--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole universe or the structure that…" description: "\"The whole universe or the structure that perceives it is a worthy opponent, but try as I may I can not escape the sound of suffering. Perhaps as an old..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/julian-assange-1566_accepting_the-whole-universe-or-the-structure-that_706852.jpg" --- # The whole universe or the structure that perceives it is a… ![“The whole universe or the structure that perceives it is a worthy opponent, but try as I may I can not escape the sound of suffering. Perhaps as an old man I will take great comfort in pottering around in a lab and gently talking to students in the summer evening and will accept suffering with…” quote by Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/julian-assange-1566_accepting_the-whole-universe-or-the-structure-that_706852.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/julian-assange-1566_accepting_the-whole-universe-or-the-structure-that_706852.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/julian-assange-1566_accepting_the-whole-universe-or-the-structure-that_706852.jpg) > “The whole universe or the structure that perceives it is a worthy opponent, but try as I may I can not escape the sound of suffering. Perhaps as an old man I will take great comfort in pottering around in a lab and gently talking to students in the summer evening and will accept suffering with insouciance. But not now; men in their prime, if they have convictions are tasked to act on them.” [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assange reflects on the inevitability of suffering, the desire for a peaceful academic life, and the responsibility of conviction‑driven individuals to act. **In simple terms:** He ponders suffering, aging, and the duty of those with strong beliefs. Key Takeaway Act on convictions despite suffering. Themes philosophy ethics human condition Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - research - activism Key Concepts Existentialism stoicism Questions to Reflect On - Can one truly accept suffering without action? - What role does age play in shaping convictions? A Different Perspective Idealism may clash with harsh realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Insouciance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insouciance/) [Labs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labs/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Summer evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-evening/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [“Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/every-time-we-witness-an-injustice-and-do-not-act-we-train-our/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [“ Wisdom comes through suffering or old age. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-pearse/wisdom-comes-through-suffering-or-old-age/) [Lesley Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-pearse/) > [If you are suffering all the old hurts all over again, you must not have taken care of them at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/if-you-are-suffering-all-the-old-hurts-all-over-again-you-must-not/) Senoraroy > [Ridicule has always been the enemy of enthusiasm, and the only worthy opponent to ridicule is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/ridicule-has-always-been-the-enemy-of-enthusiasm-and-the-only-worthy/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [For self-realization, a rebel demands a strong authority, a worthy opponent, God to his Lucifer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/for-self-realization-a-rebel-demands-a-strong-authority-a-worthy/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [In America, snobs who wouldn't be seen dead with a lottery ticket play the stock market. We like to gamble. Winning, we have closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/in-america-snobs-who-wouldn-t-be-seen-dead-with-a-lottery-ticket-play/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [Even capitalists must surely admit, that intellectually at least, socialism is a worthy opponent. It imparts intelligence even to its adversaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/even-capitalists-must-surely-admit-that-intellectually-at-least/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Lissa knelt down, compassion on her face. I wasn't surprised, since she'd always had a thing for animals. She'd lectured me for days after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/lissa-knelt-down-compassion-on-her-face-i-wasn-t-surprised-since-she/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [If you face a worthy opponent acknowledge their skills and show them yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-warren/if-you-face-a-worthy-opponent-acknowledge-their-skills-and-show-them/) Kiersten Warren > [ I would like \[the working man\] to give me back books and newspapers and theories. And I would like to give him back, in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-would-like-the-working-man-to-give-me-back-books-and-newspapers-and/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Over the years, one comes to measure a place, too, not just for the beauty it may give, the balminess of its breezes, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-l-pez/over-the-years-one-comes-to-measure-a-place-too-not-just-for-the/) [Barry Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-l-pez/) > [I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance, Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/i-would-live-all-my-life-in-nonchalance-and-insouciance-were-it-not/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [To speak in literature with the perfect rectitude and insouciance of the movements of animals and the unimpeachable of the sentiment of trees in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/to-speak-in-literature-with-the-perfect-rectitude-and-insouciance-of/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [India has known the innocence and insouciance of childhood, the passion and abandon of youth, and the ripe wisdom of maturity that comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/india-has-known-the-innocence-and-insouciance-of-childhood-the/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [A country scratching a lazy irritation at sagging doorjambs and late trains, whose greatest attribute is a collective, smelly tolerance, where a chap will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/a-country-scratching-a-lazy-irritation-at-sagging-doorjambs-and-late/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) ## More by Julian Assange > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [There's more than 1700 emails out of the thirty three thousand Hillary Clinton emails that we've published, just about Libya. It's not that Libya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/there-s-more-than-1700-emails-out-of-the-thirty-three-thousand/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [We always expect tremendous criticism. It is my role to be the lightning rod ... to attract the attacks against the organization for our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-always-expect-tremendous-criticism-it-is-my-role-to-be-the/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [“Well it's not possible to win this kind of thing. This is a continuous striving that people have done for a long time. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/well-it-s-not-possible-to-win-this-kind-of-thing-this-is-a-continuous/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [It is impossible to correct abuses unless we know that theyre going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/it-is-impossible-to-correct-abuses-unless-we-know-that-theyre-going-on/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [WikiLeaks is a source protection organization. We are famous for never having exposed one of our sources over 10 years. That's why sources trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/wikileaks-is-a-source-protection-organization-we-are-famous-for-never/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Everyone should understand that when they add their friends to Facebook, they are doing free work for United States intelligence agencies in building this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/everyone-should-understand-that-when-they-add-their-friends-to/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [And if Bradley Manning really did as he is accused, he is a hero, an example to us all and one of the world's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/and-if-bradley-manning-really-did-as-he-is-accused-he-is-a-hero-an/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [All over the world, the barriers between what is inside an organisation and outside an organisation are being smoothed out. In the military, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/all-over-the-world-the-barriers-between-what-is-inside-an/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Non-conformity is the only real passion worth being ruled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/non-conformity-is-the-only-real-passion-worth-being-ruled-by/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Society develops a type of self-censorship, with the knowledge that surveillance exists - a self-censorship that is even expressed when people communicate with each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/society-develops-a-type-of-self-censorship-with-the-knowledge-that/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [During the period of house arrest, I had an electronic manacle around my leg for 24 hours a day, and for someone who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/during-the-period-of-house-arrest-i-had-an-electronic-manacle-around/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [There's an early 2014 email from Hillary Clinton, not so long after she left the State Department, to her campaign manager John Podesta that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/there-s-an-early-2014-email-from-hillary-clinton-not-so-long-after/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [ The U.N. \[the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention\] has looked into this whole situation. They spent eighteen months in formal, adversarial litigation.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/the-u-n-the-united-nations-working-group-on-arbitrary-detention-has/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [I always believed that WikiLeaks as a concept would perform a global role, and to some degree it was clear that it was doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/i-always-believed-that-wikileaks-as-a-concept-would-perform-a-global/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) [Explore all 227 Julian Assange quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The whole universe or the structure that perceives it is a worthy opponent, but try as I may I can not escape the sound of suffering. Perhaps as an old man I will take great comfort in pottering around in a lab and gently talking to students in the summer evening and will accept suffering with insouciance. 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