--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Africa, which they had somehow visualized…" description: "\"“Africa, which they had somehow visualized as an extension of Europe -- an extension of terms, of references to a definitive past -- had already assert..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/lawrence-durrell-2169_time_africa-which-they-had-somehow-visualized_372723.jpg" --- # Africa, which they had somehow visualized as an extension… ![“Africa, which they had somehow visualized as an extension of Europe -- an extension of terms, of references to a definitive past -- had already asserted itself as something different: a forbidding darkness where the croaking ravens matched the dry exclamations of spiritless men, and rationed…” quote by Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/lawrence-durrell-2169_time_africa-which-they-had-somehow-visualized_372723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/lawrence-durrell-2169_time_africa-which-they-had-somehow-visualized_372723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a9/lawrence-durrell-2169_time_africa-which-they-had-somehow-visualized_372723.jpg) > ““Africa, which they had somehow visualized as an extension of Europe -- an extension of terms, of references to a definitive past -- had already asserted itself as something different: a forbidding darkness where the croaking ravens matched the dry exclamations of spiritless men, and rationed laughter fashioned from breath simply the chattering of baboons. Sometimes they captured someone -- a solitary frightened man out hunting hares -- and were amazed to see that he was human like themselves.”” [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Europe’s imagined dominance is challenged by Africa’s distinct, raw reality, revealing humanity’s shared vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Europe’s view is shattered by Africa’s reality. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect cultural differences. Themes colonialism identity otherness humanity Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - travel writing - anthropology studies - cross‑cultural workshops - literary analysis Key Concepts cultural clash existential reflection colonial critique Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you hold about distant cultures? - How can we honor differences without exoticizing? A Different Perspective Romanticizing “other” cultures can obscure real oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa/) [Africa Visualized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa-visualized-3396304/) [Baboons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baboons/) [Baboons Captured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baboons-captured-3396305/) [Croaking Ravens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/croaking-ravens-3396306/) [Ravens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ravens/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Medicine is magical and magical is art, the boy in the bubble, and the baby with the baboon heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/medicine-is-magical-and-magical-is-art-the-boy-in-the-bubble-and-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It had always been a notion of mine that sanity is like a clearing in the jungle where the humans agree to meet from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-had-always-been-a-notion-of-mine-that-sanity-is-like-a-clearing-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-besides-look-at-elder-flowers-and-bluebells-they-are-a-sign-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-a-wizard-not-a-baboon-brandishing-a-stick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What is a group of baboons called? A congress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-a-group-of-baboons-called-a-congress/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We were alone in a strange mansion with a baboon, a crocodile, and a weird cat. And apparently, the entire world was in danger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/we-were-alone-in-a-strange-mansion-with-a-baboon-a-crocodile-and-a/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Our baboon was going completely sky goddess - which is to say, nuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/our-baboon-was-going-completely-sky-goddess-which-is-to-say-nuts/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [A baboon in a forest is a matter of legitimate speculation; a baboon in a zoo is an object of public curiosity; but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-baboon-in-a-forest-is-a-matter-of-legitimate-speculation-a-baboon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The French are sawed-off sissies who eat snails and slugs and cheese that smells like people's feet. Utter cowards who force their own children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-french-are-sawed-off-sissies-who-eat-snails-and-slugs-and-cheese/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [There once was a brainy baboon, Who always breathed down a bassoon, For he said, It appears That in billions of years I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-once-was-a-brainy-baboon-who-always-breathed-down-a-bassoon-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the Baboon community, it is not how strong you are that is important, but who you know that counts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/in-the-baboon-community-it-is-not-how-strong-you-are-that-is/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [Right,” I said. “So the baboon, the crocodile…any other pets I should know about?” Amos thought for a moment. “Visible ones? No, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/right-i-said-so-the-baboon-the-crocodile-any-other-pets-i-should-know/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Our descent, then, is the origin of our evil passions!! The devil under form of Baboon is our grandfather. