--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Diamonds were nothing more than carbon…" description: "\"“Diamonds were nothing more than carbon, but carbon in a crystal lattice that made it the hardest known mineral in nature. That was the way we all were..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/alan-bradley-1571_diamond_diamonds-were-nothing-more-than-carbon-b_2003252.jpg" --- # Diamonds were nothing more than carbon, but carbon in a… ![“Diamonds were nothing more than carbon, but carbon in a crystal lattice that made it the hardest known mineral in nature. That was the way we all were headed. I was sure of it. We were destined to be diamonds! How exciting it was to think that, long after the world had ended, whatever was left of…” quote by Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/alan-bradley-1571_diamond_diamonds-were-nothing-more-than-carbon-b_2003252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/alan-bradley-1571_diamond_diamonds-were-nothing-more-than-carbon-b_2003252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/alan-bradley-1571_diamond_diamonds-were-nothing-more-than-carbon-b_2003252.jpg) > ““Diamonds were nothing more than carbon, but carbon in a crystal lattice that made it the hardest known mineral in nature. That was the way we all were headed. I was sure of it. We were destined to be diamonds! How exciting it was to think that, long after the world had ended, whatever was left of our bodies would be transformed into a dazzling blizzard of diamond dust, blowing out towards eternity in the red glow of a dying sun.”” [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote uses the metaphor of carbon becoming diamond to illustrate humanity's potential to transform under extreme conditions, suggesting a transcendent destiny beyond mortality. **In simple terms:** Humanity can become something precious after hardship. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges as opportunities for transformation. Themes transformation destiny mortality hope science Mood awe inspirational reflective Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - space exploration - personal crisis - environmental collapse - technological advancement Key Concepts metaphor existentialism cosmic perspective Questions to Reflect On - What personal hardships could become your 'diamond'? - How does this view affect your sense of legacy? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex scientific and philosophical issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-crystal-3536968/) [Destined Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destined-diamonds-3536967/) [Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamond/) [Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamonds/) [Diamonds Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamonds-carbon-3536966/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [“Vaporized by the sun! Wasn't that what the universe had in store for all of us? There would come a day when the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/vaporized-by-the-sun-wasn-t-that-what-the-universe-had-in-store-for/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Your body is made of the same elements that lionesses are built from. Three quarters of you is the same kind of water that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-ballard/your-body-is-made-of-the-same-elements-that-lionesses-are-built-from/) [Curtis Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-ballard/) > [“We all come into the world rocks, but the enlightened leave it diamonds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/we-all-come-into-the-world-rocks-but-the-enlightened-leave-it-diamonds/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [How about "diamonds are a girl's best friends"? Nope. It should be switched around and pointed out, instead, that your best friends are diamonds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-barreca/how-about-diamonds-are-a-girl-s-best-friends-nope-it-should-be/) [Gina Barreca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-barreca/) > [Guard your own spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/guard-your-own-spare-moments-they-are-like-uncut-diamonds/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Lots of women are gifting themselves with diamonds for their right hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/lots-of-women-are-gifting-themselves-with-diamonds-for-their-right/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“Pressure does two things – bursts pipes and creates diamonds. Which one are you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cook/pressure-does-two-things-bursts-pipes-and-creates-diamonds-which-one/) [Brian Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cook/) > [People always ask me if I believe diamonds are a girl's best friend. Frankly, I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/people-always-ask-me-if-i-believe-diamonds-are-a-girl-s-best-friend/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [I wear black diamonds instead of regular ones because I’m not flashy, just flossssy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bieber/i-wear-black-diamonds-instead-of-regular-ones-because-i-m-not-flashy/) [Justin Bieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bieber/) > [“Shattered edges of the diamonds rough sets to cut the unsuspecting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/shattered-edges-of-the-diamonds-rough-sets-to-cut-the-unsuspecting/) [Truth Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-devour/) > [If I collected all the diamonds in the world, I'd have no 'income' but I'd have a lot of 'assets'. Would my company be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/if-i-collected-all-the-diamonds-in-the-world-i-d-have-no-income-but-i/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rough-diamonds-may-sometimes-be-mistaken-for-worthless-pebbles/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am a black diamond, unfaceted. Black diamonds are rare, hard to cut, and therefore uncommercial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-am-a-black-diamond-unfaceted-black-diamonds-are-rare-hard-to-cut/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [What do nations care about the cost of war, if by spending a few hundred millions in steel and gunpowder they can gain a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-do-nations-care-about-the-cost-of-war-if-by-spending-a-few/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More by Alan Bradley > [“…it is a well-known fact that more than two men shut up together in an enclosed space for more than an hour constitute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-more-than-two-men-shut-up-together-in-an/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“You see, Flavia, silence is sometimes the most costly of commodities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/you-see-flavia-silence-is-sometimes-the-most-costly-of-commodities/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“If there is a thing I truly despise, it is being addressed as "dearie." When I write my magnum opus, A Treatise Upon