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World Quotes

Quotes on the world and our place in it.

These quotes look at the world from different angles - one traces a common phrase back to ancient religion, another describes feeling atomized after moving to a new city. A few recall novels depicting a world with tighter social fabric, where people actually knew each other. Related reading: Great Quotes.

I had started writing as a poet in a closed, post-Revival, claustrophobic world, where the shadows of the national upheaval and the intense effort - the intense self-conscious effort - to make a literary movement were still evident. Now we...

Quotes by Eavan Boland

After I won the Newbery Medal for 'From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,' children all over the world let me know that they liked books that take them to unusual places where they meet unusual people.

Quotes by E. L. Konigsburg

If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

The essence of humanity's spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another. Is there a way to erase the dilemma, to resolve the contradictions between the transcendentalist and the empiricist world views?

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

America in particular imposes an horrendous burden on the world. We have this wonderful standard of living but it comes at enormous cost.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

Ideas emerge when a part of the real or imagined world is studied for its own sake.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

Science and religion are the two most powerful forces in the world. Having them at odds... is not productive.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the biosphere.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

But once the ants and termites jumped the high barrier that prevents the vast variety of evolving animal groups from becoming fully social, they dominated the world.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

The ant world is a tumult, a noisy world of pheromones being passed back and forth.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

I doubt that most people with short-term thinking love the natural world enough to save it.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

Ants are the dominant insects of the world, and they've had a great impact on habitats almost all over the land surface of the world for more than 50-million years.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

So in my freshman year at the University of Alabama, learning the literature on evolution, what was known about it biologically, just gradually transformed me by taking me out of literalism and increasingly into a more secular, scientific view of...

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

The world depends on fungi, because they are major players in the cycling of materials and energy around the world.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

Well, let me tell you, ants are the dominant insects. They make up as much as a quarter of the biomass of all insects in the world. They are the principal predators. They're the cemetery workers.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

Our brain is mapping the world. Often that map is distorted, but it's a map with constant immediate sensory input.

Quotes by E. O. Wilson

I think you will find scientists that think like you in Germany and Britain, and you will find politicians that think like Weinberger. I think the most bellicose ruling group in the Western world at the moment is the British.

Quotes by E. P. Thompson

I think that the U.S. does have this very much more open attitude, and I admire it very much and I think it's very important to the world. But the information and the discussion sometimes come too late, after the...

Quotes by E. P. Thompson

The worst feeling in the world is the homesickness that comes over a man occasionally when he is at home.

Quotes by E. W. Howe

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of quotes are gathered on the "World" page?
A thoughtful mix — from the surprising origin of the word "Amen" in Western prayer, to feeling that "our world was very atomized" after moving to a new city, to an obsession with novels like 'War and Peace' that portrayed a world with a strong social fabric.
Are these quotes optimistic or critical about the world?
Mostly reflective and a little critical — several point out something missing or changed, like a more connected past captured in old novels versus a more fragmented present. If you want something more upbeat about the world, Good quotes or Great quotes might suit better.
Is there a quote here about sports and the world?
Yes — one touches on being "world champions" in the context of how team-building has changed, showing how "world" can apply to competition and money as much as culture.
What connects these quotes to the idea of Life?
Many of them are really about how life feels within a larger world — connected or isolated, spiritual or fragmented. For a broader take on that same territory, see Life quotes.
What's the best way to use a "World" quote?
They work well when you want to make a bigger point — about connection, change, or how things used to be — rather than a quick personal caption. Pair one with a Best quote if you want to round out the message.

Sports also make an appearance, with a line about how money now decides world championships more than loyalty does. See also Best Quotes and Life Quotes.