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Every new opinion, at its starting, is precisely in a minority of one.
Thomas Carlyle
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights how every new idea or opinion begins as an individual thought, often rejected by the majority.

Thomas Carlyle's quote emphasizes the concept that every innovative idea or opinion, when first expressed, is often unique to the individual who conceived it. It reflects the inherent challenge of introducing new thoughts, as they may initially be met with skepticism or resistance from the broader society, illustrating the journey of such opinions from isolation to acceptance as they gain traction over time.

Themes

OpinionMinorityThoughtInnovationIndividuality

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about climate change, one might quote Carlyle to emphasize the need to embrace new ideas.

More from Thomas Carlyle

The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
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Thirty millions, mostly fools.
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There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.
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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.
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Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
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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.
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