--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These pieces, he already realised, were…" description: "\"“These pieces, he already realised, were merely stepping stones at the start of a journey towards something - some grand artefact, either musical, or l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/jonathan-coe-10154_stepping-stones_these-pieces-he-already-realised-were-me_1554004.jpg" --- # These pieces, he already realised, were merely stepping… ![“These pieces, he already realised, were merely stepping stones at the start of a journey towards something - some grand artefact, either musical, or literary, or filmic, or perhaps a combination of all three - towards which he knew he was advancing, slowly but with a steady, inexorable tread…” quote by Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/jonathan-coe-10154_stepping-stones_these-pieces-he-already-realised-were-me_1554004.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/jonathan-coe-10154_stepping-stones_these-pieces-he-already-realised-were-me_1554004.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/jonathan-coe-10154_stepping-stones_these-pieces-he-already-realised-were-me_1554004.jpg) > ““These pieces, he already realised, were merely stepping stones at the start of a journey towards something - some grand artefact, either musical, or literary, or filmic, or perhaps a combination of all three - towards which he knew he was advancing, slowly but with a steady, inexorable tread. Something which would enshrine his feelings for Cicely, and which she would perhaps hear, or read, or see in ten or twenty years' time, and suddenly realize, on her pulse, that it was created for her, intended for her, and that of all the boys who had swarmed around her like so many drones at school, Benjamin had been, without her having the wit to notice it, by far the purest in heart, by far the most gifted and giving. On that day the awareness of all she had missed, all she had lost, would finally break upon her in an instant, and she would weep; weep for her foolishness, and of the love that might have been between them. Of course, Benjamin could always just have spoken to her, gone up to her in the bus queue and asked her for a date. But this seemed to him, on the whole, the more satisfactory approach.”” [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A young man creates art over time, hoping his work will later be recognized as a tribute to his beloved, revealing his deep, unspoken love. **In simple terms:** He builds a lasting tribute to his love through creative work. Key Takeaway Create something lasting for those you love. Themes love art unrequited affection patience self‑expression Mood hopeful melancholic reflective Type literary romantic inspirational When to use this quote - writing a novel - composing music - making a film - crafting a personal project - expressing hidden feelings Key Concepts creative process long‑term dedication emotional tribute Questions to Reflect On - What lasting work could you start today for someone you cherish? - How does patience shape creative expression? A Different Perspective The tribute may never be understood or appreciated by the intended person. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benjamin/) [Feelings Cicely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-cicely-5815728/) [Foolishness Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolishness-love-590163/) [Pieces Realised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces-realised-5815727/) [Stepping stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stepping-stones/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Love is just foolishness. Love in first sight is just a myth; you never know how you feel until you actually know them. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-hough/love-is-just-foolishness-love-in-first-sight-is-just-a-myth-you-never/) [Abigail Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-hough/) > [I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-wanted-pure-love-foolishness-to-love-one-another-is-to-hate-a/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [So, having found a lady, could you not have come to her aid, or left her alone? Why drag her into your foolishness?' 'Love,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-having-found-a-lady-could-you-not-have-come-to-her-aid-or-left-her/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“This day of torment, of craziness, of foolishness—only love can make it end in happiness and joy. —W. A. Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/this-day-of-torment-of-craziness-of-foolishness-only-love-can-make-it/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [Benjamin Hardlysee decided to point it out to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gay/benjamin-hardlysee-decided-to-point-it-out-to-me/) [David Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gay/) > [Walter Benjamin has this notion of the angel of history and in a way that's paradoxical itself. We don't have angels in history anymore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stern/walter-benjamin-has-this-notion-of-the-angel-of-history-and-in-a-way/) [Steve Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stern/) > [“The confines of enslavement were producing Black people who were intellectually, psychologically, culturally, and behaviorally different, not inferior. Benjamin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-confines-of-enslavement-were-producing-black-people-who-were/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“They kissed. For hours or seconds. They floated as Benjamin built the pleasure and the sweetness. It became a life raft that they both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-l-white/they-kissed-for-hours-or-seconds-they-floated-as-benjamin-built-the/) [K.L. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-l-white/) > [Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas are always on their 'A-game.