“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

― Edward Everett Hale

Akin to symbols, quotes often bear the burden of humanity. One reason for which symbols are so overwhelmingly powerful when used well in design and art is because of their bond with human nature.

Some people can remember quotes and some don’t.  I am of the latter. Maybe because of this, I am a huge admirer of the power of a good quote, the distilled thread of articulated meaning that is so thin and short and yet, it punctures with a high pitched sound the heart of many.

Quotes are nothing if they reach nobody. They become something through dissemination and once there, they have an elevated status. They are an epitome of connectedness between people in a way that no other written form is.

Now, the question between the things said and the person that said them is an interesting one. Some quotes are coming to us from the past and they refer to issues out of place today and yet, the quote itself stays relevant. So while credit is given to the author, knowing him and the context is not necessarily important to the quote’s meaning.  If good, quotes are gems of their own.