Standing on giants' shoulders

"We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more and farther than they, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are raised up on their giant size. Our age enjoys the gifts of preceding ages, and we know more, not because we excel in talent, but because we use the products of others who have gone before."

John of Salisbury, quoting Bernard of Chartres