We are, in a way, temporary ambulatory repositories for our nucleic acids. This does not deny our humanity; it does not prevent us from pursuing the good, the true and the beautiful. But it would be a great mistake to ignore where we have come from in our attempt to determine where we are going.

Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective (ed. Cambridge University Press, 1973) - ISBN: 9780521783033