--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Rising genius always shoots out its rays…" description: "\"Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the clouds, but these will gradually roll away and disappear as it ascends to its steady luster.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/washington-irving-1386_clouds_rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays_1734962.png" --- # Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the… ![“Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the clouds, but these will gradually roll away and disappear as it ascends to its steady luster.” quote by Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/washington-irving-1386_clouds_rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays_1734962.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/washington-irving-1386_clouds_rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays_1734962.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/washington-irving-1386_clouds_rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays_1734962.png) > “Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the clouds, but these will gradually roll away and disappear as it ascends to its steady luster.” [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A brilliant mind initially shines brightly but fades as it matures into steady competence. **In simple terms:** Talent shines then steadies with age. Key Takeaway Embrace growth beyond early brilliance. Themes talent growth humility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career progression - academic study - creative pursuits - personal development Key Concepts psychology development self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain curiosity after early success? - What steadies you when brilliance wanes? A Different Perspective Early brilliance can mask deeper, lasting value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ascends Steady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascends-steady-1465874/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Clouds Gradually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-gradually-1465876/) [Disappear Ascends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear-ascends-1465875/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising/) [Rising Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising-genius-1465873/) [Steady Luster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steady-luster-1465877/) ## Related quotes > [Rising genius always shoots forth its rays from among clouds and vapours, but these will gradually roll away and disappear, as it ascends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/rising-genius-always-shoots-forth-its-rays-from-among-clouds-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Nothing can be more touching than to behold a soft and tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and alive to every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/nothing-can-be-more-touching-than-to-behold-a-soft-and-tender-female/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [“Try to think of it as though we are rewriting history––the first time this experience occurred you and I never kissed in this Dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-caligiuri/try-to-think-of-it-as-though-we-are-rewriting-history-the-first-time/) [Ross Caligiuri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-caligiuri/) > [Our task today is to bring India to the threshold of the twenty-first century, free of burden of poverty, legacy of our colonial past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-gandhi/our-task-today-is-to-bring-india-to-the-threshold-of-the-twenty-first/) [Rajiv Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-gandhi/) > [Socialism would gather all power to the supreme party and party leaders, rising like stately pinnacles above their vast bureaucracies of civil servants no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/socialism-would-gather-all-power-to-the-supreme-party-and-party/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When we start helping the weak and the poor to rise everyone will begin to change. Those who have power and riches will start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/when-we-start-helping-the-weak-and-the-poor-to-rise-everyone-will/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached the summit just as the sun was rising. I couldn't believe that we had actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hsieh/after-what-seemed-like-an-eternity-we-finally-reached-the-summit-just/) [Tony Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hsieh/) > [He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-lowered-the-window-and-looked-out-at-the-rising-sun-there-was-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Women are rising. And I think that's all the violence and war - it could be the last gasp of the patriarchy, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/women-are-rising-and-i-think-that-s-all-the-violence-and-war-it-could/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/i-never-knew-an-early-rising-hard-working-prudent-man-careful-of-his/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The things of the world are ever rising and falling, and in perpetual change; and this change must be according to the will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/the-things-of-the-world-are-ever-rising-and-falling-and-in-perpetual/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [No, nothing can change my world --Ichigo Kurosaki, Black Moon Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/no-nothing-can-change-my-world-ichigo-kurosaki-black-moon-rising/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) ## More by Washington Irving > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/language-gradually-varies-and-with-it-fade-away-the-writings-of/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's life is a history of the affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Over no nation does the press hold a more absolute control than over the people of America, for the universal education of the poorest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/over-no-nation-does-the-press-hold-a-more-absolute-control-than-over/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/i-have-never-found-in-anything-outside-of-the-four-walls-of-my-study/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is no character in the comedy of human life more difficult to play well than that of an old bachelor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-no-character-in-the-comedy-of-human-life-more-difficult-to/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-who-thinks-much-says-but-little-in-proportion-to-his-thoughts-he/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Redundancy of language is never found with deep reflection. Verbiage may indicate observation, but not thinking. He who thinks much says but little in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/redundancy-of-language-is-never-found-with-deep-reflection-verbiage/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription molders from the tablet: the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/history-fades-into-fable-fact-becomes-clouded-with-doubt-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is a majestic grandeur in tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-a-majestic-grandeur-in-tranquillity/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-rise-authors-now-and-then-who-seem-proof-against-the-mutability/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is nothing in England that exercises a more delightful spell over my imagination than the lingerings of the holiday customs and rural games…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-nothing-in-england-that-exercises-a-more-delightful-spell/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [It is but seldom that any one overt act produces hostilities between two nations; there exists, more commonly, a previous jealousy and ill will,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/it-is-but-seldom-that-any-one-overt-act-produces-hostilities-between/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) [Explore all 244 Washington Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## More Clouds quotes > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [No matter how strong the storm, how hard the rain and how vicious the wind there is always a gap in the clouds for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-greenhalgh/no-matter-how-strong-the-storm-how-hard-the-rain-and-how-vicious-the/) [Ben Greenhalgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-greenhalgh/) > [The sacred lamp of day Now dipt in Western clouds his parting day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-falconer/the-sacred-lamp-of-day-now-dipt-in-western-clouds-his-parting-day/) [William Falconer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-falconer/) > [Just as the setting sun turned the clouds to liquid gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/just-as-the-setting-sun-turned-the-clouds-to-liquid-gold/) [Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Max—you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. I held my wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/max-you-have-a-bigger-mission-than-finding-the-flock-s-parents-focus/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [Above the clouds I lift my wing To hear the bells of Heaven ring; Some of their music, though my fights be wild, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-clarence-stedman/above-the-clouds-i-lift-my-wing-to-hear-the-bells-of-heaven-ring-some/) [Edmund Clarence Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-clarence-stedman/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [Sometimes in life the clouds are too dark to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/sometimes-in-life-the-clouds-are-too-dark-to-see/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [May you eat an unfamiliar dessert in a strange land at least once every three years. May you wake up... and start dancing while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/may-you-eat-an-unfamiliar-dessert-in-a-strange-land-at-least-once/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [We're thrilled that our partnership with Adobe has now grown to span our three clouds - Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365 -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/we-re-thrilled-that-our-partnership-with-adobe-has-now-grown-to-span/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) [Browse all 2,443 Clouds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the clouds, but these will gradually roll away and disappear as it ascends to its steady luster.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Washington Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays-from-among-the-clouds-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clouds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays-from-among-the-clouds-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/washington-irving-1386_clouds_rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays_1734962.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/washington-irving-1386_clouds_rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays_1734962.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/washington-irving-1386_clouds_rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays_1734962.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rising genius always shoots out its rays from among the clouds, but these will gradually roll away and…” — Washington Irving", "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": "Washington Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Rising genius always shoots out its...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays-from-among-the-clouds-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/rising-genius-always-shoots-out-its-rays-from-among-the-clouds-but/#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 } } ] } ```