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 old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the significance of nature over man-made structures.
This quote by Thomas Carlyle contrasts the grandeur of old cathedrals, which symbolize human achievement and artistry, with the vastness and beauty of the sky represented by the 'great blue dome'. It suggests that while human creations are impressive, the natural world surpasses them in majesty and wonder, encouraging a perspective that values the environment around us.
Themes
NatureCathedralsBeautySkyPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of environmental conservation.
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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.
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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.
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Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not the evil; it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.
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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.
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