---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The creature called man has a strange…"
description: "\"The creature called man has a strange history. He is not of one piece, nor was he born of a single moment in time. His elementary substance is stardust..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/loren-eiseley-3848_born_the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-hi_1929435.png"
---

#  The creature called man has a strange history. He is not…

![“The creature called man has a strange history. He is not of one piece, nor was he born of a single moment in time. His elementary substance is stardust almost as old as the universe.” quote by Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/loren-eiseley-3848_born_the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-hi_1929435.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/loren-eiseley-3848_born_the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-hi_1929435.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/loren-eiseley-3848_born_the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-hi_1929435.png)

> “The creature called man has a strange history. He is not of one piece, nor was he born of a single moment in time. His elementary substance is stardust almost as old as the universe.”

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

## About This Quote

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

Humans are composed of ancient stardust, a complex, non‑linear history that defies simple categorization.

**In simple terms:** We are star‑made beings.

Key Takeaway

Embrace humanity’s complexity.

Themes

existence cosmos identity

Mood

wonderful reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- science education
- philosophical reflection
- creative writing

Key Concepts

stardust origin evolutionary narrative

Questions to Reflect On

- What does being made of stardust mean to you?
- How does this perspective affect your sense of purpose?

A Different Perspective

Scientific facts can feel abstract without personal relevance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moment In Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-in-time/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Moments in time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments-in-time/) [Single mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-mom/) [Single moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-moment/) [Stardust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stardust/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/)

## Related quotes

> [“A puma is not a bird," said Tobias, after a hundred paces. "It is a kind of cat - felis concolor. You may see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/a-puma-is-not-a-bird-said-tobias-after-a-hundred-paces-it-is-a-kind/)

[Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/)

> [“Yet man is sometimes a very strange being. By all the Saints, he will talk of doing things, yet leave them undone, and remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/yet-man-is-sometimes-a-very-strange-being-by-all-the-saints-he-will/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [Man's being is made of such strange stuff as to be partly akin to nature and partly not, at once natural and extranatural, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/man-s-being-is-made-of-such-strange-stuff-as-to-be-partly-akin-to/)

[Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/)

> [An honest man is strange when he is among dishonest men, but it is a good kind of strangeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/an-honest-man-is-strange-when-he-is-among-dishonest-men-but-it-is-a/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [“The simplest truth about man is that he is a very strange being; almost in the sense of being a stranger on the earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-simplest-truth-about-man-is-that-he-is-a-very-strange-being/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [You took a quarter century off my age with that kidnapping stunt. No more going off with a strange men, hear me? -"You're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherry-adair/you-took-a-quarter-century-off-my-age-with-that-kidnapping-stunt-no/)

[Cherry Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherry-adair/)

> [Misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/misery-acquaints-a-man-with-strange-bed-fellows/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/misery-acquaints-a-man-with-strange-bedfellows/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“But if he has lost the sane vision, he can only get it back by something very like a mad vision; that is, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-if-he-has-lost-the-sane-vision-he-can-only-get-it-back-by/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Man is a strange animal, he doesn't like to read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-is-a-strange-animal-he-doesn-t-like-to-read-the-handwriting-on/)

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

> [Man is a strange animal. He generally cannot read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson-2/man-is-a-strange-animal-he-generally-cannot-read-the-handwriting-on/)

[Adlai E Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson-2/)

> [A familiar name cannot make a man less strange to me. It may be given to a savage who retains in secret his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-familiar-name-cannot-make-a-man-less-strange-to-me-it-may-be-given/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“Not every man in a strange land is a stranger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-a-adebodun/not-every-man-in-a-strange-land-is-a-stranger/)

Joshua A Adebodun

> [The world is beautiful, but has a disease called man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-world-is-beautiful-but-has-a-disease-called-man/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The saving grace of the cinema is that with patience, and a little love, we may arrive at that wonderfully complex creature which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-renoir/the-saving-grace-of-the-cinema-is-that-with-patience-and-a-little/)

[Jean Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-renoir/)

## More by Loren Eiseley

> [“Taking a final pleasure in what the wind can neither proclaim nor destroy, I am a student of nightfall, I claim no other profession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/taking-a-final-pleasure-in-what-the-wind-can-neither-proclaim-nor/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [Perhaps a creature of so much ingenuity and deep memory is almost bound to grow alienated from his world, his fellows, and the objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/perhaps-a-creature-of-so-much-ingenuity-and-deep-memory-is-almost/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [“The best way to be resurrected is to be forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-best-way-to-be-resurrected-is-to-be-forgotten/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [To have dragons one must have change; that is the first principle of dragon lore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/to-have-dragons-one-must-have-change-that-is-the-first-principle-of/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [It is frequently the tragedy of the great artist, as it is of the great scientist, that he frightens the ordinary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/it-is-frequently-the-tragedy-of-the-great-artist-as-it-is-of-the/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/every-time-we-walk-along-a-beach-some-ancient-urge-disturbs-us-so/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [The future is neither ahead nor behind, on one side or another. Nor is it dark or light. It is contained within ourselves; its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-future-is-neither-ahead-nor-behind-on-one-side-or-another-nor-is/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [Out of the choked Devonian waters emerged sight and sound and the music that rolls invisible through the composer's brain. They are there still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/out-of-the-choked-devonian-waters-emerged-sight-and-sound-and-the/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [One could not pluck a flower without troubling a star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/one-could-not-pluck-a-flower-without-troubling-a-star/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [“I once saw, on a flower pot in my own living room, the efforts of a field mouse to build a remembered field. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/i-once-saw-on-a-flower-pot-in-my-own-living-room-the-efforts-of-a/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [Lights come and go in the night sky. Men, troubled at last by the things they build, may toss in their sleep and dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/lights-come-and-go-in-the-night-sky-men-troubled-at-last-by-the/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [The secret, if one may paraphrase a savage vocabulary, lies in the egg of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-secret-if-one-may-paraphrase-a-savage-vocabulary-lies-in-the-egg/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [Without the gift of flowers and the infinite diversity of their fruits, man and bird, if they had continued to exist at all, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/without-the-gift-of-flowers-and-the-infinite-diversity-of-their/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

> [“Black magic, the magic of the primeval chaos, blots out or transmogrifies the true form of things. At the stroke of twelve the princess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/black-magic-the-magic-of-the-primeval-chaos-blots-out-or/)

[Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

[Explore all 121 Loren Eiseley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/)

## More Born quotes

> [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/)

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

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

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

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/)

[Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/)

> [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/)

[Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/)

[Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/)

> [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

> [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/)

[Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/)

Browse all 11,606 Born quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The creature called man has a strange history. He is not of one piece, nor was he born of a single moment in time. His elementary substance is stardust almost as old as the universe.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Loren Eiseley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-history-he-is-not-of-one-piece/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Born"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-history-he-is-not-of-one-piece/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/loren-eiseley-3848_born_the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-hi_1929435.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/loren-eiseley-3848_born_the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-hi_1929435.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff8/loren-eiseley-3848_born_the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-hi_1929435.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The creature called man has a strange history. He is not of one piece, nor was he born of a single moment in…” — Loren Eiseley",
                "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": "Loren Eiseley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The creature called man has a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-history-he-is-not-of-one-piece/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-creature-called-man-has-a-strange-history-he-is-not-of-one-piece/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
