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 nonfossilizable item of soft anatomy—should have fallen into the maw of erased history. But our ancestors provided a wondrous rescue, and we should rejoice mightily. Every new item can instruct us; every unexpected object possesses beauty for its own sake; every rescue from history's great shredding machine is—and I don't know how else to say this—a holy act of salvation for a bit of totality.


"A Lesson from the Old Masters", p. 195 - Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms (1998)

Stephen Jay Gould Quotes

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...

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...

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...

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...