--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Baclli swarm within my portals Such as…" description: "\"“Baclli swarm within my portals Such as ne'r conceived by mortals, But, bred by scientists, Wise and hoary in some Olympian laboratory. Bacteria as lar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/ogden-nash-1286_bacteria_baclli-swarm-within-my-portals-such-as-n_435321.png" --- # Baclli swarm within my portals Such as ne'r conceived by… ![“Baclli swarm within my portals Such as ne'r conceived by mortals, But, bred by scientists, Wise and hoary in some Olympian laboratory. Bacteria as large as mice With feet of fire and heads of ice, Who never interrupt for slumber Their stomping, elephantine rumba. ( From the poem--- " The Common…” quote by Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/ogden-nash-1286_bacteria_baclli-swarm-within-my-portals-such-as-n_435321.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/ogden-nash-1286_bacteria_baclli-swarm-within-my-portals-such-as-n_435321.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/ogden-nash-1286_bacteria_baclli-swarm-within-my-portals-such-as-n_435321.png) > ““Baclli swarm within my portals Such as ne'r conceived by mortals, But, bred by scientists, Wise and hoary in some Olympian laboratory. Bacteria as large as mice With feet of fire and heads of ice, Who never interrupt for slumber Their stomping, elephantine rumba. ( From the poem--- " The Common Cold " )”” [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fantastical description of imagined bacteria with mythic traits, highlighting human fear of unseen threats. **In simple terms:** Imagined monstrous bacteria. Key Takeaway Consider the unknown dangers we imagine. Themes imagination science mythology Mood playful thoughtful Type creative literary When to use this quote - health anxieties - creative writing - science fiction Key Concepts biology mythic metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What fears do we project onto microbes? - How does myth shape our view of illness? A Different Perspective The description mixes fantasy with real disease, which may mislead about actual pathogens. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baclli Swarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baclli-swarm-3828281/) [Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) [Bacteria Large](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria-large-3828282/) [Bred Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bred-scientists-3828284/) [Common cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-cold/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Laboratory Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratory-bacteria-3828283/) [Mice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mice/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/a-family-is-a-unit-composed-not-only-of-children-but-of-men-women-an/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Demons live inside all of us, but it is up to you whether you will expel them. Keep in mind that they are like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-b/demons-live-inside-all-of-us-but-it-is-up-to-you-whether-you-will/) [Becca B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-b/) > [“We prescribe happiness in a pill as if sadness were as treatable as the common cold. Pills are not going to change the fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/we-prescribe-happiness-in-a-pill-as-if-sadness-were-as-treatable-as/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Depression has been called the world's number one public health problem. In fact, depression is so widespread it is considered the common cold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/depression-has-been-called-the-world-s-number-one-public-health/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [Pressure and stress is the common cold of the psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-denton/pressure-and-stress-is-the-common-cold-of-the-psyche/) [Andrew Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-denton/) > [Getting the care for a common cold, migraine, or high blood pressure can and should be easy, whether one has an insurance card or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-k-davis/getting-the-care-for-a-common-cold-migraine-or-high-blood-pressure/) [Danny K. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-k-davis/) > [“Happiness in a tablet. This is our world. Prozac. Paxil. Xanax. Billions are spent to advertise such drugs. And billions more are spent purchasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-in-a-tablet-this-is-our-world-prozac-paxil-xanax-billions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sheer quantity of brain power that hurled itself voluntarily and quixotically into the search for new baseball knowledge was either exhilarating or depressing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-sheer-quantity-of-brain-power-that-hurled-itself-voluntarily-and/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [Successful salesman: someone who has found a cure for the common cold shoulder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/successful-salesman-someone-who-has-found-a-cure-for-the-common-cold/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [I wouldn't lie to you would I > Did you know that shoving a table spoon of cinnamon up your ass can cut the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-josh/i-wouldn-t-lie-to-you-would-i-did-you-know-that-shoving-a-table-spoon/) [Jean Josh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-josh/) > [Microthreats are hardly confined to the wilderness. From the common cold to the Ebola virus, various nasties could be waiting to pounce on you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/microthreats-are-hardly-confined-to-the-wilderness-from-the-common/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [The Four Horsemen whose Ride presages the end of the world are known to be Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence. But even less significant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-four-horsemen-whose-ride-presages-the-end-of-the-world-are-known/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This is an industry that doesn't have the common cold... It has cholera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-azenberg/this-is-an-industry-that-doesn-t-have-the-common-cold-it-has-cholera/) [Emanuel Azenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-azenberg/) > [Happiness in a tablet. This is our world. Prozac. Daxil. Xanax. Billions are spent to advertise such drugs. And billions are spent purchasing them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/happiness-in-a-tablet-this-is-our-world-prozac-daxil-xanax-billions/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“When James Larrick and his colleagues studied the still relatively isolated Waorani Indians of Ecuador, they found no evidence of hypertension, heart disease, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/when-james-larrick-and-his-colleagues-studied-the-still-relatively/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) ## More by Ogden Nash > [There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/there-is-only-one-way-to-achieve-happiness-on-this-terrestrial-ball/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [The sky is now indelible ink, The branches reft asunder; But you and I we do not shrink; We love the lovely thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-sky-is-now-indelible-ink-the-branches-reft-asunder-but-you-and-i/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Middle-aged