--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world can no more have two summits…" description: "\"The world can no more have two summits than a circumference can have two centres.\" — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_centre_the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-t_1241886.jpg" --- # The world can no more have two summits than a… ![“The world can no more have two summits than a circumference can have two centres.” quote by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_centre_the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-t_1241886.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_centre_the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-t_1241886.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_centre_the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-t_1241886.jpg) > “The world can no more have two summits than a circumference can have two centres.” [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement uses geometric metaphor to argue that the world cannot sustain contradictory extremes; it must be unified. **In simple terms:** The world cannot hold opposing extremes simultaneously. Key Takeaway Seek harmony over division. Themes philosophy unity geometry Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - political discourse - conflict resolution - organizational design - environmental policy Key Concepts metaphysics systems theory Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of seeking unity? - How can diversity coexist with unity? A Different Perspective Complex issues may resist simple unification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Summit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summit/) [Summits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summits/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Who would attain to summits still and fair,Must nerve himself through valleys of despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/who-would-attain-to-summits-still-and-fair-must-nerve-himself-through/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Nations touch at their summits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/nations-touch-at-their-summits/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [Those who found nothing on the plains will find nothing on the summits of mountains!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/those-who-found-nothing-on-the-plains-will-find-nothing-on-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The use of EU summits to frame political victories or defeats is an annoying habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/the-use-of-eu-summits-to-frame-political-victories-or-defeats-is-an/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Happiness is the struggle towards a summit and, when it is attained, it is happiness to glimpse new summits on the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fridtjof-nansen/happiness-is-the-struggle-towards-a-summit-and-when-it-is-attained-it/) [Fridtjof Nansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fridtjof-nansen/) > [“To reach the top you don’t have to climb up to the top; just define a height as the top, that’s’ it, very simple!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/to-reach-the-top-you-don-t-have-to-climb-up-to-the-top-just-define-a/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [ Summits \[World Summit on the Information Society\] are meant to help governments reach a global consensus on major issues which has proved elusive in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-souter/summits-world-summit-on-the-information-society-are-meant-to-help/) [David Souter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-souter/) > [Summits are best at dealing with problems, where the need for action is urgent and the range of possible actions limited. They are less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-souter/summits-are-best-at-dealing-with-problems-where-the-need-for-action/) [David Souter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-souter/) > [I don't think more mega-summits is the way to secure effective implementation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-fogh-rasmussen/i-don-t-think-more-mega-summits-is-the-way-to-secure-effective/) [Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-fogh-rasmussen/) > [People think this is easy to be a football player. They only see the summit but they don't see the ascent, which is far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pires/people-think-this-is-easy-to-be-a-football-player-they-only-see-the/) [Robert Pires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pires/) > [It's no use crying over spilt summits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-macmillan/it-s-no-use-crying-over-spilt-summits/) [Harold MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-macmillan/) > [The most important thing I would do is to try to institutionalize U.S.-Soviet summits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-f-mondale/the-most-important-thing-i-would-do-is-to-try-to-institutionalize-u-s/) [Walter F. Mondale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-f-mondale/) > [I've participated at summits where I was the only chef. I was surrounded with thinkers and writers and innovators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-crenn/i-ve-participated-at-summits-where-i-was-the-only-chef-i-was/) [Dominique Crenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-crenn/) > [“The paths to mountain peaks are ever rugged, but men reach the summits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-james-brebner/the-paths-to-mountain-peaks-are-ever-rugged-but-men-reach-the-summits/) Percy James Brebner > [I compliment President Obama on having these summits each year in Washington in which people have talked about ridding the world of materials of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lugar/i-compliment-president-obama-on-having-these-summits-each-year-in/) [Richard Lugar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lugar/) ## More by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin > [Long before the awakening of thought on earth, manifestations of cosmic energy must have been produced which have no parallel today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/long-before-the-awakening-of-thought-on-earth-manifestations-of/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [The longer I live, the more I feel that true repose consists in 'renouncing' one's own self, by which I mean making up one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-longer-i-live-the-more-i-feel-that-true-repose-consists-in/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Today, something is happening to the whole structure of human consciousness. A fresh kind of life is starting. Driven by the forces of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/today-something-is-happening-to-the-whole-structure-of-human/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“We, mankind, contain the possibilities of the earth's immense future, and can realise more and more of them on condition that we