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What is grand is necessarily obscure to weak men. That which can be made explicit to the idiot is not worth my care.
William Blake
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Great ideas can be lost on those who lack the understanding to appreciate them.

William Blake suggests that profound and noble concepts are often beyond the comprehension of the less intellectually inclined. He implies that ideas that can be easily understood are trivial and not deserving of serious consideration or concern. This quote reflects the belief that true greatness is often misunderstood or overlooked by those who do not possess the requisite insight or depth of understanding.

Themes

WisdomUnderstandingGreatnessIntellectComplexity

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion about creativity at a conference, one could use this quote to emphasize the depth of artistic expression.

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Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
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O thou who passest through our valleys in Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat That flames from their large nostrils! Thou, O Summer, Oft pitchest here thy golden tent, and oft Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
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Every Night and every Morn Some to Misery are born. Every Morn and every Night Some are born to Sweet Delight, Some are born to Endless Night.
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As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
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He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.
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