None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Almost all wild apples are handsome. They cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at. The gnarliest will have some redeeming traits even to the eye.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wild apples may seem imperfect, yet they possess unique beauty.
In this quote, Thoreau reflects on the inherent beauty found in wild apples, emphasizing that even those that look rough or imperfect, often described as 'gnarly and crabbed', have redeeming qualities. This serves as a metaphor for appreciating the uniqueness and charm in nature and perhaps in life itself, suggesting that flaws can enhance beauty rather than detract from it.
Themes
Wild ApplesBeautyNatureImperfectionThoreau
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about embracing diversity, one could use this quote to illustrate how differences contribute to beauty.
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
Similar quotes
There is one purpose to life and one only: to bear witness to and understand as much as possible of the complexity of the world -- its beauty, its mysteries, its riddles. The more you understand, the more you look, the greater is your enjoyment of life and your sense of peace. That's all there is to it. Everything else is fun and games. If an activity is not grounded in "to love" or "to learn" it does not have value.
Anne RiceRead
The domination of nature leads to the domination of human nature.
Edward AbbeyRead
The being without an opinion is so painful to human nature that most people will leap to a hasty opinion rather than undergo it.
Walter BagehotRead
All things are parts of one single system, which is called nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with nature.
Zeno Of CitiumRead
I am the best-natured creature in the world, and yet I have already killed three, and of these three two were priests.
VoltaireRead
The power of intention manifests as an expression of expanding creativity, kindness, love, and beauty.
Wayne DyerRead