life is merry, and I love to lead it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/middle-aged-life-is-merry-and-i-love-to-lead-it/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [When a lady's erotic life is vexed God knows what God is coming next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/when-a-lady-s-erotic-life-is-vexed-god-knows-what-god-is-coming-next/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Love is a word that is constantly heard, Hate is a word that is not. Love, I am told, is more precious that gold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/love-is-a-word-that-is-constantly-heard-hate-is-a-word-that-is-not/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [A husband is a guy who tells you when you've got on too much lipstick and helps you with your girdle when your hips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/a-husband-is-a-guy-who-tells-you-when-you-ve-got-on-too-much-lipstick/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Marriage is the alliance of two people, one of whom never remembers birthdays and the other never forgets them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/marriage-is-the-alliance-of-two-people-one-of-whom-never-remembers/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I claim there ain't Another Saint As great as Valentine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/i-claim-there-ain-t-another-saint-as-great-as-valentine/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Senescence begins And middle-age ends The day your descendants Outnumber your friends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/senescence-begins-and-middle-age-ends-the-day-your-descendants/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Poets arent very usefulBecause they aren't consumeful or produceful..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/poets-arent-very-usefulbecause-they-aren-t-consumeful-or-produceful/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I don't mind their having a lot of money, and I don't care how they employ it, but I do think that they damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/i-don-t-mind-their-having-a-lot-of-money-and-i-don-t-care-how-they/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [To maintain your marriage brimming, with really like in the wedding cup, anytime you are incorrect, admit it each time you're proper, shut up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/to-maintain-your-marriage-brimming-with-really-like-in-the-wedding/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [No, you never get any fun Out of the things you haven't done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/no-you-never-get-any-fun-out-of-the-things-you-haven-t-done/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Which the Chicken and Which the Egg? He drinks because she scolds, he thinks; She thinks she scolds because he drinks; And nether will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/which-the-chicken-and-which-the-egg-he-drinks-because-she-scolds-he/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blowing-other-people-to-pieces/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) [Explore all 261 Ogden Nash quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## More Bacteria quotes > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [...The large majority of those infectious microbes that cause us so much illness and pain are ANAEROBIC...a big word that means they live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mccabe/the-large-majority-of-those-infectious-microbes-that-cause-us-so-much/) [Ed McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mccabe/) > [You can't just boss bacteria around like that," said the younger Mrs. Hempstock. "They don't like it." "Stuff and silliness," said the old lady.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-t-just-boss-bacteria-around-like-that-said-the-younger-mrs/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“Drinking lots of alcohol makes the gut leakier, allowing microbes to more readily influence the brain. Could that help to explain why alcoholics often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-yong/drinking-lots-of-alcohol-makes-the-gut-leakier-allowing-microbes-to/) [Ed Yong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-yong/) > [“According to pioneering microbiologist Lynn Margulis, "fully 10 percent of our own dry body weight consists of bacteria, some of which, although they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-bjornerud/according-to-pioneering-microbiologist-lynn-margulis-fully-10-percent/) [Marcia Bjornerud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-bjornerud/) > [Plants with leaves no more efficient than today's solar cells could out-compete real plants, crowding the biosphere with an inedible foliage. Tough omnivorous bacteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/plants-with-leaves-no-more-efficient-than-today-s-solar-cells-could/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [Nineteen hundred and three will bring great advances in surgery, in the study of bacteria, in the knowledge of the cause and prevention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/nineteen-hundred-and-three-will-bring-great-advances-in-surgery-in/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Harmful bacteria, viruses, calcium-forming micro-organisms, and candida are part of our world. Unfortunately, so are toxic chemicals, including everything from pesticides to car pollution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/harmful-bacteria-viruses-calcium-forming-micro-organisms-and-candida/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [With one linear centimeter of your lower colon there lives and works more bacteria (about 100 billion) that all humans who have ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/with-one-linear-centimeter-of-your-lower-colon-there-lives-and-works/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Eighty-five percent of recorded species live in the terrestrial realm, and the majority of these, some 850,000, are arthropods (that is, insects, spiders, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-leakey/eighty-five-percent-of-recorded-species-live-in-the-terrestrial-realm/) [Richard E. Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-leakey/) > [As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand for leprosy, gonorrhea, bacteria, and tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-jammeh/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-lgbt-can-only-stand-for-leprosy-gonorrhea/) [Yahya Jammeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-jammeh/) > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Human health should now be thought of as a collective property of the human-associate d microbiota, as one group of researchers recently concluded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/human-health-should-now-be-thought-of-as-a-collective-property-of-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Browse all 285 Bacteria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bacteria/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Baclli swarm within my portals Such as ne'r conceived by mortals, But, bred by scientists, Wise and hoary in some Olympian laboratory. Bacteria as large as mice With feet of fire and heads of ice, Who never interrupt for slumber Their stomping, elephantine rumba. 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