Original artwork, not a still
The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is a naturalist's humility compressed into one sentence: the wonders are already here, and what is missing is our attention. Phillpotts reaches it from something as small as a marsh flower seen under a lens, which is why it travels so easily onto science posters, planetarium walls and teachers' desks. Its steady reassurance, that curiosity will find more, is the whole of its appeal.
Context reviewed
In context
May contain spoilersShow the scene
The sentence is from A Shadow Passes (1918), a book of short nature observations and poems by the Devon novelist Eden Phillpotts. It closes a brief paragraph about the buckbean, or bogbean, flowering in the marshes. Phillpotts describes its fringed blossoms as a miracle of workmanship that you need a lens to appreciate, and reflects that the plant must have bloomed a million times before anyone was there to see its beauty. Then comes the line. It is not a speech or a letter: it is a single reflective sentence in a naturalist's notebook.
Sources (3)
- Phillpotts, A Shadow Passes (1918), full text on the Internet Archivep. 19, paragraph beginning 'In the marshes the buckbean'Reference checked
- Wikiquote, Universeentry credited to Eden PhillpottsReference checked
- Wikipedia, Eden Phillpottsintro; list of worksReference checked
Context reviewed
