--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live in a dancing matrix of viruses…" description: "\"We live in a dancing matrix of viruses; they dart, rather like bees, from organism to organism, from plant to insect to mammal to me and back again, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70f/lewis-thomas-2299_bees_we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-t_2188031.png" --- # We live in a dancing matrix of viruses; they dart, rather… ![“We live in a dancing matrix of viruses; they dart, rather like bees, from organism to organism, from plant to insect to mammal to me and back again, and into the sea, tugging along pieces of this genome, strings of genes from that, transplanting grafts of DNA, passing around heredity as though at…” quote by Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70f/lewis-thomas-2299_bees_we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-t_2188031.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70f/lewis-thomas-2299_bees_we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-t_2188031.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70f/lewis-thomas-2299_bees_we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-t_2188031.png) > “We live in a dancing matrix of viruses; they dart, rather like bees, from organism to organism, from plant to insect to mammal to me and back again, and into the sea, tugging along pieces of this genome, strings of genes from that, transplanting grafts of DNA, passing around heredity as though at a great party.” [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biology is a dynamic network where genetic material moves across species, reshaping life like a bustling party. **In simple terms:** Genes travel between organisms, mixing life. Key Takeaway Recognize the interconnectedness of all living things. Themes interconnectedness evolution genetics biology ecology Mood wonder reflective Type scientific metaphorical When to use this quote - research - education - public health - conservation - bioethics Key Concepts horizontal gene transfer viral vectors symbiosis Questions to Reflect On - How does gene transfer affect evolution? - What responsibilities arise from this connectivity? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex mechanisms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing/) [Dna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dna/) [Genes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genes/) [Genes Transplanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genes-transplanting-4754822/) [Genome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genome/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-party/) [Heredity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heredity/) [Insects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insects/) [Like Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-bees-252077/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Mammals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mammals/) [Matrix Viruses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matrix-viruses-4754823/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing/) [Passings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passings/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strings/) [Tugging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tugging/) [Viruses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viruses/) [Viruses Dart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viruses-dart-4754821/) ## Related quotes > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [Like bees around honey. Why are bees so attracted to honey, since they make it? It can only be vanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-munnery/like-bees-around-honey-why-are-bees-so-attracted-to-honey-since-they/) [Simon Munnery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-munnery/) > [“The city rich are not like bees in a hive that work together to share honey for all. The city rich are like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rin-chupeco/the-city-rich-are-not-like-bees-in-a-hive-that-work-together-to-share/) [Rin Chupeco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rin-chupeco/) > [Rumor is like bees; the more you fight them the more you don't get rid of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/rumor-is-like-bees-the-more-you-fight-them-the-more-you-don-t-get-rid/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Harers can be make like bees, with no stingers and drop dead !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/harers-can-be-make-like-bees-with-no-stingers-and-drop-dead/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [& haters can make like bees with no stingers, and drop dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/haters-can-make-like-bees-with-no-stingers-and-drop-dead/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [“People are like bees. They’re all workers who could be queens, with the right stuff, but once a queen-making has begun, it can’t be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-pulley/people-are-like-bees-they-re-all-workers-who-could-be-queens-with-the/) [Natasha Pulley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-pulley/) > [Watch yourself all your life in a mirror and you'll see Death at work like bees in a glass hive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/watch-yourself-all-your-life-in-a-mirror-and-you-ll-see-death-at-work/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Teenagers are like bees at night, I think. We don't like waking up and we don't always get with the program immediately, but once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-bauer/teenagers-are-like-bees-at-night-i-think-we-don-t-like-waking-up-and/) [Joan Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-bauer/) > [There is a number among us, young and old, of all sorts almost among us, that swarm up and down towns, and woods, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-shepard/there-is-a-number-among-us-young-and-old-of-all-sorts-almost-among-us/) [Thomas Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-shepard/) > [There's lotsa people here that hate me, lots. I can feel it. It's like bees stingin' me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-coffey/there-s-lotsa-people-here-that-hate-me-lots-i-can-feel-it-it-s-like/) [John Coffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-coffey/) > [“He will use the word "love", and the world will not stop spinning but go right on in its courses, like the river, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/he-will-use-the-word-love-and-the-world-will-not-stop-spinning-but-go/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Our followers are like bees which live among birds. None of the birds recognize the bees because of their small size and weakness. