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.
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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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I have heard of a man lost in the woods and dying of famine and exhaustion at the foot of a tree, whose loneliness was relieved by the grotesque visions with which, owing to bodily weakness, his diseased imagination surrounded him, and which he believed to be real. So also, owing to bodily and mental health and strength, we may be continually cheered by a like but more normal and natural society, and come to know that we are never alone.
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Everyone knows that when you look at a television ad, you do not expect to get information. You expect to see delusion and imagery.
Noam ChomskyRead
We all have the same God, we just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all have different names, but they all contain water. So do religions have different names, and they all contain truth, expressed in different ways forms and times. It doesn't matter whether you're a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew. When you believe in God, you should believe that all people are part of one family. If you love God, you can't love only some of his children.
Muhammad AliRead