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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Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups. Everything else is commentary.
Kindness is not an illusion and violence is not a rule. The true resting state of human affairs is not represented by a man hacking his neighbor into pieces with a machete. That is a sick aberration. No, the true state of human affairs is life as it ought to be lived.
The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
Those who play with the devil's toys will be brought by degrees to wield his sword.
Your primary purpose is to be here fully, and to be total in whatever you do so that the preciousness of the present moment does not become reduced to a means to an end. And there you have your life purpose. That's the very foundation of your life.