---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hunting is now to most of us a game…"
description: "\"Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems based upon some mystic remembrance, in the blood, of ancient days when to hunter as well as hun..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/will-durant-948_ancient_hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whos_2602708.png"
---

#  Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems…

![“Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems based upon some mystic remembrance, in the blood, of ancient days when to hunter as well as hunted it was a matter of life and death.” quote by Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/will-durant-948_ancient_hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whos_2602708.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/will-durant-948_ancient_hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whos_2602708.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/will-durant-948_ancient_hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whos_2602708.png)

> “Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems based upon some mystic remembrance, in the blood, of ancient days when to hunter as well as hunted it was a matter of life and death.”

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Hunting has become a sport for most, but its appeal traces back to ancient survival instincts.

**In simple terms:** Modern hunting feels like a ritual linked to ancient survival.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the deep roots of our competitive urges.

Themes

tradition survival ritual competition

Mood

reflective nostalgic

Type

cultural philosophical

When to use this quote

- outdoor recreation
- team sports
- cultural festivals
- survival training

Key Concepts

anthropology psychology human nature

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we still crave activities that echo survival?
- How does this nostalgia affect our view of nature?

A Different Perspective

Modern hunting lacks the life‑or‑death stakes of its origins, reducing its authenticity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunter/) [Hunters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunters/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Matter Of Life And Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-of-life-and-death/) [Mystic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystic/) [Remembrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembrance/)

## Related quotes

> [“Last night, the Hunter was hunted. Do you remember how hard I made you cum?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-james/last-night-the-hunter-was-hunted-do-you-remember-how-hard-i-made-you/)

[Ella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-james/)

> [When you're huntin' somepin you're a hunter, an' you're strong. Can't nobody beat a hunter. But when you get hunted - that's different. Somepin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/when-you-re-huntin-somepin-you-re-a-hunter-an-you-re-strong-can-t/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“But the hunter was also the hunted, For many of my arrows left my bow only to seek my own breast...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/but-the-hunter-was-also-the-hunted-for-many-of-my-arrows-left-my-bow/)

[Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/)

> [This world's divided into two kinds of people: the hunter and the hunted. Luckily I'm the hunter. Nothing can change that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mccrea/this-world-s-divided-into-two-kinds-of-people-the-hunter-and-the/)

[Joel McCrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-mccrea/)

> [Freedom is nothing but the distance between the hunter and the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bei-dao/freedom-is-nothing-but-the-distance-between-the-hunter-and-the-hunted/)

[Bei Dao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bei-dao/)

> [“I see thousands of people in the images. They flicker past, but never return. Nothing and no one stays, it’s the loneliest of lonely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mons-kallentoft/i-see-thousands-of-people-in-the-images-they-flicker-past-but-never/)

[Mons Kallentoft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mons-kallentoft/)

> [“you were both hunter and hunted; the shadow of your thoughts was the beast which killed you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-holdstock/you-were-both-hunter-and-hunted-the-shadow-of-your-thoughts-was-the/)

[Robert Holdstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-holdstock/)

> [Before I was the hunter. Now I'm the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-hingis/before-i-was-the-hunter-now-i-m-the-hunted/)

[Martina Hingis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-hingis/)

> [“Now she would become the hunter...and he, the hunted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/now-she-would-become-the-hunter-and-he-the-hunted/)

[Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/)

> [Be the hunter, not the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/be-the-hunter-not-the-hunted/)

[Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/)

> [You can be the hunter, or you can be the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/you-can-be-the-hunter-or-you-can-be-the-hunted/)

[Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/)

> [In searching for the self, one cannot simultaneously be the hunter and the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-ryle/in-searching-for-the-self-one-cannot-simultaneously-be-the-hunter-and/)

[Gilbert Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-ryle/)

> [It is much easier to be the hunter than the hunted. When you are the one not expected to do anything, you play better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-payton/it-is-much-easier-to-be-the-hunter-than-the-hunted-when-you-are-the/)

[Gary Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-payton/)

> [“She had forgotten them all; forgotten Richard down in the mud, and the Marquis and his foolish crossbow, and the world. She was delighted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/she-had-forgotten-them-all-forgotten-richard-down-in-the-mud-and-the/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [“At some point, Len was going to make a real pass at her, forcing her to make a real decision, and the game was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/at-some-point-len-was-going-to-make-a-real-pass-at-her-forcing-her-to/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

## More by Will Durant

> [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [As long as there is poverty there will be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/as-long-as-there-is-poverty-there-will-be-gods/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“Hence the uselessness of logic: no one ever convinced anybody by logic; and even logicians use logic only as a source of income. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hence-the-uselessness-of-logic-no-one-ever-convinced-anybody-by-logic/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-the-past-is-dead-nothing-that-has-ever/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“There is hardly an absurdity of the past that cannot be found flourishing somewhere in the present. Underneath all civilization, ancient or modern, moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/there-is-hardly-an-absurdity-of-the-past-that-cannot-be-found/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-islamic-conquest-of-india-is-probably-the-bloodiest-story-in/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“Intellectualism—the conception of man as above all a thinking animal, consciously adapting means to rationally chosen ends—fell sick with Rousseau, took to its bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/intellectualism-the-conception-of-man-as-above-all-a-thinking-animal/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“All those fascinating varieties of terrain—mountains and valleys, fiords and straits, gulfs and streams—that make Europe a panorama of diverse delight, have broken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/all-those-fascinating-varieties-of-terrain-mountains-and-valleys/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“To be great is not to be placed above humanity, ruling others; but to stand above the partialities and futilities of uninformed desire, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/to-be-great-is-not-to-be-placed-above-humanity-ruling-others-but-to/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“privately he composed—in French—a poem expressing his pleasure at having given the French a kick in the cul, which Carlyle delicately translated as “the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/privately-he-composed-in-french-a-poem-expressing-his-pleasure-at/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [ “\[N\]o language has ever had a word for a virgin man.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/n-o-language-has-ever-had-a-word-for-a-virgin-man/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

> [“And in the individual too, justice is effective coördination, the harmonious functioning of the elements in a man, each in its fit place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/and-in-the-individual-too-justice-is-effective-co-rdination-the/)

[Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

[Explore all 320 Will Durant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/)

## More Ancient quotes

> [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/)

[Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/)

> [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/)

[Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/)

> [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/)

[Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/)

> [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/)

[Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/)

> [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/)

[Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/)

> [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/)

> [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

> [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/)

[Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/)

> [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/)

[Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/)

[Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems based upon some mystic remembrance, in the blood, of ancient days when to hunter as well as hunted it was a matter of life and death.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Will Durant"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whose-relish-seems-based-upon/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ancient"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whose-relish-seems-based-upon/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/will-durant-948_ancient_hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whos_2602708.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/will-durant-948_ancient_hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whos_2602708.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e7/will-durant-948_ancient_hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whos_2602708.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems based upon some mystic remembrance, in the blood, of…” — Will Durant",
                "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": "Will Durant",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Hunting is now to most of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whose-relish-seems-based-upon/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whose-relish-seems-based-upon/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
