--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is valuable is not new, and what is…" description: "\"What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not valuable.\" — Daniel Webster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/daniel-webster-2347_novelty_what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is_984423.jpg" --- # What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not… ![“What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not valuable.” quote by Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/daniel-webster-2347_novelty_what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is_984423.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/daniel-webster-2347_novelty_what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is_984423.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/daniel-webster-2347_novelty_what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is_984423.jpg) > “What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not valuable.” [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) ## 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 suggests that novelty alone does not guarantee worth, and that true value often resides in established ideas. **In simple terms:** New things aren't always valuable; old things can be valuable. Key Takeaway Seek substance over novelty. Themes value novelty tradition assessment Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - business decisions - investment choices - product development - academic research - personal habits Key Concepts cultural value economics philosophy of progress Questions to Reflect On - What criteria determine true value? - How do you balance tradition with innovation? A Different Perspective It may overlook breakthroughs that genuinely improve life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [New Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-valuable-1974064/) [Novelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelty/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable/) [Valuable New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable-new-1974063/) ## Related quotes > [We do not quite say that the new is more valuable because it fits in; but its fitting in is a test of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-do-not-quite-say-that-the-new-is-more-valuable-because-it-fits-in/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The merit of originality is not novelty; it is sincerity. The believing man is the original man; whatsoever he believes, he believes it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-merit-of-originality-is-not-novelty-it-is-sincerity-the-believing-2/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Today's world needs change, alteration, renewal, and corrections of errors. It needs new ideas, new approaches, methods, plans, procedures, and new ways of doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/today-s-world-needs-change-alteration-renewal-and-corrections-of/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [“The only people who really think they have seen something new are those whose experience is limited or whose vision can't penetrate beneath the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/the-only-people-who-really-think-they-have-seen-something-new-are/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) > [What is it we value? Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly...timeliness. I fear you may be too late, my confused, unfortunate, friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/what-is-it-we-value-innovation-originality-novelty-but-most/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Design is not the act of amazing an audience with the novelty of forms or materials; it is the originality that repeatedly extracts astounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenya-hara/design-is-not-the-act-of-amazing-an-audience-with-the-novelty-of/) [Kenya Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenya-hara/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/novelty-has-charms-that-our-minds-can-hardly-withstand/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Monotony and repetition are characteristic of many parts of life, but these do not become sources of conscious discomfort until novelty and entertainment are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-catherine-bateson/monotony-and-repetition-are-characteristic-of-many-parts-of-life-but/) [Mary Catherine Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-catherine-bateson/) > [Survival prospects are poor for an animal that is not suspicious of novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/survival-prospects-are-poor-for-an-animal-that-is-not-suspicious-of/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“In these days of faith-cures, and hypnotism, and telepathy, and subliminalities – why, the simple old world grows very confusing. But rarely, very rarely novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/in-these-days-of-faith-cures-and-hypnotism-and-telepathy-and/) [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More by Daniel Webster > [In the nature of things, those who have no property and see their neighbors possess much more than they think them to need, cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/in-the-nature-of-things-those-who-have-no-property-and-see-their/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [“Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/liberty-and-union-now-and-for-ever-one-and-inseparable/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [If we work on marble it will perish. If we work on brass, time will efface it. If we raise temples, they will crumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/if-we-work-on-marble-it-will-perish-if-we-work-on-brass-time-will/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [This is the Book. I have read the Bible through many times, and now make it a practice to read it through once every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/this-is-the-book-i-have-read-the-bible-through-many-times-and-now/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/men-hang-out-their-signs-indicative-of-their-respective-trades-shoe/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-on-earth-greater-than-arbitrary-or-despotic-power/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Faith puts God between us and our circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/faith-puts-god-between-us-and-our-circumstances/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/failure-is-more-frequently-from-want-of-energy-than-want-of-capital/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [The Bible is a book of faith, and a book of doctrine, and a book of religion, of special revelation from God; but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/the-bible-is-a-book-of-faith-and-a-book-of-doctrine-and-a-book-of/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from...the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/our-destruction-should-it-come-at-all-will-be-from-the-inattention-of/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [When the spotless ermine of the judicial robe fell on John Jay, it touched nothing less spotless than itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/when-the-spotless-ermine-of-the-judicial-robe-fell-on-john-jay-it/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [If the Union was formed by accession of States then the Union may be dissolved by the secession of States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/if-the-union-was-formed-by-accession-of-states-then-the-union-may-be/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [A solemn and religious regard to spiritual and eternal things is an indispensable element of all true greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/a-solemn-and-religious-regard-to-spiritual-and-eternal-things-is-an/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Philosophic argument, especially that drawn from the vastness of the universe, in comparison with the apparent insignificance of this globe, has sometimes shaken my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/philosophic-argument-especially-that-drawn-from-the-vastness-of-the/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [We are all agents of the same supreme power, the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/we-are-all-agents-of-the-same-supreme-power-the-people/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) [Explore all 170 Daniel Webster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) ## More Novelty quotes > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“In these days of faith-cures, and hypnotism, and telepathy, and subliminalities – why, the simple old world grows very confusing. But rarely, very rarely novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/in-these-days-of-faith-cures-and-hypnotism-and-telepathy-and/) [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [Survival prospects are poor for an animal that is not suspicious of novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/survival-prospects-are-poor-for-an-animal-that-is-not-suspicious-of/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Monotony and repetition are characteristic of many parts of life, but these do not become sources of conscious discomfort until novelty and entertainment are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-catherine-bateson/monotony-and-repetition-are-characteristic-of-many-parts-of-life-but/) [Mary Catherine Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-catherine-bateson/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/novelty-has-charms-that-our-minds-can-hardly-withstand/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [There is change by necessity or adaptation, and there is contrived change or novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/there-is-change-by-necessity-or-adaptation-and-there-is-contrived/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The genuinely significant creation, whether an idea, or a work of art, or a scientific discovery, is most likely to be seen at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-genuinely-significant-creation-whether-an-idea-or-a-work-of-art/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [A novelty in Polish filmmaking was that it was possible to find funds for a big production. However, at the same time, the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/a-novelty-in-polish-filmmaking-was-that-it-was-possible-to-find-funds/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [Of all the passions of mankind, the love of novelty most rules the mind. In search of this, from realm to realm we roam.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/of-all-the-passions-of-mankind-the-love-of-novelty-most-rules-the/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [There are three things which the public will always clamour for, sooner or later; namely: novelty, novelty, novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/there-are-three-things-which-the-public-will-always-clamour-for/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [“We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/we-only-know-a-tiny-proportion-about-the-complexity-of-the-natural/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) [Browse all 502 Novelty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not valuable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Webster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is-new-is-not-valuable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Novelty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is-new-is-not-valuable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/daniel-webster-2347_novelty_what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is_984423.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/daniel-webster-2347_novelty_what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is_984423.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32d/daniel-webster-2347_novelty_what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is_984423.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not valuable.” — Daniel Webster", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Daniel Webster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is valuable is not new,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is-new-is-not-valuable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/what-is-valuable-is-not-new-and-what-is-new-is-not-valuable/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```