None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Younger people often have fresh perspectives and experiences that can make them effective teachers, while older individuals may have lost some of that insight.
In this quote, Thoreau suggests that youth possesses a unique perspective that can be more valuable in teaching than the experience that comes with age. He argues that as individuals grow older, they may lose the ability to think as freely and creatively, making them less effective as instructors compared to the unrestricted imagination and insight of youth.
Themes
AgeYouthWisdomLearningTeaching
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mentorship roles in education.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes βThrough want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
Henry David ThoreauRead
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
Henry David ThoreauRead
As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.
Henry David ThoreauRead
That grand old poem called Winter
Henry David ThoreauRead
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When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.
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I often regret that I have spoken; never that I have been silent.
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If wisdom were offered me with this restriction, that I should keep it close and not communicate it, I would refuse the gift.
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The mistake that is made always runs the other way. Because the plain people are able to speak and understand, and even, in many cases, to read and write, it is assumed that they have ideas in their heads, and an appetite for more. This assumption is a folly.
H. L. MenckenRead