--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Invention, strictly speaking, is little…" description: "\"Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/joshua-reynolds-8159_combination_invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-mo_1271036.jpg" --- # Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new… ![“Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; nothing can come of nothing.” quote by Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/joshua-reynolds-8159_combination_invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-mo_1271036.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/joshua-reynolds-8159_combination_invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-mo_1271036.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/joshua-reynolds-8159_combination_invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-mo_1271036.jpg) > “Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; nothing can come of nothing.” [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovation is recombining existing ideas stored in memory; nothing emerges from a void. **In simple terms:** New ideas are old ideas mixed. Key Takeaway Combine existing concepts creatively. Themes creativity innovation memory Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - product design - research - teaching - problem solving Key Concepts cognitive synthesis idea recombination Questions to Reflect On - What existing ideas can you merge? - How does memory shape invention? A Different Perspective Without a base of knowledge, recombination is impossible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) ## Related quotes > [An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-nor-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [Each new machine or technique, in a sense, changes all existing machines and techniques, by permitting us to put them together into new combinations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/each-new-machine-or-technique-in-a-sense-changes-all-existing/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [“An idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements (Quoted from Vilfredo Pareto)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-webb-young/an-idea-is-nothing-more-or-less-than-a-new-combination-of-old/) [James Webb Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-webb-young/) > [it it strange, suddenly having a memory come back out of nowhere. you think you're going crazy; you wonder where this recollection has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-it-strange-suddenly-having-a-memory-come-back-out-of-nowhere-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I would love to have a photographic memory. It would come in handy with the rants I'm given on Scrubs... often on short notice!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-mcginley/i-would-love-to-have-a-photographic-memory-it-would-come-in-handy/) [John C. McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-mcginley/) > [“Once you meet someone, you never really forget them. It just takes a while for your memory to come back to you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeniba-spirited-away/once-you-meet-someone-you-never-really-forget-them-it-just-takes-a/) Zeniba Spirited Away > [I have this horrific thing where I'm really bad with names and faces. I have an appalling memory. Someone will come up to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/i-have-this-horrific-thing-where-i-m-really-bad-with-names-and-faces/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [An invention or new combination can be successful only if all if the elements necessary for the recombination are present in the culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-farb/an-invention-or-new-combination-can-be-successful-only-if-all-if-the/) [Peter Farb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-farb/) > [Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-presented-him-as-a-combination/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. 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Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [Anytime there is any lyrical meaning or combination in my mixes, it's very blatant. I'm not trying to make any statement or anything like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/anytime-there-is-any-lyrical-meaning-or-combination-in-my-mixes-it-s/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) ## More by Joshua Reynolds > [Words should be employed as the means, not the end; language is the instrument, conviction is the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/words-should-be-employed-as-the-means-not-the-end-language-is-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways which seem entirely opposed to each other. One is by reducing the colors to little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/grandeur-of-effect-is-produced-by-two-different-ways-which-seem/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [And he who does not know himself does not know others, so it may be said with equal truth, that he who does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/and-he-who-does-not-know-himself-does-not-know-others-so-it-may-be/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [If you have great talents, industry will improve them: if you have but moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/if-you-have-great-talents-industry-will-improve-them-if-you-have-but/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Certainly, nothing can be more simple than monotony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/certainly-nothing-can-be-more-simple-than-monotony/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The real character of a man is found out by his amusements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-real-character-of-a-man-is-found-out-by-his-amusements/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/a-mere-copier-of-nature-can-never-produce-anything-great/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The general ideas which are expressed in sketches, correspond very well to the art often used in poetry... every reader making out the detail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-general-ideas-which-are-expressed-in-sketches-correspond-very/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [All the gestures of children are graceful; the reign of distortion and unnatural attitudes commences with the introduction of the dancing master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/all-the-gestures-of-children-are-graceful-the-reign-of-distortion-and/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Our studies will be forever, in a very great degree, under the direction of chance; like travelers, we must take what we can get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/our-studies-will-be-forever-in-a-very-great-degree-under-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Style in painting is the same as in writing; a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/style-in-painting-is-the-same-as-in-writing-a-power-over-materials/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [The distinct blue, red, and yellow colors... though they have not the kind of harmony which is produced by a variety of broken and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/the-distinct-blue-red-and-yellow-colors-though-they-have-not-the-kind/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [I do not see in what manner practice alone can be sufficient for the production of correct, excellent, and finished pictures. Works deserving this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/i-do-not-see-in-what-manner-practice-alone-can-be-sufficient-for-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [There can be no doubt but that he who has the most materials has the greatest means of invention...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/there-can-be-no-doubt-but-that-he-who-has-the-most-materials-has-the/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) > [Excellence is never granted to man, but as the reward of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/excellence-is-never-granted-to-man-but-as-the-reward-of-labour/) [Joshua Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) [Explore all 83 Joshua Reynolds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/) ## More Combination quotes > [Anytime there is any lyrical meaning or combination in my mixes, it's very blatant. 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We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [A successful director is someone who has the combination of skills that you can learn, but there's also an intuitive sensibility that they bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-heinrichs/a-successful-director-is-someone-who-has-the-combination-of-skills/) [Rick Heinrichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-heinrichs/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-presented-him-as-a-combination/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [A combination of the qualities of the scholar, the master cook, the painter, the gastronomer, the sportsman and the pantologist, assisted by the skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellwanger/a-combination-of-the-qualities-of-the-scholar-the-master-cook-the/) [George Ellwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellwanger/) > [I did play a lot of fingerstyle when I first started playing. I could never really find the right combination of flatpick or fingerpick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-did-play-a-lot-of-fingerstyle-when-i-first-started-playing-i-could/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [A thorough understanding of the typical mating continuations makes the most complicated sacrificial combinations leading up to them not only not difficult, but almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegbert-tarrasch/a-thorough-understanding-of-the-typical-mating-continuations-makes/) [Siegbert Tarrasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegbert-tarrasch/) > [I am a combination of my entire family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dionne-warwick/i-am-a-combination-of-my-entire-family/) [Dionne Warwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dionne-warwick/) > [As I work day after day, inspirations from different places go into the work. It's combination, but it's also comparative. I'll be reading two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-banisadr/as-i-work-day-after-day-inspirations-from-different-places-go-into/) [Ali Banisadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-banisadr/) > [Emile Zola was a poor student at his school at Aix. We are all so different largely because we all have different combinations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/emile-zola-was-a-poor-student-at-his-school-at-aix-we-are-all-so/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [“the previous weeks – a combination of being”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-previous-weeks-a-combination-of-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 1,578 Combination quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; nothing can come of nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joshua Reynolds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-more-than-a-new-combination-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Combination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-more-than-a-new-combination-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/joshua-reynolds-8159_combination_invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-mo_1271036.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/joshua-reynolds-8159_combination_invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-mo_1271036.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/joshua-reynolds-8159_combination_invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-mo_1271036.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been…” — Joshua Reynolds", "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": "Joshua Reynolds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-reynolds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Invention, strictly speaking, is little more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-more-than-a-new-combination-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-reynolds/invention-strictly-speaking-is-little-more-than-a-new-combination-of/#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 } } ] } ```