--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the very earliest times, when both…" description: "\"“In the very earliest times, when both people and animals lived on earth, a person could become an animal if he wanted to, and an animal could become a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/virginia-morell-41308_animals_in-the-very-earliest-times-when-both-peo_1959167.jpg" --- # In the very earliest times, when both people and animals… ![“In the very earliest times, when both people and animals lived on earth, a person could become an animal if he wanted to, and an animal could become a human being. Sometimes they were people and sometimes animals and there was no difference. All spoke the same language. That was the time when…” quote by Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/virginia-morell-41308_animals_in-the-very-earliest-times-when-both-peo_1959167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/virginia-morell-41308_animals_in-the-very-earliest-times-when-both-peo_1959167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/virginia-morell-41308_animals_in-the-very-earliest-times-when-both-peo_1959167.jpg) > ““In the very earliest times, when both people and animals lived on earth, a person could become an animal if he wanted to, and an animal could become a human being. Sometimes they were people and sometimes animals and there was no difference. All spoke the same language. That was the time when words were like magic. NALUNGLAQ, A NETSILIK ESKIMO”” [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early humans and animals were thought to be interchangeable, sharing a common language that made words seem magical, illustrating fluid identities and the power of language. **In simple terms:** Early beings could shift between human and animal, using a shared magical language. Key Takeaway Recognize language’s role in shaping identity. Themes identity language mythology transformation Mood reflective intriguing Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - storytelling - cultural rituals - education - creative writing Key Concepts anthropology cognitive linguistics mythic narratives Questions to Reflect On - How does language influence our sense of self? - What does “words as magic” mean today? A Different Perspective Modern perspectives may view such fluidity as metaphorical rather than literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-human/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [For an animal person, an animal-less home is no home at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleveland-amory/for-an-animal-person-an-animal-less-home-is-no-home-at-all/) [Cleveland Amory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleveland-amory/) > [I wanted to kick Bruce in the taint. No one is just one thing. Many things contribute to the whole of a person, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-wanted-to-kick-bruce-in-the-taint-no-one-is-just-one-thing-many/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [I am not a person and I am not an animal. There is something I am here for something I must do before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-am-not-a-person-and-i-am-not-an-animal-there-is-something-i-am-here/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Certainly sand was not suitable for life. Yet, was a stationary condition absolutely indispensable for existence? Didn't unpleasant competition arise precisely because one tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobo-abe/certainly-sand-was-not-suitable-for-life-yet-was-a-stationary/) [Kōbō Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobo-abe/) > [Wild animals would not stay in a country where there were so many people. Pa did not like to stay, either. He liked a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/wild-animals-would-not-stay-in-a-country-where-there-were-so-many/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [“In the earliest times, which were so susceptible to vague speculation and the inevitable ordering of the universe, there can have existed no division…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/in-the-earliest-times-which-were-so-susceptible-to-vague-speculation/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“We lay there with our bodies touching, and as I shook, a powerful knowledge took hold. He had done this thing to me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/we-lay-there-with-our-bodies-touching-and-as-i-shook-a-powerful/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [In almost all sciences the fundamental knowledge is either found in earliest times or is still being sought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-almost-all-sciences-the-fundamental-knowledge-is-either-found-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“From the earliest times, human civilization has been no more than a strange luminescence growing more intense by the hour, of which no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/from-the-earliest-times-human-civilization-has-been-no-more-than-a/) [W.G. 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Such enterprises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/attempts-to-defend-amusement-parks-and-circuses-on-the-grounds-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [People are animals, man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-crahan/people-are-animals-man/) [Shawn Crahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-crahan/) > [Before being humans with morals, people are mostly animals, fighting for domination and survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/before-being-humans-with-morals-people-are-mostly-animals-fighting/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) ## More by Virginia Morell > [“Fish are unable, of course, to speak for themselves about how we treat them. They have ways of communicating with each other and, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/fish-are-unable-of-course-to-speak-for-themselves-about-how-we-treat/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“A large brain-to-body size ratio is often considered a hallmark of intelligence, although it’s not the only factor. But it is something we humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/a-large-brain-to-body-size-ratio-is-often-considered-a-hallmark-of/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“When poachers target the matriarchs or older females—as they often do, because older elephants usually have larger tusks—they also destroy that lifetime of learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/when-poachers-target-the-matriarchs-or-older-females-as-they-often-do/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“Researches still don't have an explanation for the differnece between the sizes of dogs' and wolves' brains - or for why every species of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/researches-still-don-t-have-an-explanation-for-the-differnece-between/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“Often, when an elephant has just died, other elephants will back up to touch its carcass gently with their hind feet, then cover the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/often-when-an-elephant-has-just-died-other-elephants-will-back-up-to/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“Elephants also have the necessary neural anatomy for long-term memories—their brains have especially large and complex frontal lobes, which are important for storing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/elephants-also-have-the-necessary-neural-anatomy-for-long-term/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“Dolphins have one of the highest ratios of brain size to body mass in the animal kingdom. Measured in this way, a dolphin’s brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/dolphins-have-one-of-the-highest-ratios-of-brain-size-to-body-mass-in/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“The greatest threat to all wild animals is the loss of habitat—the destruction of the areas and resources they need to survive. Climate change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/the-greatest-threat-to-all-wild-animals-is-the-loss-of-habitat-the/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) > [“But for the moment, she said, her previous studies with trout suggest that fish in pain will not behave normally, that they will either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-morell/but-for-the-moment-she-said-her-previous-studies-with-trout-suggest/) [Virginia Morell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) [Explore all 10 Virginia Morell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-morell/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the very earliest times, when both people and animals lived on earth, a person could become an animal if he wanted to, and an animal could become a human being. Sometimes they were people and sometimes animals and there was no difference. All spoke the same language. That was the time when words were like magic. 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