--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was strange to us that none of these…" description: "\"“It was strange to us that none of these three victims made any attempt to resist the attack. Indeed, not one inhabitant in any of these worlds conside..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/olaf-stapledon-9950_non-interventionism_it-was-strange-to-us-that-none-of-these_1476358.jpg" --- # It was strange to us that none of these three victims made… ![“It was strange to us that none of these three victims made any attempt to resist the attack. Indeed, not one inhabitant in any of these worlds considered for a moment the possibility of resistance. In every case the attitude to disaster seemed to express itself in such terms as these: "To…” quote by Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/olaf-stapledon-9950_non-interventionism_it-was-strange-to-us-that-none-of-these_1476358.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/olaf-stapledon-9950_non-interventionism_it-was-strange-to-us-that-none-of-these_1476358.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/olaf-stapledon-9950_non-interventionism_it-was-strange-to-us-that-none-of-these_1476358.jpg) > ““It was strange to us that none of these three victims made any attempt to resist the attack. Indeed, not one inhabitant in any of these worlds considered for a moment the possibility of resistance. In every case the attitude to disaster seemed to express itself in such terms as these: "To retaliate would be to wound our communal spirit beyond cure. We choose rather to die. The theme of spirit that we have created must inevitably be broken short, whether by the ruthlessness of the invader or by our own resort to arms. It is better to be destroyed than to triumph in slaying the spirit. Such as it is, the spirit that we have achieved is fair; and it is indestructibly woven into the tissue of the cosmos. We die praising the universe in which at least such an achievement as ours can be. We die knowing that the promise of further glory outlives us in other galaxies. We die praising the Star Maker, the Star Destroyer.”” [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faced with an overwhelming threat, a community chooses collective death over destroying their shared spirit, valuing cosmic unity over individual survival. **In simple terms:** A group prefers dying together to preserve their collective spirit. Key Takeaway Prioritize shared values over self‑preservation when faced with existential threats. Themes collective sacrifice spiritual unity existential choice cosmic perspective resistance Mood somber philosophical melancholic Type fiction philosophical speculative When to use this quote - war - alien invasion - societal collapse - spiritual crisis - galactic exploration Key Concepts philosophy ethics cosmology collectivism Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to sacrifice for a collective spirit? - Can unity survive without individual sacrifice? A Different Perspective The idealized sacrifice may ignore practical survival instincts and individual rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communal Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communal-spirit-3254187/) [Die Praising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-praising-4133462/) [Pacifism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism/) [Praising Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praising-universe-4133466/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scifi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scifi/) [Slaying Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaying-spirit-4133465/) [Victims Attempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victims-attempt-5370345/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [It is better to be destroyed than to triumph in slaying the spirit... 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"You asked."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-kazinski/i-think-about-something-i-once-heard-on-the-radio-about-abraham-and/) [A.J. Kazinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-kazinski/) > [I am not a terrorist, but neither am I a pacifist. I am simply a regular guy from the Palestinian street advocating only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marwan-barghouti/i-am-not-a-terrorist-but-neither-am-i-a-pacifist-i-am-simply-a/) [Marwan Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marwan-barghouti/) > [Pacifism as a mass movement aims to avoid suffering; pacifists often say that no cause is worth suffering or dying for. The ethos of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-michnik/pacifism-as-a-mass-movement-aims-to-avoid-suffering-pacifists-often/) [Adam Michnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-michnik/) > [“Nonviolence is the very essence of the gospels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-iswolsky/nonviolence-is-the-very-essence-of-the-gospels/) [Helene Iswolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-iswolsky/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More by Olaf Stapledon > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [In fact man's career has been less like a mountain torrent hurtling from rock to rock, than a great sluggish river, broken very seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/in-fact-man-s-career-has-been-less-like-a-mountain-torrent-hurtling/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [I loathe the urchin's cruelty to the cat, but I will not loathe the urchin. 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If they don't begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/with-characteristic-lack-of-false-modesty-john-once-said-to-me-my/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [ \[S\]ervants of darkness had no lasting joy in their service. In all of them the will for darkness was a perversion of the will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/s-ervants-of-darkness-had-no-lasting-joy-in-their-service-in-all-of/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [“The truth of the matter was something much more subtle and tremendous than any plain physical miracle could ever be. But never mind that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-truth-of-the-matter-was-something-much-more-subtle-and-tremendous/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [Even when all the worlds have frozen or exploded, and all the suns gone dead and cold, there'll still be time. 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The ethos of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-michnik/pacifism-as-a-mass-movement-aims-to-avoid-suffering-pacifists-often/) [Adam Michnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-michnik/) > [I am not a terrorist, but neither am I a pacifist. I am simply a regular guy from the Palestinian street advocating only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marwan-barghouti/i-am-not-a-terrorist-but-neither-am-i-a-pacifist-i-am-simply-a/) [Marwan Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marwan-barghouti/) > [“I think about something I once heard on the radio. About Abraham and Isaac." "I was afraid you'd say something like that." "You asked."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-kazinski/i-think-about-something-i-once-heard-on-the-radio-about-abraham-and/) [A.J. Kazinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-kazinski/) > [“Fugitive Peace (Sonnet 2219) In the opera of war, peace is fugitive - thinking soldiers are no good to state, either you kill without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fugitive-peace-sonnet-2219-in-the-opera-of-war-peace-is-fugitive/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired hears a moan... "And then, mother, the hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schwarz-bart/it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot-the-jew-who-has-just-fired/) [Andre Schwarz-Bart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-schwarz-bart/) > [I really believe that Bob Dylan and others have speeded up the changes. 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While I respect their views and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/i-know-there-are-some-christians-who-believe-that-war-and-their/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [I'm sort of exploring where pacifism and socialism come into conflict. How do you reconcile a passionate rejection of might and violence with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/i-m-sort-of-exploring-where-pacifism-and-socialism-come-into-conflict/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“I am not a committed pacifist. 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