--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So wary as to disappear for centuries and…" description: "\"So wary as to disappear for centuries and reappear but never caught, the unicorn has been preserved by an unmatched device wrought like the work of exp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marianne-moore-3315_blacksmiths_so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-an_1785137.jpg" --- # So wary as to disappear for centuries and reappear but… ![“So wary as to disappear for centuries and reappear but never caught, the unicorn has been preserved by an unmatched device wrought like the work of expert blacksmiths.” quote by Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marianne-moore-3315_blacksmiths_so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-an_1785137.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marianne-moore-3315_blacksmiths_so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-an_1785137.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marianne-moore-3315_blacksmiths_so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-an_1785137.jpg) > “So wary as to disappear for centuries and reappear but never caught, the unicorn has been preserved by an unmatched device wrought like the work of expert blacksmiths.” [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The unicorn endures through time thanks to a mysterious, expertly crafted device that protects it from being captured. **In simple terms:** A hidden, powerful tool preserves the impossible. Key Takeaway Seek or protect the unseen forces that safeguard what matters. Themes myervation myth craftsmanship time resilience Mood reflective enigmatic Type poetic metaphorical When to use this quote - Historical preservation - artistic creation - protecting legacy - guarding secrets Key Concepts Symbolism mythical creatures protective technology Questions to Reflect On - What unseen forces protect your most valued goals? - How do myths shape our view of resilience? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure practical realities of preservation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blacksmiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacksmiths/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Unicorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unicorn/) ## Related quotes > [“The Nevernever is dying, human. It grows smaller and smaller every decade. Too much progress, too much technology. Mortals are losing their faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/the-nevernever-is-dying-human-it-grows-smaller-and-smaller-every/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“I had this dream about you. We went hunting up in the mountains and I caught a unicorn. You told me now I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-hudson/i-had-this-dream-about-you-we-went-hunting-up-in-the-mountains-and-i/) [Crystal Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-hudson/) > [You gotta call a blacksmith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/you-gotta-call-a-blacksmith/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [“Carpenters don’t make their saws and hammers, tailors don’t make their scissors and needles, and plumbers don’t make their wrenches, but blacksmiths can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/carpenters-don-t-make-their-saws-and-hammers-tailors-don-t-make-their/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > ['English fair play' is a fine expression. It justifies the bashing of the puny draper's assistant by the big hairy blacksmith, and this to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-furphy/english-fair-play-is-a-fine-expression-it-justifies-the-bashing-of/) Joseph Furphy > [One day we will all cherish the memory of having blacksmiths on every corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-singleton/one-day-we-will-all-cherish-the-memory-of-having-blacksmiths-on-every/) [George Singleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-singleton/) > [It's not the fire nor the Blacksmiths hammer nor anvil it's the power of his mind, that forges the steel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/it-s-not-the-fire-nor-the-blacksmiths-hammer-nor-anvil-it-s-the-power/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [It's us fun being a horse when the tractor comes along, or the blacksmith when the car comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/it-s-us-fun-being-a-horse-when-the-tractor-comes-along-or-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I wonder why people so commonly suppose that if two individuals are both writers they must therefore be hugely congenial," said Anne, rather scornfully.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wonder-why-people-so-commonly-suppose-that-if-two-individuals-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ But, did the Divinity \[of Christ\] suffer? \[...\] The holy fathers explained this point through the aforementioned clear example of the red-hot iron, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/but-did-the-divinity-of-christ-suffer-the-holy-fathers-explained-this/) [Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/) > [I was a blacksmith's boy but yesterday; I am - what shall I say I am today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-was-a-blacksmith-s-boy-but-yesterday-i-am-what-shall-i-say-i-am/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I read the best works of some of the best satirists, and indeed best writers from the beginning of the Victorian era to about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-read-the-best-works-of-some-of-the-best-satirists-and-indeed-best/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Many authors write like amateur blacksmiths making their first horseshoe; the clank of the anvil, the stench of the scorched leather apron, the sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/many-authors-write-like-amateur-blacksmiths-making-their-first/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad/a-good-friend-and-a-bad-friend-are-like-a-perfume-seller-and-a/) [Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad/) > [My first job was in a Bohemian polka band, the Rejcek family polka band in Abbott. The old man in the band had another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/my-first-job-was-in-a-bohemian-polka-band-the-rejcek-family-polka/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) ## More by Marianne Moore > [When one is frank, one's very presence is a compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-is-frank-one-s-very-presence-is-a-compliment/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/one-writes-because-one-has-a-burning-desire-to-objectify-what-it-is/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/the-deepest-feeling-always-shows-itself-in-silence-not-in-silence-but/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [“Do the poet and scientist not work analogously? Both are willing to waste effort. To be hard on himself is one ...of the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/do-the-poet-and-scientist-not-work-analogously-both-are-willing-to/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Camels are snobbish and sheep, unintelligent; water buffaloes, neurasthenic-- even murderous. Reindeer seem over-serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/camels-are-snobbish-and-sheep-unintelligent-water-buffaloes/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [When one cannot appraise out of one's own experience, the temptation to blunder is minimized, but even when one can, appraisal seems chiefly useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-cannot-appraise-out-of-one-s-own-experience-the-temptation/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [The hands are the heart's messengers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/the-hands-are-the-heart-s-messengers/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [I believe verbal felicity is the fruit of ardor, of diligence, and of refusing to be false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/i-believe-verbal-felicity-is-the-fruit-of-ardor-of-diligence-and-of/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Conscious writing can be the death of poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/conscious-writing-can-be-the-death-of-poetry/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Only imagination that towers can reproduce evanescence and render rigidity flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/only-imagination-that-towers-can-reproduce-evanescence-and-render/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Revision is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/revision-is-its-own-reward/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [In a poem the excitement has to maintain itself. I am governed by the pull of the sentence as the pull of a fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/in-a-poem-the-excitement-has-to-maintain-itself-i-am-governed-by-the/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [All are / naked, none is safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/all-are-naked-none-is-safe/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [It is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/it-is-human-nature-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-a-thing/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) [Explore all 134 Marianne Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) ## More Blacksmiths quotes > [My first job was in a Bohemian polka band, the Rejcek family polka band in Abbott. The old man in the band had another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/my-first-job-was-in-a-bohemian-polka-band-the-rejcek-family-polka/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad/a-good-friend-and-a-bad-friend-are-like-a-perfume-seller-and-a/) [Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad/) > [Many authors write like amateur blacksmiths making their first horseshoe; the clank of the anvil, the stench of the scorched leather apron, the sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/many-authors-write-like-amateur-blacksmiths-making-their-first/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I read the best works of some of the best satirists, and indeed best writers from the beginning of the Victorian era to about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-read-the-best-works-of-some-of-the-best-satirists-and-indeed-best/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I was a blacksmith's boy but yesterday; I am - what shall I say I am today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-was-a-blacksmith-s-boy-but-yesterday-i-am-what-shall-i-say-i-am/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [ But, did the Divinity \[of Christ\] suffer? \[...\] The holy fathers explained this point through the aforementioned clear example of the red-hot iron, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/but-did-the-divinity-of-christ-suffer-the-holy-fathers-explained-this/) [Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/) > [I wonder why people so commonly suppose that if two individuals are both writers they must therefore be hugely congenial," said Anne, rather scornfully.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wonder-why-people-so-commonly-suppose-that-if-two-individuals-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's us fun being a horse when the tractor comes along, or the blacksmith when the car comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/it-s-us-fun-being-a-horse-when-the-tractor-comes-along-or-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [It's not the fire nor the Blacksmiths hammer nor anvil it's the power of his mind, that forges the steel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/it-s-not-the-fire-nor-the-blacksmiths-hammer-nor-anvil-it-s-the-power/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [One day we will all cherish the memory of having blacksmiths on every corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-singleton/one-day-we-will-all-cherish-the-memory-of-having-blacksmiths-on-every/) [George Singleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-singleton/) > ['English fair play' is a fine expression. It justifies the bashing of the puny draper's assistant by the big hairy blacksmith, and this to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-furphy/english-fair-play-is-a-fine-expression-it-justifies-the-bashing-of/) Joseph Furphy > [“Carpenters don’t make their saws and hammers, tailors don’t make their scissors and needles, and plumbers don’t make their wrenches, but blacksmiths can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/carpenters-don-t-make-their-saws-and-hammers-tailors-don-t-make-their/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [You gotta call a blacksmith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/you-gotta-call-a-blacksmith/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [Give us Direction; the best of goodwill; Put us in touch with fair winds. Sing to us softly, hum the evening's song. Tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jethro-tull/give-us-direction-the-best-of-goodwill-put-us-in-touch-with-fair/) [Jethro Tull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jethro-tull/) > [A few ideas seem to be agreed upon. Help none but those who help themselves. Educate only at schools which provide in some form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/a-few-ideas-seem-to-be-agreed-upon-help-none-but-those-who-help/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) [Browse all 29 Blacksmiths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacksmiths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So wary as to disappear for centuries and reappear but never caught, the unicorn has been preserved by an unmatched device wrought like the work of expert blacksmiths.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marianne Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-and-reappear-but-never-caught/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blacksmiths" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-and-reappear-but-never-caught/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marianne-moore-3315_blacksmiths_so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-an_1785137.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marianne-moore-3315_blacksmiths_so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-an_1785137.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marianne-moore-3315_blacksmiths_so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-an_1785137.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So wary as to disappear for centuries and reappear but never caught, the unicorn has been preserved by an…” — Marianne Moore", "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": "Marianne Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So wary as to disappear for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-and-reappear-but-never-caught/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/so-wary-as-to-disappear-for-centuries-and-reappear-but-never-caught/#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 } } ] } ```