increase our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/we-mankind-contain-the-possibilities-of-the-earth-s-immense-future/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [I think that man has a fundamental obligation to extract from himself and from the earth all that it can give; and this obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/i-think-that-man-has-a-fundamental-obligation-to-extract-from-himself/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [At the age when other children, I imagine, experience their first 'feeling' for a person, or for art, or for religion, I was affectionate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/at-the-age-when-other-children-i-imagine-experience-their-first/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [The most empowering relationships are those in which each partner lifts the other to a higher possession of their own being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-most-empowering-relationships-are-those-in-which-each-partner/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/we-are-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-we-are/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“In the shadow of death may we not look back to the past, but seek in utter darkness the dawn of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/in-the-shadow-of-death-may-we-not-look-back-to-the-past-but-seek-in/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [The stars are laboratories in which the evolution of matter proceeds in the direction of large molecules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-stars-are-laboratories-in-which-the-evolution-of-matter-proceeds/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [It is not our heads or our bodies which we must bring together, but our hearts. . . . Humanity. . . is building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/it-is-not-our-heads-or-our-bodies-which-we-must-bring-together-but/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Each elect soul ... possesses God directly and finds in that unique possession the fulfillment of his own individuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/each-elect-soul-possesses-god-directly-and-finds-in-that-unique/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/in-the-final-analysis-the-questions-of-why-bad-things-happen-to-good/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [When humans truly discover the power of love, it will prove more important than the harnessing of fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/when-humans-truly-discover-the-power-of-love-it-will-prove-more/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) [Explore all 253 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) ## More Centre quotes > [“She had gone into herself and was looking for a centre, a pivotal point between what she had been and what she would become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-had-gone-into-herself-and-was-looking-for-a-centre-a-pivotal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [I don't really like being in the centre of attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-thunburg/i-don-t-really-like-being-in-the-centre-of-attention/) [Greta Thunburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-thunburg/) > [The problem was Le Corbusier was a genius and an enormous artist, but he tried to resolve problems to which there is no solution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/the-problem-was-le-corbusier-was-a-genius-and-an-enormous-artist-but/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [The entire hierarchy of angels can best be described as an endlessly vast sphere of beings, who surround an unknowable centre-point, which is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-godwin/the-entire-hierarchy-of-angels-can-best-be-described-as-an-endlessly/) [Malcolm Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-godwin/) > [In order to the attaining of all useful knowledge this is most necessary, that we fear God; we are not qualified to profit by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/in-order-to-the-attaining-of-all-useful-knowledge-this-is-most/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [ \[The Utopia of Rules\] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-challenge-to-us-all-should-we-just/) [Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [A person who is able to be a living centre of peace in today's world and who is able to radiate that peace powerfully,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-assagioli/a-person-who-is-able-to-be-a-living-centre-of-peace-in-today-s-world/) [Roberto Assagioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-assagioli/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [In the humanist ideal, the mainstream is where interesting debate, the generating of new ideas and creativity take place. In rational society this mainstream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/in-the-humanist-ideal-the-mainstream-is-where-interesting-debate-the/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [Your country is one of the most notorious centres of trading in endangered species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/your-country-is-one-of-the-most-notorious-centres-of-trading-in/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [If you are playing King Lear you are the centre of attention anyway. You don't need to draw attention to yourself. It's all laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/if-you-are-playing-king-lear-you-are-the-centre-of-attention-anyway/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) Browse all 761 Centre quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The world can no more have two summits than a circumference can have two centres.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierre Teilhard de Chardin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-than-a-circumference-can-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Centre" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-than-a-circumference-can-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_centre_the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-t_1241886.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_centre_the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-t_1241886.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d2/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_centre_the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-t_1241886.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The world can no more have two summits than a circumference can have two centres.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin", "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": "Pierre Teilhard de Chardin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The world can no more have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-than-a-circumference-can-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-world-can-no-more-have-two-summits-than-a-circumference-can-have/#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 } } ] } ```