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
The past is the beginning of the beginning and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The past shapes our present and future, serving as a precursor to new beginnings.
This quote by H. G. Wells emphasizes the idea that the events and experiences of the past are crucial foundations for understanding the present and paving the way for the future. It suggests that every moment is a transition, where the end of one phase gives rise to the dawn of another, and encourages us to view the past not just as a series of endings but as integral to the ongoing journey of life.
Themes
PastBeginningFutureDawnTwilight
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech to remind students that their experiences have shaped their journey.
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
H. G. WellsRead
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.
H. G. WellsRead
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.
H. G. WellsRead
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.
H. G. WellsRead
The greatest task of democracy, its ritual and feast - is choice.
H. G. WellsRead
Similar quotes
Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.
ZhuangziRead
The first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.
George Bernard ShawRead
The major religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, they deny somehow that God has a feminine face. However, if you go to the holy texts, you see there is this feminine presence.
Paulo CoelhoRead
The extremists are talking too loudly, and everyone is convinced that only he is on the right side. It’s not just Jews against Arabs. It’s the Orthodox versus those who don’t think they can keep all six hundred and thirteen commandments of the Bible. It’s rich people versus poor people. At some point, something came over Israel so that everyone has his own ideas—and everyone else is an enemy. It’s a dialogue among deaf people and it is getting more and more serious.
Reuven RivlinRead
Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.
John LennonRead
A man may not transgress the bounds of major morals, but may make errors in minor morals.
ConfuciusRead