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib-a-s/our-followers-are-like-bees-which-live-among-birds-none-of-the-birds/) [Ali Ibn Abi Talib A.S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib-a-s/) > [“Like the bees, we are - only looking for sweet honey in the flowers, we are - sensitive and at the same time carefully;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/like-the-bees-we-are-only-looking-for-sweet-honey-in-the-flowers-we/) [sir kristian goldmund aumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-kristian-goldmund-aumann/) > [You've never seen death? Look in the mirror every day and you will see it like bees working in a glass hive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/you-ve-never-seen-death-look-in-the-mirror-every-day-and-you-will-see/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## More by Lewis Thomas > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“It is not a simple thing to decide where we fit, for at one time or another in our lives we manage to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-a-simple-thing-to-decide-where-we-fit-for-at-one-time-or/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It is in our genes to understand the universe if we can, to keep trying even if we cannot, and to be enchanted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-in-our-genes-to-understand-the-universe-if-we-can-to-keep/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [If an idea cannot move on its own, pushing it doesn't help; best to let it lie there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/if-an-idea-cannot-move-on-its-own-pushing-it-doesn-t-help-best-to-let/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Left to ourselves, mechanistic and autonomic, we hanker for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/left-to-ourselves-mechanistic-and-autonomic-we-hanker-for-friends/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I do not agree with this century's fashion of running down the human species as a failed try, a doomed sport. At our worst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-do-not-agree-with-this-century-s-fashion-of-running-down-the-human/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It would seem to me... an offense against nature, for us to come on the same scene endowed as we are with the curiosity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-would-seem-to-me-an-offense-against-nature-for-us-to-come-on-the/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The drive to be useful is encoded in our genes. But when we gather in very large numbers, as in the modern nation-state, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-drive-to-be-useful-is-encoded-in-our-genes-but-when-we-gather-in/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Nature abhors a long silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/nature-abhors-a-long-silence/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The future is too interesting and dangerous to be entrusted to any predictable, reliable agency. We need all the fallibility we can get. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-future-is-too-interesting-and-dangerous-to-be-entrusted-to-any/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We pass the word around; we ponder how the case is put by different people, we read the poetry; we meditate over the literature;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-pass-the-word-around-we-ponder-how-the-case-is-put-by-different/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-uniformity-of-the-earth-s-life-more-astonishing-than-its/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Having long suspected that there was something alive in there, running the place, separate from everything else, absolutely individual and independent, we've celebrated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/having-long-suspected-that-there-was-something-alive-in-there-running/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) [Explore all 173 Lewis Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## More Bees quotes > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [As the bee collecteth honey with great zest, so the fool collecteth wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/as-the-bee-collecteth-honey-with-great-zest-so-the-fool-collecteth/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [It is hard to imagine a world without bees. It would be even harder to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/it-is-hard-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-it-would-be-even-harder-to/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/when-i-heard-that-the-bees-were-in-trouble-the-fact-that-they-re/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [The little bee returns with evening's gloom, To join her comrades in the braided hive, Where, housed beside their might honey-comb, They dream their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tennyson-turner/the-little-bee-returns-with-evening-s-gloom-to-join-her-comrades-in/) [Charles Tennyson Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tennyson-turner/) > [“This time of year, the purple blooms were busy with life- not just the bees, but butterflies and ladybugs, skippers and emerald-toned beetles, flitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/this-time-of-year-the-purple-blooms-were-busy-with-life-not-just-the/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“Bees chase flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-l-shreve/bees-chase-flowers/) [Tracy L. Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-l-shreve/) > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-certain-pursuits-which-if-not-wholly-poetic-and-true-do-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/the-bee-gees-are-a-fly-by-night-sort-of-group/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 770 Bees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We live in a dancing matrix of viruses; they dart, rather like bees, from organism to organism, from plant to insect to mammal to me and back again, and into the sea, tugging along pieces of this genome, strings of genes from that, transplanting grafts of DNA, passing around heredity as though at a great party.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-they-dart-rather-like-bees/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bees" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-they-dart-rather-like-bees/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70f/lewis-thomas-2299_bees_we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-t_2188031.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70f/lewis-thomas-2299_bees_we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-t_2188031.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70f/lewis-thomas-2299_bees_we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-t_2188031.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We live in a dancing matrix of viruses; they dart, rather like bees, from organism to organism, from plant…” — Lewis Thomas", "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": "Lewis Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We live in a dancing matrix...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-they-dart-rather-like-bees/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-live-in-a-dancing-matrix-of-viruses-they-dart-rather-like-bees/#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 } } ] } ```