--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There have been great soceties that did…" description: "\"There have been great soceties that did not use the wheel, but there have been no sociweties that did not tell stories\" — Ursula K Leguin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/ursula-k-leguin-2-81761_history_there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did_3093627.jpg" --- # There have been great soceties that did not use the wheel… ![“There have been great soceties that did not use the wheel, but there have been no sociweties that did not tell stories” quote by Ursula K Leguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/ursula-k-leguin-2-81761_history_there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did_3093627.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/ursula-k-leguin-2-81761_history_there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did_3093627.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/ursula-k-leguin-2-81761_history_there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did_3093627.jpg) > “There have been great soceties that did not use the wheel, but there have been no sociweties that did not tell stories” Ursula K Leguin ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories are universal; societies without storytelling are unimaginable. **In simple terms:** All societies tell stories. Key Takeaway Cultivate storytelling to shape culture. Themes culture communication storytelling Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education curricula - brand storytelling - community events Key Concepts mythology social cohesion cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - What role does storytelling play in your community? - How can narratives drive social change? A Different Perspective Some societies may prioritize other forms of knowledge transmission. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [This is my life - I want to tell stories. There is something huge inside me that pushes me to tell stories, and tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-argento/this-is-my-life-i-want-to-tell-stories-there-is-something-huge-inside/) [Dario Argento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-argento/) > [Whenever I'm asked what advice I have for young writers, I always say that the first thing is to read, and to read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/whenever-i-m-asked-what-advice-i-have-for-young-writers-i-always-say/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Some people tell stories and some people tell the truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-williams/some-people-tell-stories-and-some-people-tell-the-truth/) [Amber Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-williams/) > [Read a lot. Read broadly... Tell stories to your friends, and pay attention to when they get bored... Write a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/read-a-lot-read-broadly-tell-stories-to-your-friends-and-pay/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [I make no distinction between writing and storytelling; I've always wanted to tell stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-lindelof/i-make-no-distinction-between-writing-and-storytelling-i-ve-always/) [Damon Lindelof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-lindelof/) > [Being a third wheel isn't the best, but use it towards your advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/being-a-third-wheel-isn-t-the-best-but-use-it-towards-your-advantage/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [America I'm putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/america-i-m-putting-my-queer-shoulder-to-the-wheel/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [The wheel was invented so we could move faster. Credit was invented so we would have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cullen-hightower/the-wheel-was-invented-so-we-could-move-faster-credit-was-invented-so/) [Cullen Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cullen-hightower/) > [The squeeky wheel isn't always greased...sometimes it's replaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-squeeky-wheel-isn-t-always-greased-sometimes-it-s-replaced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everybody here is so caught up in the game of life they don't see death. They don't see beyond their deaths. They are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everybody-here-is-so-caught-up-in-the-game-of-life-they-don-t-see/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I am a control freak back seat driver; a map reading co-pilot who directs every turn of the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carr/i-am-a-control-freak-back-seat-driver-a-map-reading-co-pilot-who/) [Liz Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carr/) > [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Maybe my caveman ancestors invented the wheel or something. I'm not sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-fraser/maybe-my-caveman-ancestors-invented-the-wheel-or-something-i-m-not/) [Brendan Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-fraser/) > [Id love to work with the team in IndyCar; I just wont be behind the wheel anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-franchitti/id-love-to-work-with-the-team-in-indycar-i-just-wont-be-behind-the/) [Dario Franchitti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-franchitti/) ## More by Ursula K Leguin > [Comfort was allowed to come to them rare, welcome, unsought: a gift like joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-leguin-2/comfort-was-allowed-to-come-to-them-rare-welcome-unsought-a-gift-like/) Ursula K LeGuin > [The power of the harasser, the abuser, the rapist depends above all on the silence of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-leguin-2/the-power-of-the-harasser-the-abuser-the-rapist-depends-above-all-on/) Ursula K LeGuin Explore all 3 Ursula K Leguin quotes ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There have been great soceties that did not use the wheel, but there have been no sociweties that did not tell stories", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K Leguin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-leguin-2/there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did-not-use-the-wheel-but-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-leguin-2/there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did-not-use-the-wheel-but-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/ursula-k-leguin-2-81761_history_there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did_3093627.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/ursula-k-leguin-2-81761_history_there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did_3093627.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/ursula-k-leguin-2-81761_history_there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did_3093627.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There have been great soceties that did not use the wheel, but there have been no sociweties that did not…” — Ursula K Leguin", "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": "Ursula K Leguin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-leguin-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There have been great soceties that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-leguin-2/there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did-not-use-the-wheel-but-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-leguin-2/there-have-been-great-soceties-that-did-not-use-the-wheel-but-there/#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 } } ] } ```