All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/if-there-is-a-thing-i-truly-despise-it-is-being-addressed-as-dearie/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“The sweater didn't fit me, of course. Even with the sleeves rolled up I looked like a baggy monkey picking bananas. But to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/the-sweater-didn-t-fit-me-of-course-even-with-the-sleeves-rolled-up-i/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“If there is anything more delicious than a sausage roasted over an open Bunsen burner, I can't image what it might be--Porcelain and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/if-there-is-anything-more-delicious-than-a-sausage-roasted-over-an/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“No point in wasting time with false vanity when you possess the real thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/no-point-in-wasting-time-with-false-vanity-when-you-possess-the-real/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Die, witch," I managed, making a cross of my forefingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/die-witch-i-managed-making-a-cross-of-my-forefingers/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“There was no way out; not, at least, in this direction. I was like a hamster that had climbed to the top of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/there-was-no-way-out-not-at-least-in-this-direction-i-was-like-a/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [I am often thought of as being remarkably bright, and yet my brains, more often than not, are busily devising new and interesting ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-am-often-thought-of-as-being-remarkably-bright-and-yet-my-brains/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“To my mind, if Nature had wanted us to have bright red fingertips, She would have caused us to be born with our blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/to-my-mind-if-nature-had-wanted-us-to-have-bright-red-fingertips-she/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Had I been too cruel to that horror, Miss Mountjoy? Too vindictive? Wasn't she, after all, just a harmless and lonely old spinster? Would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/had-i-been-too-cruel-to-that-horror-miss-mountjoy-too-vindictive-wasn/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“This was an interesting thought; it had never occurred to me that one's name could be a compass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/this-was-an-interesting-thought-it-had-never-occurred-to-me-that-one/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“While you've been gadding about the countryside, we've held a meeting, and we've all of us decided that you must go.' In short, we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/while-you-ve-been-gadding-about-the-countryside-we-ve-held-a-meeting/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“For all practical purposes, Feely's enthusiasms stopped where her skin ended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/for-all-practical-purposes-feely-s-enthusiasms-stopped-where-her-skin/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Then I remembered that silence can sometimes do more damage than words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/then-i-remembered-that-silence-can-sometimes-do-more-damage-than-words/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) [Explore all 226 Alan Bradley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) ## More Diamond quotes > [People from all walks of life that you might find as a King Diamond fan - you don't look a certain way; you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-diamond/people-from-all-walks-of-life-that-you-might-find-as-a-king-diamond/) [King Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-diamond/) > [Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form, grace, strength, compactness, and the hardness and brilliance of a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/asanas-bring-perfection-in-body-beauty-in-form-grace-strength/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) [Peter Dilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dilger/) > [It was an incredible experience performing for the members and attendees at the Diamond Resorts Invitational; it was such an impressive event, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-swindell/it-was-an-incredible-experience-performing-for-the-members-and/) [Cole Swindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-swindell/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The only difference between black coal and a precious diamond is the amount of pressure it endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/the-only-difference-between-black-coal-and-a-precious-diamond-is-the/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I like everything with a heaping dose of feminitity, including my cell phone. I created this phone for the classic woman, who like me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/i-like-everything-with-a-heaping-dose-of-feminitity-including-my-cell/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“You're the proverbial diamond in the rough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/you-re-the-proverbial-diamond-in-the-rough/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Instead of the 1997 film directed, written, by James Cameron with Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane creating a love story and a large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-baker/instead-of-the-1997-film-directed-written-by-james-cameron-with/) [Tom Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-baker/) > [“I had a dream that my boyfriend went back to his ex…I woke up and giggled because you don’t pick up a rock after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/starley-ard/i-had-a-dream-that-my-boyfriend-went-back-to-his-ex-i-woke-up-and/) [Starley Ard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/starley-ard/) > [I'll just do a round around of the house and make sure the rest of the family are fast asleep. We don't want that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/i-ll-just-do-a-round-around-of-the-house-and-make-sure-the-rest-of/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [“A diamond's happy ending is on a crown, but its beauty was formed in dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-diamond-s-happy-ending-is-on-a-crown-but-its-beauty-was-formed-in/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [What do nations care about the cost of war, if by spending a few hundred millions in steel and gunpowder they can gain a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-do-nations-care-about-the-cost-of-war-if-by-spending-a-few/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,004 Diamond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamond/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Diamonds were nothing more than carbon, but carbon in a crystal lattice that made it the hardest known mineral in nature. 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