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelton-benjamin/shelton-benjamin-and-charlie-haas-are-always-on-their-a-game/) [Shelton Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelton-benjamin/) > [“Benjamin True loved this about humans—how they were generally free to decide to invest themselves in good things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-pelham/benjamin-true-loved-this-about-humans-how-they-were-generally-free-to/) [Jack Pelham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-pelham/) > [ “I agree. To me, it \[galloping on horseback\] is the essence of freedom—the power of the beast beneath you, the wind in your face,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzannah-daniels/i-agree-to-me-it-galloping-on-horseback-is-the-essence-of-freedom-the/) [Suzannah Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzannah-daniels/) > [“You are mine. Mine. I won’t let anyone touch you ever again. No one, you hear me? Not Martin, not any fucking man. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-webb/you-are-mine-mine-i-won-t-let-anyone-touch-you-ever-again-no-one-you/) [T.A. Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-webb/) > [Benjamin, we’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-roth/benjamin-we-re-meant-to-lose-the-people-we-love-how-else-would-we/) [Eric Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-roth/) > [Giorgio Agamben is possibly the most delicate and probing thinker since Walter Benjamin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avital-ronell/giorgio-agamben-is-possibly-the-most-delicate-and-probing-thinker/) [Avital Ronell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avital-ronell/) > [“I willna take ye to anyone. And I care not if ye take my life. Just make it quick, so I might be finished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-brown/i-willna-take-ye-to-anyone-and-i-care-not-if-ye-take-my-life-just/) [E.B. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-brown/) ## More by Jonathan Coe > [I was going to say 'my friend Stuart', but I suppose he's not a friend any more. I seem to have lost a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-was-going-to-say-my-friend-stuart-but-i-suppose-he-s-not-a-friend/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [“The upshot was that she lost her religion - with a vengeance - and walked out on him, taking these three daughters with her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/the-upshot-was-that-she-lost-her-religion-with-a-vengeance-and-walked/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [The plain fact is that she never really liked me, and never wanted me. I had been a mistake; and that, to some extent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/the-plain-fact-is-that-she-never-really-liked-me-and-never-wanted-me/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [“Yes, she would have been partial to men, perhaps she might even have confined herself to one man in particular, if only she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/yes-she-would-have-been-partial-to-men-perhaps-she-might-even-have/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [“You didn't take part, Benjamin?" Gunther asked, as he passed me a plate of cheese and cold meat. "My brother doesn't play games," said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/you-didn-t-take-part-benjamin-gunther-asked-as-he-passed-me-a-plate/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [As soon as you start writing about how human beings interact with each other socially, you're into politics, aren't you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/as-soon-as-you-start-writing-about-how-human-beings-interact-with/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [I like the idea of a big caesura between the narratives, a space which readers can fill in with their own speculative history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-like-the-idea-of-a-big-caesura-between-the-narratives-a-space-which/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [They were written in the early '90s when I was strapped for cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/they-were-written-in-the-early-90s-when-i-was-strapped-for-cash/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [The more melancholy side of my literary personality is much in tune with BS Johnson's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/the-more-melancholy-side-of-my-literary-personality-is-much-in-tune/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [I had no sense of any reputation that What a Carve Up! might acquire - at the time I didnt even have a publisher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-had-no-sense-of-any-reputation-that-what-a-carve-up-might-acquire/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [Ah, well, I have no talent for nonfiction, that's my problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/ah-well-i-have-no-talent-for-nonfiction-that-s-my-problem/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [But at the same time, I have trouble keeping things out of books, which is why I don't write short stories because they turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/but-at-the-same-time-i-have-trouble-keeping-things-out-of-books-which/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [“Save some pity for the Misfit, fighting on with bursting heart; Not a trace of common sense, his is no common flight. Save, save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/save-some-pity-for-the-misfit-fighting-on-with-bursting-heart-not-a/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [“Well, there'll be an outcry, of course, but then it'll die down and something else will come along for people to get annoyed about.