“Everything has been said, and we have come too late, more than seven thousand years since men have existed and thought.”Jean de La Bruyère · Caracterele · 1688 · Des ouvrages de l'esprit, 1
Originality is a reinterpretation of ancient wisdom, not an invention of something new.
La Bruyère expresses a feeling of intellectual exhaustion: the great ideas have already been expressed by the ancients. Any attempt at originality seems like repetition. For example, themes like love, death, or justice were treated by philosophers and poets thousands of years ago. Yet this is not a condemnation but an invitation to reinterpret: each generation rediscovers the same truths in its own context.
Why it matters It reminds us not to seek originality at all costs, but to value accumulated wisdom and apply it to current problems.