The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote acknowledges the profound impact of books and their creators on society.
In this quote, Thomas Carlyle expresses gratitude towards the inventor of books, highlighting the essential role that written knowledge plays in the development and enrichment of human culture. By blessing the creator of books, Carlyle emphasizes the transformative power of literature and how it has enabled individuals to share ideas, preserve history, and foster enlightenment across generations.
Themes
BooksKnowledgeEducationCultureLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote would be perfect for a speech at a library opening.
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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Some read to think, these are rare; some to write, these are common; and some read to talk, and these form the great majority.
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When a child makes a mistake or fails to accomplish a certain goal, we must avoid any word or action which indicates that we consider him a failure. 'Too bad that didn't work.' 'I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.' We need to separate the deed from the doer.
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'Good English' is whatever educated people talk; so that what is good in one place or time would not be so in another.
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Sometimes, immersed in his books, there would come to him the awareness of all that he did not know, of all that he had not read; and the serenity for which he labored was shattered as he realized the little time he had in life to read so much, to learn what he had to know.
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For books I want to keep reading, it's definitely the voice. It must be a voice I've never heard before, and it must have its own particular intelligence. By 'voice,' I don't mean vernacular. It has to have its own particular history and world that it inhabits.
Amy TanRead