There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
We do not quite say that the new is more valuable because it fits in; but its fitting in is a test of its value - a test, it is true, which can only be slowly and cautiously applied, for we are none of us infallible judges of conformity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
New ideas gain value through their acceptance and integration into existing frameworks.
T. S. Eliot suggests that the true worth of new ideas or concepts lies in their ability to fit within established norms and systems. However, determining this value is not straightforward, as it requires careful consideration and an awareness of our own limitations in judging what is conforming or non-conforming.
Themes
ValueNewConformityIdeasJudgment
In practice
Example use cases
Citing this quote in a discussion about innovative practices in business.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes →Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
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I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
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If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
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For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
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In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
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Some find Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran’s poetry preachy and moralizing, but I find it plenty enlightening—it’s hard to object to the melodic, cosmic of mysticism of a line like ‘That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.’
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