--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That always amazed him: how centuries of…" description: "\"“That always amazed him: how centuries of bare palms and shuffling feet could wear down solid steel.”\" — Hugh Howey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/hugh-howey-841_centuries_that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of_3192942.png" --- # That always amazed him: how centuries of bare palms and… ![“That always amazed him: how centuries of bare palms and shuffling feet could wear down solid steel.” quote by Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/hugh-howey-841_centuries_that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of_3192942.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/hugh-howey-841_centuries_that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of_3192942.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/hugh-howey-841_centuries_that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of_3192942.png) > ““That always amazed him: how centuries of bare palms and shuffling feet could wear down solid steel.”” [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even the strongest materials can be eroded by persistent, small actions over time. **In simple terms:** Small, repeated actions wear down even steel. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of persistence. Themes perseverance erosion time Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - habit formation - long‑term projects - social change - environmental impact Key Concepts physics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What small actions are you taking daily? - How can you ensure persistence stays positive? A Different Perspective Persistence can become mindless or destructive if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amazed Centuries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazed-centuries-5896267/) [Centuries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centuries/) [Centuries Bare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centuries-bare-5896268/) [Palms Shuffling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palms-shuffling-5896269/) [Solid Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solid-steel-2626472/) ## Related quotes > [“Sienna's voice has been known to cut through solid steel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/sienna-s-voice-has-been-known-to-cut-through-solid-steel/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [People have been marrying and bringing up children for centuries now. 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They're a fairly well-educated population and they have centuries of experience with self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ledeen/iranians-hate-arabs-they-re-a-fairly-well-educated-population-and/) [Michael Ledeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ledeen/) ## More by Hugh Howey > [“the mind-numbing routine. It was the castration of thought,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-mind-numbing-routine-it-was-the-castration-of-thought/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/even-in-the-darkness-his-smile-threw-shadows/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“The Loud came before the quiet. That was a Rule of the World, for the bangs and shouts need somewhere to echo, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/the-loud-came-before-the-quiet-that-was-a-rule-of-the-world-for-the/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“People from IT sent to replace those they’d killed. Juliette’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/people-from-it-sent-to-replace-those-they-d-killed-juliette-s/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“a heap of words designed to hinder communication rather than facilitate it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-heap-of-words-designed-to-hinder-communication-rather-than/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“That leaves Bravo Company, the expendables who know what they’re doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-leaves-bravo-company-the-expendables-who-know-what-they-re-doing/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Sleep was a vehicle for passing the time, for avoiding the present. It was a trolley for the depressed, the impatient, and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/sleep-was-a-vehicle-for-passing-the-time-for-avoiding-the-present-it/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Overhead, tangles of wires knotted together in a grand display of unplanned infrastructure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/overhead-tangles-of-wires-knotted-together-in-a-grand-display-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Montana wants to scream, but the thing she is angry at is in the past. The past can’t hear her. This is the thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/montana-wants-to-scream-but-the-thing-she-is-angry-at-is-in-the-past/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“I guess what I'm sayin' is, if you want to give Jules a job, be very careful.” “Why be careful?” Marnes asked. 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From the moment I woke up, I could feel Monday looming,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-hated-sundays-as-a-kid-from-the-moment-i-woke-up-i-could-feel/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) [Explore all 351 Hugh Howey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## More Centuries quotes > [Iranians hate Arabs. They're a fairly well-educated population and they have centuries of experience with self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ledeen/iranians-hate-arabs-they-re-a-fairly-well-educated-population-and/) [Michael Ledeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ledeen/) > [“Time overlaps itself. 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Bullshit, I said, and accused him of wearing cultural blinders; thirty centuries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/love-was-an-unstable-reaction-with-a-half-life-of-about-eight-months/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [What if miliseconds influence centuries?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cowley/what-if-miliseconds-influence-centuries/) [Robert Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cowley/) > [My only market analysis was to look around and see that, in one way or another, most watches are inspired by watches that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mille/my-only-market-analysis-was-to-look-around-and-see-that-in-one-way-or/) [Richard Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mille/) > [For it is the dawn that has come, as it has come for a thousand centuries, never failing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-paton/for-it-is-the-dawn-that-has-come-as-it-has-come-for-a-thousand/) [Alan Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-paton/) > [If the truth be told, we are a society that is dripping in racism. 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Nothing has ever come of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-green/people-have-been-marrying-and-bringing-up-children-for-centuries-now/) [Celia Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-green/) > [We read that Adam and Methuselah lived so many centuries; at that time, it was the custom to marry in the family - marry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/we-read-that-adam-and-methuselah-lived-so-many-centuries-at-that-time/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) [Browse all 333 Centuries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centuries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That always amazed him: how centuries of bare palms and shuffling feet could wear down solid steel.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hugh Howey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of-bare-palms-and-shuffling-feet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Centuries" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of-bare-palms-and-shuffling-feet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/hugh-howey-841_centuries_that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of_3192942.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/hugh-howey-841_centuries_that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of_3192942.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9f/hugh-howey-841_centuries_that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of_3192942.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That always amazed him: how centuries of bare palms and shuffling feet could wear down solid steel.” — Hugh Howey", "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": "Hugh Howey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That always amazed him: how centuries...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of-bare-palms-and-shuffling-feet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/that-always-amazed-him-how-centuries-of-bare-palms-and-shuffling-feet/#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 } } ] } ```