The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Challenges can either hinder or empower us, depending on our strength and perspective.
This quote by Thomas Carlyle illustrates the idea that obstacles in life can serve different purposes depending on an individual's character and determination. For the weak, these challenges are barriers that stop progress, while for the strong, they provide opportunities for growth and advancement. The ability to view challenges as stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks is essential for success.
Themes
ObstaclesStrengthGrowthChallengesPerseverance
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used as a motivational message in a leadership seminar.
More from Thomas Carlyle
All quotes βThirty millions, mostly fools.
Thomas CarlyleRead
There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.
Thomas CarlyleRead
For the superior morality, of which we hear so much, we too would desire to be thankful: at the same time, it were but blindness to deny that this superior morality is properly rather an inferior criminality, produced not by greater love of Virtue, but by greater perfection of Police; and of that far subtler and stronger Police, called Public Opinion.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Clean undeniable right, clear undeniable might: either of these once ascertained puts an end to battle. All battle is a confused experiment to ascertain one and both of these.
Thomas CarlyleRead
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