“A part is greater than the whole;
By hints are mysteries told.”
Poems (1869), A Strip of Blue (1870)
Context: A part is greater than the whole;
By hints are mysteries told.
The fringes of eternity, —
God's sweeping garment-fold,
In that bright shred of glittering sea,
I reach out for and hold.
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Lucy Larcom25
American teacher, poet, author 1824–1893Related quotes
“And the whole [is] greater than the part.”
Καὶ τὸ ὅλον τοῦ μέρους μεῖζον
ἐστιν
Elements, Book I, Common Notion 8 (5 in certain editions)
Cf. Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book Η 1045a 8–10: "… the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts … [πάντων γὰρ ὅσα πλείω μέρη ἔχει καὶ μὴ ἔστιν οἷον σωρὸς τὸ πᾶν]"
Euclid’s Elements
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Aristotle (-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy
“The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.”
le mystère de l'amour est plus grand que le mystère de la mort.
Source: Salomé (1893)
Jan Smuts (1870–1950) military leader, politician and statesman from South Africa
Holism and Evolution (1926)
“Providence is a greater mystery than revelation.”
Richard Cecil (clergyman) (1748–1810) British Evangelical Anglican priest and social reformer
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 423.
Daniel Defoe La vie et les aventures de Robinson Crusoe
Source: Robinson Crusoe (1719), Ch. 6, Ill and Conscience-stricken.
Frederick Buechner (1926) Poet, novelist, short story writer, theologian
Source: The Alphabet of Grace
