The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
Thomas CarlyleRead
He who has no vision of eternity has no hold on time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Without a long-term perspective, we fail to appreciate the value of the present moment.
This quote by Thomas Carlyle emphasizes the importance of having a vision or understanding of eternity to truly grasp the significance of time. It suggests that those who lack a greater purpose or insight into the continuum of existence might find themselves lost in the trivialities of daily life, failing to make meaningful choices that enrich their temporal experience.
Themes
VisionEternityTimePhilosophyMeaning
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational talk about the importance of goals and aspirations.
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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