Skip to content
quotesby

Nearly anyone in this line of work would take a bullet for the last pregnant dodo. But should we not admire the person who, when faced with an overwhelmingly sad reality beyond and personal blame or control, strives valiantly to rescue whatever can be salvaged, rather than retreating to the nearest corner to weep or assign fault?

Stephen Jay Gould#143

ConservationEffortHopeActionDespairLossResilience

About this quote

What does it mean?
Gould admires those who act to salvage what they can despite overwhelming sadness, rather than retreating in despair or assigning blame. It is better to strive valiantly than to give up.
In plain terms
Admire people who try to save what they can when things are sad, instead of just crying or blaming.
What can you take from it?
Act to preserve what you can rather than resigning to despair when facing overwhelming loss.

Where it applies

  • disaster response
  • environmental activism
  • personal crisis

Putting it to work

  • focus on actionable steps
  • avoid blame games
  • support conservation efforts

Questions to consider

  • When have you acted despite overwhelming odds?
  • What would you try to save if you could?

Another view

Sometimes striving futilely might drain resources better spent elsewhere.

More from Stephen Jay Gould

  1. I went to the movies to see Independence Day, the outer-space summer blockbuster of 1996. (Even the most committed intellectual can't survive on an unalloyed d…

    Permalink to quote #142
  2. A very sincere and serious freshman student came to my office with a question that had clearly been troubling him deeply. He said to me, 'I am a devout Christi…

    Permalink to quote #144
  3. Each and every loss becomes an instance of ultimate tragedy-something that once was, but shall never be known to us. The hump of the giant deer-as a nonfossili…

    Permalink to quote #141

Related quotes

  1. Nada esta perdido si se tiene el valor de proclamar que todo esta perdido y hay que empezar de nuevo.

    Julio CortazarJulio Cortazar quote #2
  2. Mon unique esperance est dans mon desespoir.

    Jean RacineJean Racine quote #4
  3. Friends, the soil is poor, we must sow seeds in plenty for us to garner even modest harvests.

    NovalisNovalis quote #5