--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first cause worked automatically like…" description: "\"The first cause worked automatically like a somnambulist, and not reflectively like a sage.\" — Thomas Hardy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/thomas-hardy-410_causes_the-first-cause-worked-automatically-lik_3233069.jpg" --- # The first cause worked automatically like a somnambulist… ![“The first cause worked automatically like a somnambulist, and not reflectively like a sage.” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/thomas-hardy-410_causes_the-first-cause-worked-automatically-lik_3233069.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/thomas-hardy-410_causes_the-first-cause-worked-automatically-lik_3233069.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/thomas-hardy-410_causes_the-first-cause-worked-automatically-lik_3233069.jpg) > “The first cause worked automatically like a somnambulist, and not reflectively like a sage.” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The initial driver of events operates unconsciously, unlike a wise, thoughtful person who acts with intention. **In simple terms:** First causes act without thought, unlike sages. Key Takeaway Recognize unconscious habits and bring awareness. Themes habit unconscious wisdom intentionality Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - daily routines - decision making - creative work - relationship dynamics Key Concepts psychology philosophy determinism Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn unconscious patterns into deliberate actions? - What habits reveal hidden drivers? A Different Perspective Even with awareness, some forces remain beyond control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Like Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sage-2024364/) [Like Somnambulist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-somnambulist-6123788/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sage/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Somnambulist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somnambulist-174071/) [Somnambulist Reflectively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somnambulist-reflectively-6123789/) [Worked Automatically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worked-automatically-6123790/) ## Related quotes > [Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/cultivate-poverty-like-a-garden-herb-like-sage/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Question like a child, reason like an adult, and write like a sage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/question-like-a-child-reason-like-an-adult-and-write-like-a-sage/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“The awareness that I am not as independent in my dreams as I thought it was possible is phenomenal. 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Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' 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The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [I don't wear rubbers cause you can't catch it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/i-don-t-wear-rubbers-cause-you-can-t-catch-it-twice/) [Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/) [Eloise Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloise-greenfield/) > [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. 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