Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
H. G. WellsRead
Rest enough for the individual man, too much and too soon, and we call it death. But for man, no rest and no ending. He must go on, conquest beyond conquest. First this little planet and all its winds and ways, and then all the laws of mind and matter that restrain him. Then the planets about him, and, at last, out across immensities to the stars. And when he has conquered all the deep space, and all the mysteries of time, still he will be beginning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of continuous striving and exploration in life, contrasting individual rest with the unending journey of humanity's collective progress.
H.G. Wells' quote suggests that while individual humans need rest, the broader journey of humanity is one of perpetual exploration and growth. It highlights the idea that after overcoming the challenges of our own planet, we should aim to understand and conquer the laws of nature, travel to other planets, and engage with deeper mysteries of existence, illustrating an infinite cycle of discovery and achievement that pushes the boundaries of human potential.
Themes
ExplorationProgressHumanityStrivingJourney
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech to inspire students to continue pushing their boundaries.
More from H. G. Wells
All quotes →He spares no resource in telling of his dead inventions... Bare verbs he rarely tolerates. He splits infinitives and fills them up with adverbial stuffing. He presses the passing colloquialism into his service. His vast paragraphis sweat and struggle; the
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It [a new world order] needs only that the governments of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia should get together in order to set up an effective control of currency, credit, production, and distribution – that is to say, an effective ‘dictatorship of prosperity,’ for the whole world. The other sixty odd States would have to join in or accommodate themselves to the over-ruling decisions of these major Powers.
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Things that would have made fame of a less clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things too easily.
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But I was too restless to watch long; I'm too Occidental for a long vigil. I could work at a problem for years, but to wait inactive for twenty-four hours - that's another matter.
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The greatest task of democracy, its ritual and feast - is choice.
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