Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done.”
- Source
- The Secret Garden
- Date
- 1911
- Local voice
- Narrator voice · Narrator
Meaning of “At first people refuse to believe that a…”
New possibilities often move through stages from disbelief to curiosity and finally hope, especially when evidence begins to challenge settled expectations.
Where does it come from?
The Secret Garden (1911), Chapter XXVII, “In the Garden.” This collection keeps a shortened opening excerpt of the narrator’s longer sentence: strange possibilities move from disbelief to hope, then to demonstrated possibility and eventual accomplishment. It remains narrator commentary inside the novel rather than a scientific law of progress.
Why the local voice matters
The Secret Garden narrator makes this generalizing comment during the late-novel discussion of discovery, thought and change.
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Ideas connected with this quotation
AttitudeChange and GrowthGrowthHope Quotes About Possibility in Uncertain TimesInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityMindsetMotivation For LifeMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistenceOptimism Quotes About Constructive ExpectationPositive Quotes About a Constructive OutlookBeginningBeliefInnovationProgress
