None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a yearning for the innate wisdom and purity of thought that one possesses in childhood.
Henry David Thoreau suggests that as we grow older, we accumulate regrets and complexities that cloud our understanding and wisdom. He implies that the simplicity and clarity of a child's perspective are enviable, and one may often long to return to that state of innocent wisdom, free from the burdens that life brings.
Themes
WisdomRegretInnocencePerspectiveGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of maintaining childlike curiosity and understanding.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes →Through 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
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