true. It's amusing that the origin of life out of water is in myths and then again, finally, in science, we find the same thing. It's exactly so.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## 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 draws a parallel between mythic and scientific explanations of water as life's origin, suggesting a deep archetypal truth. **In simple terms:** Myths and science both point to water as life's source. Key Takeaway Recognize recurring symbols across cultures and science. Themes mythology science origins Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - creative writing - environmental advocacy Key Concepts archetype symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does water symbolize renewal? - What other symbols bridge myth and science? A Different Perspective Myths may oversimplify complex science. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusing/) [Coming out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-out/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Icons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icons/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Origin of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/origin-of-life/) [Origins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/origins/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [One of the most significant events in our distant past is still perhaps the greatest mystery: the origins of life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/one-of-the-most-significant-events-in-our-distant-past-is-still/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Evolution has just been dealt its death blow. After reading Origins of Life with my background in chemistry and physics, it is clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-smalley/evolution-has-just-been-dealt-its-death-blow-after-reading-origins-of/) Richard Smalley > [From a personal perspective, I am disappointed that we have yet to really achieve a full understanding of the origins of life on Earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/from-a-personal-perspective-i-am-disappointed-that-we-have-yet-to/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [All of us who study the origin of life find that the more we look into it, the more we feel it is too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-urey/all-of-us-who-study-the-origin-of-life-find-that-the-more-we-look/) [Harold Urey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-urey/) > [“An example of such emergent phenomena is the origin of life from non-living chemical compounds in the oldest, lifeless oceans of the earth. Here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-w-van-bemmelen/an-example-of-such-emergent-phenomena-is-the-origin-of-life-from-non/) R.W. van Bemmelen > [“Every other aspect of life that was once attributed to divine intent is now elegantly and completely explained in the context of evolutionary science.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/every-other-aspect-of-life-that-was-once-attributed-to-divine-intent/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Considering the way the prebiotic soup is referred to in so many discussions of the origin of life as an already established reality, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-denton/considering-the-way-the-prebiotic-soup-is-referred-to-in-so-many/) [Michael Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-denton/) > [The RNA World referred to an hypothetical stage in the origin of life on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/the-rna-world-referred-to-an-hypothetical-stage-in-the-origin-of-life/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/an-honest-man-armed-with-all-the-knowledge-available-to-us-now-could/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [Of all the statements that have been made with respect to theories on the origin of life, the statement that the Second Law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-gish/of-all-the-statements-that-have-been-made-with-respect-to-theories-on/) [Duane Gish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-gish/) > [The question of the origin of life is essentially speculative. We have to construct, by straightforward thinking on the basis of very few factual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-desmond-bernal/the-question-of-the-origin-of-life-is-essentially-speculative-we-have/) [John Desmond Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-desmond-bernal/) > [Give us detailed, testable, mechanistic accounts for the origin of life, the origin of the genetic code, the origin of ubiquitous bio macromolecules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/give-us-detailed-testable-mechanistic-accounts-for-the-origin-of-life/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [The origin of life is one of the great outstanding mysteries of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/the-origin-of-life-is-one-of-the-great-outstanding-mysteries-of/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [“Yet, unlike the causal specificity that obtains for microevolutionary processes, origin-of-life researchers have yet to specify the chemical pathways that supposedly originated life. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/yet-unlike-the-causal-specificity-that-obtains-for-microevolutionary/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [To inquire into the origin of life is like seeking the origin of electrical machinery or the origin of music. Every increase in complexity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-newton-lewis/to-inquire-into-the-origin-of-life-is-like-seeking-the-origin-of/) Gilbert Newton Lewis ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Amusing quotes > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I was reading Neil Postman's 'Amusing Ourselves to Death'. It's one of my favourites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-faiyaz/i-was-reading-neil-postman-s-amusing-ourselves-to-death-it-s-one-of/) [Brent Faiyaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-faiyaz/) > [People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/people-of-our-time-are-losing-the-power-of-celebration-instead-of/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [No one survives in times of war unless they make war their home. How did I get so old and wise, but for welcoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/no-one-survives-in-times-of-war-unless-they-make-war-their-home-how/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Funny things tend not to happen to me. I am not a natural comic. I need to think about things a lot before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/funny-things-tend-not-to-happen-to-me-i-am-not-a-natural-comic-i-need/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [ \[A\]n Obama presidency would be an amusing approximation of the Carter administration, complete with vaporous moralizing and foreign policy bungling. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-tyrrell/a-n-obama-presidency-would-be-an-amusing-approximation-of-the-carter/) [Emmett Tyrrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-tyrrell/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men are not amusing during the shooting season; but, after all, my dear, men were not especially designed to amuse women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/men-are-not-amusing-during-the-shooting-season-but-after-all-my-dear/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [All men are fools, if truth be told, but the ones in motley are more amusing than ones with crowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-men-are-fools-if-truth-be-told-but-the-ones-in-motley-are-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [It's always amusing to see how much less the political class knows than the rest of us do. ... it's never occurred to \[the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-cox/it-s-always-amusing-to-see-how-much-less-the-political-class-knows/) Stephen D. Cox > [Are there bears in these mountains?" he asked. His companion nodded. "Of course. But it's a bit early in the year for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/are-there-bears-in-these-mountains-he-asked-his-companion-nodded-of/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [I always find it amusing to overhear women who have never had babies discussing what a pregnant chick should 'look' like at a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catt-sadler/i-always-find-it-amusing-to-overhear-women-who-have-never-had-babies/) [Catt Sadler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catt-sadler/) > [The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coveyou/the-generation-of-random-numbers-is-too-important-to-be-left-to-chance/) Robert Coveyou [Browse all 436 Amusing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you look at that nature world it becomes an icon, it becomes a holy picture that speaks of the origins of the world. 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