--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As man, as beast, as an ephemeral fly…" description: "\"As man, as beast, as an ephemeral fly begets, Godhead begets Godhead, For things below are copies, the Great Smaragdine Tablet said. Yet all must copy ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/william-butler-yeats-350_beast_as-man-as-beast-as-an-ephemeral-fly-bege_739651.png" --- # As man, as beast, as an ephemeral fly begets, Godhead… ![“As man, as beast, as an ephemeral fly begets, Godhead begets Godhead, For things below are copies, the Great Smaragdine Tablet said. Yet all must copy copies, all increase their kind.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/william-butler-yeats-350_beast_as-man-as-beast-as-an-ephemeral-fly-bege_739651.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/william-butler-yeats-350_beast_as-man-as-beast-as-an-ephemeral-fly-bege_739651.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/william-butler-yeats-350_beast_as-man-as-beast-as-an-ephemeral-fly-bege_739651.png) > “As man, as beast, as an ephemeral fly begets, Godhead begets Godhead, For things below are copies, the Great Smaragdine Tablet said. Yet all must copy copies, all increase their kind.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All creation mirrors the divine; each level copies the one above, perpetuating a hierarchy of existence. **In simple terms:** Everything reflects a higher source. Key Takeaway Recognize the interconnectedness of all things. Themes spirituality hierarchy creation Mood contemplative mysterious Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - artistic inspiration - philosophical study - environmental ethics Key Concepts cosmology metaphysics reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing yourself as a copy affect your sense of originality? - Can you transcend the pattern? A Different Perspective The hierarchy may imply deterministic copying, limiting agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ephemeral/) [Godhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godhead/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [The masses are only to be regarded as one of three things: either as copies of great personalities, bad copies, clumsily produced in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-brandes/the-masses-are-only-to-be-regarded-as-one-of-three-things-either-as/) [Georg Brandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-brandes/) > [There is no loftier mission than to approach the Godhead more nearly than other mortals, and by means of that contact to spread the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/there-is-no-loftier-mission-than-to-approach-the-godhead-more-nearly/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [The Godhead consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is a material being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-pratt/the-godhead-consists-of-the-father-the-son-and-the-holy-spirit-the/) [Orson Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-pratt/) > [Art is the Godhead as revealed in the works of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/art-is-the-godhead-as-revealed-in-the-works-of-man/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The conception of Godhead formed by some devout philosophers and mystics has quite rightly been so immeasurably vast, though still assuredly utterly inadequate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-lodge/the-conception-of-godhead-formed-by-some-devout-philosophers-and/) [Oliver Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-lodge/) > [“Today, as in ancient Rome, when all avenues of success have been traveled and all prizes won, the final prize is the delusion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/today-as-in-ancient-rome-when-all-avenues-of-success-have-been/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Admittedly, I do have several bones... whole war fields full of bones, in fact... to pick with organised religion of whatever stripe. This should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/admittedly-i-do-have-several-bones-whole-war-fields-full-of-bones-in/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [The Godhead consists of three separate, distinct personages who are one in purpose. The Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/the-godhead-consists-of-three-separate-distinct-personages-who-are/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [I am a channel for the Christ spirit. 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Holy with power, He on the thought-benighted Skeptic beamed Manifest Godhead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/lovely-was-the-death-of-him-whose-life-was-love-holy-with-power-he-on/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In one African myth the word for God is even identical with skill and capacity. The Godhead is defined as that thing which appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-louise-von-franz/in-one-african-myth-the-word-for-god-is-even-identical-with-skill-and/) [Marie-Louise von Franz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-louise-von-franz/) > [“Jesus was not just a man filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or blessed with the presence of God, like the prophets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-norris/jesus-was-not-just-a-man-filled-with-the-baptism-of-the-holy-spirit/) S.G. Norris > [“But godhead gradually slipped away from him, leaving only a sense of election and the power, through his music, to to change landscapes, seasons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-wroe/but-godhead-gradually-slipped-away-from-him-leaving-only-a-sense-of/) [Ann Wroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-wroe/) ## More by William Butler Yeats > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You know what the Englishman's idea of compromise is? He says, Some people say there is a God. 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For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/who-dreamed-that-beauty-passes-like-a-dream-for-these-red-lips-with/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) [Explore all 652 William Butler Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More Beast quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. 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If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-a-beast-of-toil-an-ox-is-fixed-capital-if-he-is-eaten-he-no-longer/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [« He squeezed his hands into fists. I picked up a grapefruit-sized rock and handed it to him. It went flying. Home run, Beast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-squeezed-his-hands-into-fists-i-picked-up-a-grapefruit-sized-rock/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity? Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all? Is the eternal truth man's fighting soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-eberhart/was-man-made-stupid-to-see-his-own-stupidity-is-god-by-definition/) [Richard Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-eberhart/) > [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' 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