--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we’ve taken a step toward…" description: "\"“I think we’ve taken a step toward something truly magnificent. But humankind almost never forgives true greatness.”\" — Orson Scott Card" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/orson-scott-card-134_greatness_i-think-we-ve-taken-a-step-toward-someth_2039448.png" --- # I think we’ve taken a step toward something truly… ![“I think we’ve taken a step toward something truly magnificent. But humankind almost never forgives true greatness.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/orson-scott-card-134_greatness_i-think-we-ve-taken-a-step-toward-someth_2039448.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/orson-scott-card-134_greatness_i-think-we-ve-taken-a-step-toward-someth_2039448.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/705/orson-scott-card-134_greatness_i-think-we-ve-taken-a-step-toward-someth_2039448.png) > ““I think we’ve taken a step toward something truly magnificent. But humankind almost never forgives true greatness.”” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity often struggles to accept greatness, leading to a tendency to reject or punish those who achieve extraordinary feats. **In simple terms:** People rarely forgive true greatness. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility and appreciation for exceptional achievements. Themes human nature greatness forgiveness social dynamics Mood thoughtful concerned Type cultural psychological When to use this quote - leadership development - education - media representation - organizational culture Key Concepts psychology of envy hero worship cultural narratives Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies resist exceptional individuals? - How can we celebrate greatness without inciting backlash? A Different Perspective Greatness can provoke fear and resentment, hindering progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Humankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humankind/) [True greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-greatness/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes you need to step back to truly see the whole picture so you'll know if it is really worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayshawn07/sometimes-you-need-to-step-back-to-truly-see-the-whole-picture-so-you/) Rayshawn07 > [“Do you think we're making a mistake?" snapped the Bishop. "Not at all," said Dom Cristao. 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The man of knowledge learns to realize his own needs. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grenville-kleiser/let-your-desire-for-truth-transcend-all-minor-considerations/) [Grenville Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grenville-kleiser/) > [My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yousuf-karsh/my-personal-interest-in-ordinary-people-is-unlimited-but-i-am/) [Yousuf Karsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yousuf-karsh/) > [True greatness,true leadership,is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/true-greatness-true-leadership-is-found-in-giving-yourself-in-service/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [“It isn’t the world at stake, Ender. Just us. Just humankind. 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We cannot help loving her with all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/i-must-not-hesitate-to-acknowledge-where-europe-is-great-for-great/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [A solemn and religious regard to spiritual and eternal things is an indispensable element of all true greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/a-solemn-and-religious-regard-to-spiritual-and-eternal-things-is-an/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Making others happy through kindness of speech and sincerity of advice is a sign of true greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/making-others-happy-through-kindness-of-speech-and-sincerity-of/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“Those things which we call extraordinary,remarkable, or unusual may make history, but they do not make real life. After all, to do well those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-f-smith-2/those-things-which-we-call-extraordinary-remarkable-or-unusual-may/) Joseph F Smith ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? 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There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. 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Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. 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