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/our-descent-then-is-the-origin-of-our-evil-passions-the-devil-under/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Baboons are very wise animals,” Bast said. “Agh!” Khufu picked his nose, then turned his Technicolor bum our direction. He threw his friends the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/baboons-are-very-wise-animals-bast-said-agh-khufu-picked-his-nose/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [You are one freaking awesome baboon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/you-are-one-freaking-awesome-baboon/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) ## More by Lawrence Durrell > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“Suddenly at the end of the great couloir my vision is sharpened by a pale disjunctive shudder as a bar of buttercup-yellow thickening gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/suddenly-at-the-end-of-the-great-couloir-my-vision-is-sharpened-by-a/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [To be the equal of reality you must learn how to ignore it without danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/to-be-the-equal-of-reality-you-must-learn-how-to-ignore-it-without/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [It only takes one match to ignite a haystack, or one remark to fire a mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/it-only-takes-one-match-to-ignite-a-haystack-or-one-remark-to-fire-a/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“He felt that his mind had become a battle-ground for the forces of good and evil and that his task was to strain every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/he-felt-that-his-mind-had-become-a-battle-ground-for-the-forces-of/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Science is the poetry of the intellect and poetry the science of the heart's affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/science-is-the-poetry-of-the-intellect-and-poetry-the-science-of-the/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/travel-can-be-one-of-the-most-rewarding-forms-of-introspection/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [We live" writes Pursewarden somewhere, "lives based upon selected fictions. Our view of reality is conditioned by our position in space and time -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/we-live-writes-pursewarden-somewhere-lives-based-upon-selected/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [It's unthinkable not to love -you'd have a severe nervous breakdown. Or you'd have to be Philip Larkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/it-s-unthinkable-not-to-love-you-d-have-a-severe-nervous-breakdown-or/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“...man is only an extension of the spirit of place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/man-is-only-an-extension-of-the-spirit-of-place/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“God did not create us, nor did He wish us to be created. We are the work of a lesser deity, a demiurge, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/god-did-not-create-us-nor-did-he-wish-us-to-be-created-we-are-the/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [The steward, according to custom, had stopped all the clocks. This, in the language of Narouz, said "Your stay with us is so brief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-steward-according-to-custom-had-stopped-all-the-clocks-this-in/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Everyone loathes his own country and countrymen if he is any sort of artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/everyone-loathes-his-own-country-and-countrymen-if-he-is-any-sort-of/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“The slither of tyres across the waves of the desert under a sky blue and frost-bound in winter; or in summer a fearful lunar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-slither-of-tyres-across-the-waves-of-the-desert-under-a-sky-blue/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) [Explore all 179 Lawrence Durrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) ## More Africa quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/) [Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/) > [I'm in 'Madagascar 2.' I'm Testy the Lion. The franchise moves to Africa, and Bernie Mac is also in the film. I loved working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lister-jr/i-m-in-madagascar-2-i-m-testy-the-lion-the-franchise-moves-to-africa/) [Tom Lister, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lister-jr/) > [South Africa needs a second liberation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/south-africa-needs-a-second-liberation/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/if-you-followed-the-media-you-d-think-that-everybody-in-africa-was/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [Africa for the Africans... at home and abroad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/africa-for-the-africans-at-home-and-abroad/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [In Africa, animals and the natural landscape allow local communities to support themselves, as there is a constant source of money from tourism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/in-africa-animals-and-the-natural-landscape-allow-local-communities/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [My mom is from Ghana, and my dad is from Detroit, so I would go back and forth to Africa a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-richardson/my-mom-is-from-ghana-and-my-dad-is-from-detroit-so-i-would-go-back/) [Sam Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-richardson/) > [I've never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I've given talks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wildsmith/i-ve-never-been-invited-to-do-an-exhibition-or-do-a-talk-in-england/) [Brian Wildsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wildsmith/) > [I represent my country, but I also represent the continent of Africa when I play in Europe. That's why it's important to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaya-toure/i-represent-my-country-but-i-also-represent-the-continent-of-africa/) [Yaya Toure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaya-toure/) > [What we need in South Africa is for egos to be suppressed in favour of peace. We need to create a new breed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hani/what-we-need-in-south-africa-is-for-egos-to-be-suppressed-in-favour/) [Chris Hani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hani/) > [I was learning to track rhinoceroses in Africa and tracked right up on an animal that really I thought was going to kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/i-was-learning-to-track-rhinoceroses-in-africa-and-tracked-right-up/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [I am interested in bringing Africa to the foot of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/i-am-interested-in-bringing-africa-to-the-foot-of-the-cross/) [Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/) > [My mother is a huge fan of my work. I told her about 'Coraline' long before the film was made, and she got the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-selick/my-mother-is-a-huge-fan-of-my-work-i-told-her-about-coraline-long/) [Henry Selick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-selick/) [Browse all 1,665 Africa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Africa, which they had somehow visualized as an extension of Europe -- an extension of terms, of references to a definitive past -- had already asserted itself as something different: a forbidding darkness where the croaking ravens matched the dry exclamations of spiritless men, and rationed laughter fashioned from breath simply the chattering of baboons. 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