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/well-there-ll-be-an-outcry-of-course-but-then-it-ll-die-down-and/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [“Le auto sono come le persone. Ogni giorno andiamo in giro in mezzo alla ressa, corriamo di qua e di là, arrivando quasi a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/le-auto-sono-come-le-persone-ogni-giorno-andiamo-in-giro-in-mezzo/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) [Explore all 60 Jonathan Coe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) ## More Benjamin quotes > [“I willna take ye to anyone. And I care not if ye take my life. Just make it quick, so I might be finished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-brown/i-willna-take-ye-to-anyone-and-i-care-not-if-ye-take-my-life-just/) [E.B. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-brown/) > [Giorgio Agamben is possibly the most delicate and probing thinker since Walter Benjamin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avital-ronell/giorgio-agamben-is-possibly-the-most-delicate-and-probing-thinker/) [Avital Ronell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avital-ronell/) > [Benjamin, we’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-roth/benjamin-we-re-meant-to-lose-the-people-we-love-how-else-would-we/) [Eric Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-roth/) > [“You are mine. Mine. I won’t let anyone touch you ever again. No one, you hear me? Not Martin, not any fucking man. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-webb/you-are-mine-mine-i-won-t-let-anyone-touch-you-ever-again-no-one-you/) [T.A. Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-webb/) > [ “I agree. To me, it \[galloping on horseback\] is the essence of freedom—the power of the beast beneath you, the wind in your face,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzannah-daniels/i-agree-to-me-it-galloping-on-horseback-is-the-essence-of-freedom-the/) [Suzannah Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzannah-daniels/) > [“Benjamin True loved this about humans—how they were generally free to decide to invest themselves in good things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-pelham/benjamin-true-loved-this-about-humans-how-they-were-generally-free-to/) [Jack Pelham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-pelham/) > [Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas are always on their 'A-game.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelton-benjamin/shelton-benjamin-and-charlie-haas-are-always-on-their-a-game/) [Shelton Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelton-benjamin/) > [“They kissed. For hours or seconds. They floated as Benjamin built the pleasure and the sweetness. It became a life raft that they both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-l-white/they-kissed-for-hours-or-seconds-they-floated-as-benjamin-built-the/) [K.L. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-l-white/) > [“The confines of enslavement were producing Black people who were intellectually, psychologically, culturally, and behaviorally different, not inferior. Benjamin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-confines-of-enslavement-were-producing-black-people-who-were/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [Walter Benjamin has this notion of the angel of history and in a way that's paradoxical itself. We don't have angels in history anymore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stern/walter-benjamin-has-this-notion-of-the-angel-of-history-and-in-a-way/) [Steve Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stern/) > [Benjamin Hardlysee decided to point it out to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gay/benjamin-hardlysee-decided-to-point-it-out-to-me/) [David Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gay/) > [Benjamin Franklin didnt win 21 Grammys right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/benjamin-franklin-didnt-win-21-grammys-right/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [“Whoever said love was blind, was right, Benjamin decided sometime later as he listened to the even rise and fall of Tzadkiel’s breaths. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tibby-armstrong/whoever-said-love-was-blind-was-right-benjamin-decided-sometime-later/) [Tibby Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tibby-armstrong/) > [My first name, Benjamin, dates back a thousand years earlier to Benjamin - Binyamin - the son of Jacob, who was also known as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/my-first-name-benjamin-dates-back-a-thousand-years-earlier-to/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [“Perhaps in his loneliness he had acquired the silent conviction that he was 'the last', the one, the only. And, being the last, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr/perhaps-in-his-loneliness-he-had-acquired-the-silent-conviction-that/) [Walter M. Miller Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr/) [Browse all 47 Benjamin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benjamin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“These pieces, he already realised, were merely stepping stones at the start of a journey towards something - some grand artefact, either musical, or literary, or filmic, or perhaps a combination of all three - towards which he knew he was advancing, slowly but with a steady, inexorable tread. Something which would enshrine his feelings for Cicely, and which she would perhaps hear, or read, or see in ten or twenty years' time, and suddenly realize, on her pulse, that it was created for her, intended for her, and that of all the boys who had swarmed around her like so many drones at school, Benjamin had been, without her having the wit to notice it, by far the purest in heart, by far the most gifted and giving. On that day the awareness of all she had missed, all she had lost, would finally break upon her in an instant, and she would weep; weep for her foolishness, and of the love that might have been between them. Of course, Benjamin could always just have spoken to her, gone up to her in the bus queue and asked her for a date. 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