The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
The steam-engine I call fire-demon and great; but it is nothing to the invention of fire.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The steam engine is impressive, but it pales in comparison to the original invention of fire, which is fundamental to human progress.
In this quote, Thomas Carlyle highlights the significance of the invention of fire as a groundbreaking achievement in human history. While the steam engine is a remarkable technological advancement, it is ultimately built upon the foundational discovery of fire, which enabled humanity to develop and thrive. This statement serves as a reminder of how fundamental inventions can set the stage for future innovations.
Themes
Steam EngineInventionFireTechnologyProgress
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about technological advancements, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of foundational inventions.
More from Thomas Carlyle
All quotes βThirty millions, mostly fools.
Thomas CarlyleRead
There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write.
Thomas CarlyleRead
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.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
Thomas CarlyleRead
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.
Thomas CarlyleRead
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