--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It all began, I suppose, with learning to…" description: "\"“It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fires—to warm the cave and keep the predators out. And it ended with time-release Valium.”\" — Walter T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/walter-tevis-34092_cave_it-all-began-i-suppose-with-learning-to_2859119.jpg" --- # It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fires—to… ![“It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fires—to warm the cave and keep the predators out. And it ended with time-release Valium.” quote by Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/walter-tevis-34092_cave_it-all-began-i-suppose-with-learning-to_2859119.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/walter-tevis-34092_cave_it-all-began-i-suppose-with-learning-to_2859119.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/046/walter-tevis-34092_cave_it-all-began-i-suppose-with-learning-to_2859119.jpg) > ““It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fires—to warm the cave and keep the predators out. And it ended with time-release Valium.”” [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human progress starts with survival basics and ends in artificial sedation. **In simple terms:** From fire to drugs, humanity evolves. Key Takeaway Beware over‑reliance on comforts. Themes progress technology addiction Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - survival skills - modern stress management - philosophical reflection Key Concepts human evolution psychology Questions to Reflect On - What comforts trap us? - How do we balance advancement and well‑being? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex history. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cave/) [Valium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valium/) ## Related quotes > [If the world is cold, make it your business to build fires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-traubel/if-the-world-is-cold-make-it-your-business-to-build-fires/) Horace Traubel > [The only real security is not insurance or money or a job, not a house and furniture paid for, or a retirement fund, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-sutherland/the-only-real-security-is-not-insurance-or-money-or-a-job-not-a-house/) [Audrey Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-sutherland/) > [The only real security is the ability to build your own fires and find your own peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-sutherland/the-only-real-security-is-the-ability-to-build-your-own-fires-and/) [Audrey Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-sutherland/) > [The country is making a big mistake not teaching kids to cook and raise a garden and build fires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-lynn/the-country-is-making-a-big-mistake-not-teaching-kids-to-cook-and/) [Loretta Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-lynn/) > [“If you stop drinking, I’ll stop taking Valium, and then we’ll see who’s who and who’s what.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-e-rainey/if-you-stop-drinking-i-ll-stop-taking-valium-and-then-we-ll-see-who-s/) [Sharon E. Rainey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-e-rainey/) > [But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-haim/but-one-led-to-two-two-led-to-four-four-led-to-eight-until-at-the-end/) [Corey Haim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-haim/) > [The winter passed as slowly and peacefully as a boa constrictor digesting a valium addict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-winter-passed-as-slowly-and-peacefully-as-a-boa-constrictor/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Diazapam (that's valium), temazepam, lithium, ECT, HRT - how long must I stay on this stuff? Don't give me anymore!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/diazapam-that-s-valium-temazepam-lithium-ect-hrt-how-long-must-i-stay/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Down in the national news section, there's an article on a new pill, the 'Valium' they're calling it, 'to help women cope with everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/down-in-the-national-news-section-there-s-an-article-on-a-new-pill/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [“Have you ever gotten to a point where you looked at your own life, thought "Fu\*\* this," and reached for the economy-sized Valium? Ah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-o-donnell/have-you-ever-gotten-to-a-point-where-you-looked-at-your-own-life/) [Rebecca O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-o-donnell/) > [I'm a starving third world mother. A refugee without a home. I'm a house wife hooked on Valium. I'm a Pensioner alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ub40/i-m-a-starving-third-world-mother-a-refugee-without-a-home-i-m-a/) [Ub40](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ub40/) > [I think I can safely conclude that there is not a lot to be said for playing chess while on Valium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-miles/i-think-i-can-safely-conclude-that-there-is-not-a-lot-to-be-said-for/) Tony Miles > [What I said yesterday didn't mean anything! I love everyone in the flock! Plus, it was the Valium talking!" "Uh-huh. You just keep telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/what-i-said-yesterday-didn-t-mean-anything-i-love-everyone-in-the/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Theres a constant struggle going on about how much will be illegal and how much you will be free to take. Can we open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/theres-a-constant-struggle-going-on-about-how-much-will-be-illegal/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I just like the idea of pills. I like to collect them but not actually take them. When I fell off my horse, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-just-like-the-idea-of-pills-i-like-to-collect-them-but-not-actually/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) ## More by Walter Tevis > [I feel free and strong. If I were not a reader of books I could not feel this way. Whatever may happen to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/i-feel-free-and-strong-if-i-were-not-a-reader-of-books-i-could-not/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“And winning; that can be heavy on your back, too, like a monkey. You drop that load too when you find yourself an excuse."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/and-winning-that-can-be-heavy-on-your-back-too-like-a-monkey-you-drop/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“Reading is too intimate,' Spofforth said. 