The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
The mystery of a person, indeed, is ever divine to him that has a sense for the godlike.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The complexity of a person is sacred and profound for those who appreciate the divine aspects of humanity.
This quote by Thomas Carlyle suggests that understanding a person's true essence or mystery is a divine experience, accessible only to those who possess a deeper sensitivity to the qualities that elevate humanity. It emphasizes the idea that the more profound a person is, the more they can inspire awe and reverence in others who appreciate the complexities of existence and the godlike nature within us all.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a personal development seminar, a speaker might use this quote to illustrate the importance of understanding the deeper aspects of oneself and others.
More from Thomas Carlyle
All quotes βThirty millions, mostly fools.
There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.
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.
Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
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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Each one of us is a custodian of India's well-being and of the legacy that we will pass on to coming generations.
For years I wondered why dreams are so often dull when related, and this morning I find the answer, which is very simple - like most answers, you have always known it: No context ... like a stuffed animal set on the floor of a bank.
Let us admit, without bitterness, that the individual has his distinct interests and can, without felony, stipulate for those interests and defend them. The present has its pardonable amount of egotism; momentary life has its claims, and cannot be expected to sacrifice itself incessantly to the future. The generation which is in its turn passing over the earth is not forced to abridge its life for the sake of the generations, its equals after all, whose turn shall come later on.
Judicial execution can never cancel or remove the atrocity it seeks to punish; it can only add a second atrocity to the original one ... So long as one sees killing as wrong there is no need to waste time with the deterrent argument, since it would be nonsense to try to prevent a theoretical evil in the future by perpetrating an actual one in the present.
Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul, which sometimes helps me and sometimes opposes me.
we must not blame our poor symbols if they take forms that seem trivial to us, or absurd, ... however paltry they may be; the nature of our life alone has determined their forms.