--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I regard the people as a great being…" description: "\"I regard the people as a great being, inspired by a single idea. This is my problem. I strove to solve it in this opera.\" — Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky-72_idea_i-regard-the-people-as-a-great-being-ins_559657.png" --- # I regard the people as a great being, inspired by a single… ![“I regard the people as a great being, inspired by a single idea. This is my problem. I strove to solve it in this opera.” quote by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky-72_idea_i-regard-the-people-as-a-great-being-ins_559657.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky-72_idea_i-regard-the-people-as-a-great-being-ins_559657.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky-72_idea_i-regard-the-people-as-a-great-being-ins_559657.png) > “I regard the people as a great being, inspired by a single idea. This is my problem. I strove to solve it in this opera.” Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Views humanity as a collective inspired by a single idea, which he sees as a personal problem he attempts to resolve through his artistic work. **In simple terms:** People united by one idea; the author struggles with it. Key Takeaway Explore how singular ideas shape societies and personal challenges. Themes society art inspiration Mood reflective thoughtful Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - theatre - political movements - personal creative projects Key Concepts collective identity artistic expression ideological influence Questions to Reflect On - What single idea drives your community? - How does art address collective challenges? A Different Perspective Single ideas can be both unifying and burdensome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [You have to be burning with "an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right." If you're not passionate enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-have-to-be-burning-with-an-idea-or-a-problem-or-a-wrong-that-you/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [You never suffer from a money problem, you always suffer from an idea problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/you-never-suffer-from-a-money-problem-you-always-suffer-from-an-idea/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [“Have a creative day as you contemplate today on... "Having an idea is not a problem. Identification with the idea creates the problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-amma-bhagwan/have-a-creative-day-as-you-contemplate-today-on-having-an-idea-is-not/) [Sri Amma Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-amma-bhagwan/) > [“Come up with a terrible idea? No problem—just don’t act on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/come-up-with-a-terrible-idea-no-problem-just-don-t-act-on-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I try to push a single idea to its absolute limit. So for all of those ideas that existed in the story, you attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/i-try-to-push-a-single-idea-to-its-absolute-limit-so-for-all-of-those/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [I wish there were some cure, like the lover's leap, for all heads of which some single idea has obtained an unreasonable and irregular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-wish-there-were-some-cure-like-the-lover-s-leap-for-all-heads-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [One single idea may have greater weight than all the men, animals, and machines for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/one-single-idea-may-have-greater-weight-than-all-the-men-animals-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I have far more respect for the person with a single idea who gets there than for the person with a thousand ideas who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-have-far-more-respect-for-the-person-with-a-single-idea-who-gets/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [I would trade all my experimental works for the single idea of the benzene theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-hofmann/i-would-trade-all-my-experimental-works-for-the-single-idea-of-the/) August Wilhelm von Hofmann > [A single idea - the sudden flash of a thought - may be worth a million dollars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/a-single-idea-the-sudden-flash-of-a-thought-may-be-worth-a-million/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/a-single-idea-from-the-human-mind-can-build-cities-an-idea-can/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I'm not at all sure that the concept of the readymade isn't the most important single idea to come out of my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-m-not-at-all-sure-that-the-concept-of-the-readymade-isn-t-the-most/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [“I have yet to hear a single idea that was worth considering for longer than it took us to listen to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-have-yet-to-hear-a-single-idea-that-was-worth-considering-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [For me, a novel relying too heavily on a single idea might be a dry, deadly thing unless it possesses an animating force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/for-me-a-novel-relying-too-heavily-on-a-single-idea-might-be-a-dry/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [A single idea, if it is right, saves us the labor of an infinity of experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/a-single-idea-if-it-is-right-saves-us-the-labor-of-an-infinity-of/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) ## More by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky > [My music must be an artistic reproduction of human speech in all its finest shades. That is, the sounds of human speech, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/my-music-must-be-an-artistic-reproduction-of-human-speech-in-all-its/) Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky > [In poetry there are two giants, rough Homer and fine Shakespere. In music likewise we have two giants, Beethoven, the thinker, and the superthinker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/in-poetry-there-are-two-giants-rough-homer-and-fine-shakespere-in/) Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky > [And another thing about German symphonic development. I tell you, our cold kvass soup is a horror to the Germans, and yet we eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/and-another-thing-about-german-symphonic-development-i-tell-you-our/) Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky Explore all 4 Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky quotes ## More Idea quotes > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I had an idea for a technologically advanced luxury watch. I got involved in digital art and neon painting and put on shows of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-moroder/i-had-an-idea-for-a-technologically-advanced-luxury-watch-i-got/) [Giorgio Moroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-moroder/) > [Everybody has a good idea, but nothing goes as planned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-winklevoss/everybody-has-a-good-idea-but-nothing-goes-as-planned/) [Tyler Winklevoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-winklevoss/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [The idea with a collection is sort of to begin with a kind of bang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/the-idea-with-a-collection-is-sort-of-to-begin-with-a-kind-of-bang/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [When there's a firestorm going on around you, you have very little idea of what's next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/when-there-s-a-firestorm-going-on-around-you-you-have-very-little/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) Piet Oudolf > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [I'm not an artist, and I want to take risks, and when the possibility of failure occurs, it's because the idea is all exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/i-m-not-an-artist-and-i-want-to-take-risks-and-when-the-possibility/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [If there is an abiding theme in 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' it is the idea that you come into the world already shaped by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-kennedy/if-there-is-an-abiding-theme-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-the/) [Douglas Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-kennedy/) > [My mom had no idea she was having twins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-bella/my-mom-had-no-idea-she-was-having-twins/) [Brie Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-bella/) > [When I was 12 years old, I went to Natchitoches, La.; it was summer vacation with my family. We visited a plantation, Melrose. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/when-i-was-12-years-old-i-went-to-natchitoches-la-it-was-summer/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [I get worked up over an 'idea' or the ethos of an idea. I follow dreams, take notes on travels, and engage in research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-get-worked-up-over-an-idea-or-the-ethos-of-an-idea-i-follow-dreams/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) [Browse all 4,953 Idea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I regard the people as a great being, inspired by a single idea. This is my problem. 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