'It will put you too close to the feelings and ideas of others. It will disturb and confuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/reading-is-too-intimate-spofforth-said-it-will-put-you-too-close-to/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [Reading is the subtle and thorough sharing of the ideas and feelings by underhanded means. It is a gross invasion of Privacy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/reading-is-the-subtle-and-thorough-sharing-of-the-ideas-and-feelings/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“It changed the life of mankind more radically than the printing press. It created suburbs and a hundred other dependencies—sexual and economic and narcotic—upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/it-changed-the-life-of-mankind-more-radically-than-the-printing-press/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“He was sick, sick from the long dangerous trip he had taken, sick from all the medicine —the pills, the inoculations, the inhaled gases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/he-was-sick-sick-from-the-long-dangerous-trip-he-had-taken-sick-from/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“There had been a few times over the past year when she felt like this, with her mind not only dizzied but nearly terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/there-had-been-a-few-times-over-the-past-year-when-she-felt-like-this/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [The strange thing about television is that it - doesn't \*tell\* you everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/the-strange-thing-about-television-is-that-it-doesn-t-tell-you/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/only-the-mockingbird-sings-at-the-edge-of-the-woods/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“I feel free and strong. If I were not a reader of books I could not feel this way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/i-feel-free-and-strong-if-i-were-not-a-reader-of-books-i-could-not-2/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [New York is nearly a grave. The Empire State Building is its gravestone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/new-york-is-nearly-a-grave-the-empire-state-building-is-its-gravestone/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“He began to see a kind of beauty in the strangeness of the field, too. It was quite different from what he had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/he-began-to-see-a-kind-of-beauty-in-the-strangeness-of-the-field-too/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) [Explore all 13 Walter Tevis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) ## More Cave quotes > [Gravity Falls' didn't just appear overnight - every spooky cave and moss covered tree was created by a team of brilliant artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-hirsch/gravity-falls-didn-t-just-appear-overnight-every-spooky-cave-and-moss/) [Alex Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-hirsch/) > [A man in a cave or in a camp, a nomad, will die with no more estate than the wolf or the horse leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-in-a-cave-or-in-a-camp-a-nomad-will-die-with-no-more-estate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Try to think of it as though we are rewriting history––the first time this experience occurred you and I never kissed in this Dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/try-to-think-of-it-as-though-we-are-rewriting-history-the-first-time/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [Be brave. Don't just live in your cave till your grave.-RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/be-brave-don-t-just-live-in-your-cave-till-your-grave-rvm/) RVM > [(At the back of the cave, Phoebe placed her hand against one of the stones where a spring release opened an elevator door. Chris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/at-the-back-of-the-cave-phoebe-placed-her-hand-against-one-of-the/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“My dream is to create something so beautiful that it encourages people to present the best version of themselves to me everywhere I go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/my-dream-is-to-create-something-so-beautiful-that-it-encourages/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave know best. Although I wear a lot of jeans, I've been told that Nick Cave doesn't own a pair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-berninger/leonard-cohen-and-nick-cave-know-best-although-i-wear-a-lot-of-jeans/) [Matt Berninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-berninger/) > [You know,” he said, “I wish you could see this cave.” “What’s it like?” He paused. “It’s...beautiful, really.” “Tell me.” And so Po described…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/you-know-he-said-i-wish-you-could-see-this-cave-what-s-it-like-he/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [A Pitiful person who is afraid of taking risks, will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps he won't suffer the way people do when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-pitiful-person-who-is-afraid-of-taking-risks-will-never-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“On the walls of the cave, only the shadows are the truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-allegory-of-the-cave-plato/on-the-walls-of-the-cave-only-the-shadows-are-the-truth/) The Allegory of the Cave Plato > [And then I met Jerry and he's such a creative fiction writer, and I don't know if there's ever been a team put together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/and-then-i-met-jerry-and-he-s-such-a-creative-fiction-writer-and-i/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [I'm Andrea Thompson, and unless you've been living in a cave, you probably already know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-thompson/i-m-andrea-thompson-and-unless-you-ve-been-living-in-a-cave-you/) [Andrea Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-thompson/) > [“In every dark cave there is always a bright side too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelleskii/in-every-dark-cave-there-is-always-a-bright-side-too/) Nelleskii > [“Sleep this night is not a dark haunted domain the mind must consciously set itself to invade, but a cave inside himself, into which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/sleep-this-night-is-not-a-dark-haunted-domain-the-mind-must/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“As her feet beat the concrete ground beneath them, her chest began to ache. It had been a long time since she had run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/as-her-feet-beat-the-concrete-ground-beneath-them-her-chest-began-to/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) [Browse all 212 Cave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It all began, I suppose, with learning to build fires—to warm the cave and keep the predators out. 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