Sweet is the voice of a sister in the season of sorrow.
It is remarkable that when great discoveries are effected, their simplicity always seems to detract from their originality: on these occasions we are reminded of the egg of Columbus!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Great discoveries often appear simple in retrospect, which can make their originality seem less significant.
The quote reflects on the nature of great discoveries and insights, suggesting that once a breakthrough is achieved, it may seem straightforward and uncomplicated. This apparent simplicity can lead people to underestimate the creativity and innovation that led to such advancements, drawing a parallel to the story of Christopher Columbus, who famously made the egg stand upright, highlighting how simple solutions can often disguise their ingenious origins.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about groundbreaking inventions, one might use this quote to emphasize how innovation can often appear simple in hindsight.
More from Benjamin Disraeli
All quotes βBut what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.
Grief is the agony of an instant. The indulgence of grief the blunder of a life.
Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.
Yes, I am a Jew and when the ancestors of the right honorable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the temple of Solomon.
The practice of politics in the East may be defined by one word: dissimulation.
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Oh, how I like those little mortifications that are seen by nobody, such as rising a quarter of an hour sooner, rising for a little while in the night to pray!
Unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain types of job advertisements and as a result miss other types of jobs. Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for.
I often think I can see it in myself and in other young writers, this desperate desire to please coupled with a kind of hostility to the reader.