--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New things are made familiar, and…" description: "\"New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/samuel-johnson-50_familiar_new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familia_2268154.png" --- # New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made… ![“New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/samuel-johnson-50_familiar_new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familia_2268154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/samuel-johnson-50_familiar_new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familia_2268154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/samuel-johnson-50_familiar_new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familia_2268154.png) > “New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Familiarity and novelty are interchangeable; what we know can become fresh, and what is new can become ordinary. **In simple terms:** Familiar things can feel new, and new things can become familiar. Key Takeaway Embrace change and reframe perspectives. Themes perception change creativity Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - marketing - design - personal growth Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can you refresh routine tasks? - What makes novelty feel familiar? A Different Perspective Newness may be superficial without deeper understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Familiar things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar-things/) [New things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-things/) ## Related quotes > [A fine artist is one who makes familiar things new and new things familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-nizer/a-fine-artist-is-one-who-makes-familiar-things-new-and-new-things/) [Louis Nizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-nizer/) > [“The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/the-two-most-engaging-powers-of-an-author-are-to-make-new-things/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [In this work are exhibited, in a very high degree, the two most engaging powers of an author. New things are made familiar, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/in-this-work-are-exhibited-in-a-very-high-degree-the-two-most/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Poetry is when you make new things familiar and familiar things new](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-sutherland/poetry-is-when-you-make-new-things-familiar-and-familiar-things-new/) [Rory Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-sutherland/) > [“The two most engaging powers of a good author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-most-engaging-powers-of-a-good-author-are-to-make-new-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is the first changes among familiar things that make such a mystery of time to the young; afterwards we lose the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/it-is-the-first-changes-among-familiar-things-that-make-such-a-2/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Original minds are not distinguished by being the first to see a new thing, but instead by seeing the old, familiar thing that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/original-minds-are-not-distinguished-by-being-the-first-to-see-a-new/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I continue to be interested in new things that seem old and old things that seem new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaquelin-t-robertson/i-continue-to-be-interested-in-new-things-that-seem-old-and-old/) [Jaquelin T. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaquelin-t-robertson/) > [Somehow credibility comes into play if you do things that are too familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickie-lee-jones/somehow-credibility-comes-into-play-if-you-do-things-that-are-too/) [Rickie Lee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickie-lee-jones/) > [We take a natural interest in novelties, but it is against nature to take an interest in familiar things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-take-a-natural-interest-in-novelties-but-it-is-against-nature-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/all-all-are-gone-the-old-familiar-faces/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Behind us, as we go, all things assume pleasing forms, as clouds do far off. Not only things familiar and stale, but even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/behind-us-as-we-go-all-things-assume-pleasing-forms-as-clouds-do-far/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Running through things because you are familiar with them, breeds routine and this is the seed of boredom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/running-through-things-because-you-are-familiar-with-them-breeds/) [James Galway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galway/) > [We say 'forest' but this word is made of the unknown, the unfamiliar, the unencompassed. The earth. Clods of dirt. Pebbles. On a clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/we-say-forest-but-this-word-is-made-of-the-unknown-the-unfamiliar-the/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [I think we're always intrigued by things we're not familiar with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/navid-negahban/i-think-we-re-always-intrigued-by-things-we-re-not-familiar-with/) [Navid Negahban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/navid-negahban/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Familiar quotes > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Photography's potential as a great image-maker and communicator is really no different from the same potential in the best poetry where familiar, everyday words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-caponigro/photography-s-potential-as-a-great-image-maker-and-communicator-is/) [Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-caponigro/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [This kind of horror has become all too familiar to us. As parents, Cindy and I offer our prayers to the memory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/this-kind-of-horror-has-become-all-too-familiar-to-us-as-parents/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Any creative process is about being in a territory which isn't secure, isn't necessarily familiar, and isn't convenient in any sort of way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/any-creative-process-is-about-being-in-a-territory-which-isn-t-secure/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I don't look to play people that are familiar. I look to play people that are different, challenge, unknown, foreign, and therefore scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/i-don-t-look-to-play-people-that-are-familiar-i-look-to-play-people/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [My pet peeve is hearing a knock on the bathroom door followed by the familiar words, 'What are you doing in there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-scalf-linamen/my-pet-peeve-is-hearing-a-knock-on-the-bathroom-door-followed-by-the/) [Karen Scalf Linamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-scalf-linamen/) > [The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grump-looking old man with a great deal of a long gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-barman-sidled-toward-them-out-of-a-back-room-he-was-a-grump/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Television is a thing that people get very familiar with. They want to hear your voice in their head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-wayans-jr/television-is-a-thing-that-people-get-very-familiar-with-they-want-to/) [Damon Wayans, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-wayans-jr/) > [It's truly gratifying to see my films reach beyond a familiar public, to get a chance to move new audiences. It's nuts. It's extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-audiard/it-s-truly-gratifying-to-see-my-films-reach-beyond-a-familiar-public/) [Jacques Audiard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-audiard/) > [When I was in high school, I was a bad singer. I mean, all my early acting was musical theater, and my first ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-claflin/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-was-a-bad-singer-i-mean-all-my-early/) [Sam Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-claflin/) > [Fella’s a genius. Best ever by a distance in my life time. Never really saw Pele… Souness, Gullit, Venables and now Rooney agree Messi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/fella-s-a-genius-best-ever-by-a-distance-in-my-life-time-never-really/) [Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/) > [Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/sometimes-all-it-takes-is-a-tiny-shift-of-perspective-to-see/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) Browse all 1,916 Familiar quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familiar-things-are-made-new/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Familiar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familiar-things-are-made-new/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/samuel-johnson-50_familiar_new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familia_2268154.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/samuel-johnson-50_familiar_new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familia_2268154.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/samuel-johnson-50_familiar_new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familia_2268154.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "New things are made familiar, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familiar-things-are-made-new/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/new-things-are-made-familiar-and-familiar-things-are-made-new/#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 } } ] } ```