--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We could say that the human race is a…" description: "\"We could say that the human race is a great coauthorship in which we are collaborating with God and nature in the making of ourselves and one another. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/wendell-berry-236_definitions_we-could-say-that-the-human-race-is-a-gr_709793.jpg" --- # We could say that the human race is a great coauthorship… ![“We could say that the human race is a great coauthorship in which we are collaborating with God and nature in the making of ourselves and one another. From this there is no escape. We may collaborate either well or poorly or we may refuse to collaborate, but even to refuse to collaborate is to…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/wendell-berry-236_definitions_we-could-say-that-the-human-race-is-a-gr_709793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/wendell-berry-236_definitions_we-could-say-that-the-human-race-is-a-gr_709793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/wendell-berry-236_definitions_we-could-say-that-the-human-race-is-a-gr_709793.jpg) > “We could say that the human race is a great coauthorship in which we are collaborating with God and nature in the making of ourselves and one another. From this there is no escape. We may collaborate either well or poorly or we may refuse to collaborate, but even to refuse to collaborate is to exert an influence and to affect the quality of the product. This is only a way of saying that by ourselves we have no meaning and no dignity; by ourselves we are outside the human definition, outside our identity.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human existence is a collaborative creation with the divine and nature; meaning arises from partnership, not isolation. **In simple terms:** We find purpose through cooperation with God, nature, and each other. Key Takeaway Embrace collaboration to create meaning. Themes cooperation spirituality environment identity meaning Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - community building - environmental activism - personal growth - team projects Key Concepts interdependence existentialism ecology Questions to Reflect On - How do you contribute to collective purpose? - What prevents you from collaborating? A Different Perspective Collaboration can be hindered by selfishness or mistrust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [God and nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-and-nature/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) ## Related quotes > [“Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. It has gone before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/indeed-we-also-work-but-we-are-only-collaborating-with-god-who-works/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [It is the will of God and Nature that these mortal bodies be laid aside, when the soul is to enter into real life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-is-the-will-of-god-and-nature-that-these-mortal-bodies-be-laid/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“We are violating every aspect of life by turning everything into a ripoff because we have adopted the view that insatiable individualistic greed must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/we-are-violating-every-aspect-of-life-by-turning-everything-into-a/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [“If you only notice human proceedings, you may observe that all who attain great power and riches, make use of either force or fraud;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/if-you-only-notice-human-proceedings-you-may-observe-that-all-who/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [In war, in some sense, lies the very genius of law. It is law creative and active; it is the first principle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-war-in-some-sense-lies-the-very-genius-of-law-it-is-law-creative/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Whether rich or poor, a home is not a home unless the roots of love are ever striking deeper through the crust of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/whether-rich-or-poor-a-home-is-not-a-home-unless-the-roots-of-love/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [The essence of the Hebrew Bible, transmitted by Christianity, is separation: between life and death, nature and God, good and evil, man and woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-essence-of-the-hebrew-bible-transmitted-by-christianity-is/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Those walls and bars are there for a reason,” said Crake. “Not to keep us out, but to keep them in. Mankind needs barriers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/those-walls-and-bars-are-there-for-a-reason-said-crake-not-to-keep-us-2/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“But nature will smile though priests may frown, and next day the sun shone brightly, and on the next, and the next again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/but-nature-will-smile-though-priests-may-frown-and-next-day-the-sun/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-foregoing-generations-beheld-god-and-nature-face-to-face-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [God and Nature met in light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/god-and-nature-met-in-light/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Those rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called natural rights, such as life and liberty, need not the aid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/those-rights-then-which-god-and-nature-have-established-and-are/) [William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/) > [God and nature create nothing that does not fulfill a purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/god-and-nature-create-nothing-that-does-not-fulfill-a-purpose/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [A woman with cut hair is a filthy spectacle, and much like a monsterit being natural and comely to women to nourish their hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-prynne/a-woman-with-cut-hair-is-a-filthy-spectacle-and-much-like-a-monsterit/) [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Collaborating quotes > [The best part of making music, for me, is collaborating and working with new people and fresh sounds and all those things that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/the-best-part-of-making-music-for-me-is-collaborating-and-working/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [The director is the ultimate creative arbiter of what's going to happen. And as a director myself, you really appreciate collaborating with people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-coppola/the-director-is-the-ultimate-creative-arbiter-of-what-s-going-to/) [Roman Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-coppola/) > [I love the process of collaborating on music, mostly for the creativity that comes out of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hardwell/i-love-the-process-of-collaborating-on-music-mostly-for-the/) [Hardwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hardwell/) > [I'm always interested in collaborating with designers. I love Gaultier. I know that's kind of a high hope!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-love/i-m-always-interested-in-collaborating-with-designers-i-love-gaultier/) [Pamela Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-love/) > [I was writing music when we finished the last Walkmen record, Heaven, and a few of these songs may have even been started before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-leithauser/i-was-writing-music-when-we-finished-the-last-walkmen-record-heaven/) [Hamilton Leithauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-leithauser/) > [It's as if I were collaborating with myself, revealing my relationship to the material. My hand would make the drawing. Then my mouth would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hodges/it-s-as-if-i-were-collaborating-with-myself-revealing-my-relationship/) [Jim Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hodges/) > [Every director is different. One of the great things about getting to work with so many directors in one TV series is collaborating with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-willimon/every-director-is-different-one-of-the-great-things-about-getting-to/) [Beau Willimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-willimon/) > [I knew that collaborating on songwriting would be difficult for a lot of people, because I was known very much, for my independence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-phair/i-knew-that-collaborating-on-songwriting-would-be-difficult-for-a-lot/) [Liz Phair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-phair/) > [Collaborating with your wife is amazing because you are doing something together with a person you truly love and know and discover things about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/collaborating-with-your-wife-is-amazing-because-you-are-doing/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [Even when I'm making my own solo records, I'm collaborating with people. It keeps things interesting for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lanegan/even-when-i-m-making-my-own-solo-records-i-m-collaborating-with/) [Mark Lanegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lanegan/) > [I love collaborating with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/i-love-collaborating-with-people/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [ \[Mikhail\] Saakashvili will use all legal and illegal means possible to remain in power. People are being threatened to prevent them from collaborating with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irakli-okruashvili/mikhail-saakashvili-will-use-all-legal-and-illegal-means-possible-to/) [Irakli Okruashvili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irakli-okruashvili/) > [I've heard of translators collaborating closely with their authors, sometimes even living with them for a while, but that's not me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-ve-heard-of-translators-collaborating-closely-with-their-authors/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [I love fashion, and I love clothes, and so collaborating and putting pieces together is a passion that I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-dobrev/i-love-fashion-and-i-love-clothes-and-so-collaborating-and-putting/) [Nina Dobrev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-dobrev/) > [I haven't given any thought to collaborating with my sisters. It would be great fun. My daughter Molly is a wonderful writer - someday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallie-ephron/i-haven-t-given-any-thought-to-collaborating-with-my-sisters-it-would/) [Hallie Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallie-ephron/) Browse all 189 Collaborating quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We could say that the human race is a great coauthorship in which we are collaborating with God and nature in the making of ourselves and one another. From this there is no escape. We may collaborate either well or poorly or we may refuse to collaborate, but even to refuse to collaborate is to exert an influence and to affect the quality of the product. 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