--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Original thoughts can be understood only…" description: "\"Original thoughts can be understood only in virtue of the unoriginal elements which they contain.\" — Vittorio Alfieri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/vittorio-alfieri-21989_elements_original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only_2107032.jpg" --- # Original thoughts can be understood only in virtue of the… ![“Original thoughts can be understood only in virtue of the unoriginal elements which they contain.” quote by Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/vittorio-alfieri-21989_elements_original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only_2107032.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/vittorio-alfieri-21989_elements_original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only_2107032.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/vittorio-alfieri-21989_elements_original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only_2107032.jpg) > “Original thoughts can be understood only in virtue of the unoriginal elements which they contain.” [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Original ideas rely on prior, non‑original components for meaning. **In simple terms:** Ideas need earlier influences. Key Takeaway Recognize influences in your work. Themes creativity originality influence Mood reflective intellectual Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - writing - artistic creation - academic research Key Concepts intertextuality cultural inheritance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance originality with tradition? - What prior ideas shape your current work? A Different Perspective Originality can be constrained by existing frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original/) [Original thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-thought/) [Original Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-thoughts-417582/) [Originals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originals/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Unoriginal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unoriginal/) [Unoriginal Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unoriginal-elements-4237024/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Unoriginal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-unoriginal-4237025/) ## Related quotes > [To put away one's own original thoughts in order to take up a book is a sin against the Holy Ghost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-put-away-one-s-own-original-thoughts-in-order-to-take-up-a-book-is/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Hardly any original thoughts on mental or social subjects ever make their way among mankind or assume their proper importance in the minds even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/hardly-any-original-thoughts-on-mental-or-social-subjects-ever-make/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“Truth is unoriginal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/truth-is-unoriginal/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If there's an original thought out there, I could use one right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-there-s-an-original-thought-out-there-i-could-use-one-right-now/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I've never had an original thought in my lifeand there's tons of people on the internet happy to tell me just that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shepard-fairey/i-ve-never-had-an-original-thought-in-my-lifeand-there-s-tons-of/) [Shepard Fairey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shepard-fairey/) > [People make sequels a lot in Hollywood, and sometimes it feels like there's never an original thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-bisset/people-make-sequels-a-lot-in-hollywood-and-sometimes-it-feels-like/) [Jacqueline Bisset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-bisset/) > [I love hanging out with my friends and family. I really, really, really love articulating original thought. That's probably my core, my biggest buzz.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/i-love-hanging-out-with-my-friends-and-family-i-really-really-really/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Our society, where we are right now, our minds are junkyards. We watch TV and sit on the computer all day and barely have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-etheridge/our-society-where-we-are-right-now-our-minds-are-junkyards-we-watch/) [Melissa Etheridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-etheridge/) > [“The only original thoughts are the intelligent ones nobody understands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yecenia-nevarez-aragon/the-only-original-thoughts-are-the-intelligent-ones-nobody-understands/) [Yecenia Nevarez-Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yecenia-nevarez-aragon/) > [“We each have old stories we make new again, the things we tell and twine from time to time. Everything we constantly connect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-irby/we-each-have-old-stories-we-make-new-again-the-things-we-tell-and/) [Will Irby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-irby/) > [ “I don't need to always quote others because I actually have original thoughts". ~R. Alan Woods \[2012\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/i-don-t-need-to-always-quote-others-because-i-actually-have-original/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/books-serve-to-show-a-man-that-those-original-thoughts-of-his-aren-t-3/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all.”   Abraham Lincoln”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rriiver-nyile/books-serve-to-show-a-man-that-those-original-thoughts-of-his-aren-t-2/) [Rriiver Nyile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rriiver-nyile/) > [If the original thoughts in life have been coined self with the enthusiasm, energy and effort, then the same empowered person will be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/if-the-original-thoughts-in-life-have-been-coined-self-with-the/) [Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/) > [Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/books-serve-to-show-a-man-that-those-original-thoughts-of-his-aren-t/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Vittorio Alfieri > [The time for hope is gone, and come for fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/the-time-for-hope-is-gone-and-come-for-fear/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [The guilty is he who meditates a crime; the punishment is his who lays the plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/the-guilty-is-he-who-meditates-a-crime-the-punishment-is-his-who-lays/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Disgrace does not consist in the punishment, but in the crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/disgrace-does-not-consist-in-the-punishment-but-in-the-crime/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Heaven takes care that no man secures happiness by crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/heaven-takes-care-that-no-man-secures-happiness-by-crime/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [If ardent passions push not men on to lofty enterprise, calm wisdom never will accomplish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/if-ardent-passions-push-not-men-on-to-lofty-enterprise-calm-wisdom/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Joy surfeited turns to sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/joy-surfeited-turns-to-sorrow/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Necessity inspires the fatal thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/necessity-inspires-the-fatal-thought/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Liars are always most disposed to swear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/liars-are-always-most-disposed-to-swear/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [That blood which thou hast spill'd, should join you closely in an eternal bond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/that-blood-which-thou-hast-spill-d-should-join-you-closely-in-an/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [For 'tis impossible Hate to return with love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/for-tis-impossible-hate-to-return-with-love/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [I had seen the great, but I had not seen the small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/i-had-seen-the-great-but-i-had-not-seen-the-small/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Deep vengeance is the daughter of deep silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/deep-vengeance-is-the-daughter-of-deep-silence/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [First thoughts are not always the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/first-thoughts-are-not-always-the-best/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Ofttimes the test of courage becomes rather to live than to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/ofttimes-the-test-of-courage-becomes-rather-to-live-than-to-die/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [There is a silence, the child of love, which expresses everything, and proclaims more loudly than the tongue is able to do; there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/there-is-a-silence-the-child-of-love-which-expresses-everything-and-2/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) [Explore all 28 Vittorio Alfieri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) ## More Elements quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/) [Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I find in working always the disturbing intrusion of elements not a part of my most interested vision, and the inevitable obliteration and replacement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hopper/i-find-in-working-always-the-disturbing-intrusion-of-elements-not-a/) [Edward Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hopper/) > [Music and language are a vital element. We, as actors and directors, offer it to people who want to experience it. Sometimes the actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/music-and-language-are-a-vital-element-we-as-actors-and-directors/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I don't think that writing, real writing, has much to do with affirming belief--if anything it causes rifts and gaps in belief which make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/i-don-t-think-that-writing-real-writing-has-much-to-do-with-affirming/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [To me, the most important elements in a theatre are the actors and the texts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseeruddin-shah/to-me-the-most-important-elements-in-a-theatre-are-the-actors-and-the/) [Naseeruddin Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseeruddin-shah/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [In America there is not one single element of civilization that is not made to depend, in the end, upon public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/in-america-there-is-not-one-single-element-of-civilization-that-is/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) [Browse all 3,647 Elements quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Original thoughts can be understood only in virtue of the unoriginal elements which they contain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vittorio Alfieri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only-in-virtue-of-the-unoriginal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Elements" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only-in-virtue-of-the-unoriginal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/vittorio-alfieri-21989_elements_original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only_2107032.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/vittorio-alfieri-21989_elements_original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only_2107032.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/vittorio-alfieri-21989_elements_original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only_2107032.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Original thoughts can be understood only in virtue of the unoriginal elements which they contain.” — Vittorio Alfieri", "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": "Vittorio Alfieri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Original thoughts can be understood only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only-in-virtue-of-the-unoriginal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/original-thoughts-can-be-understood-only-in-virtue-of-the-unoriginal/#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 } } ] } ```