None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books are essential for preserving and understanding our history and culture.
This quote emphasizes the crucial role books play in the advancement of civilization. Books not only store knowledge and experiences from the past but also serve as a means for future generations to understand the context of their present and build upon the foundational ideas that have shaped society. Without books, we would risk losing our collective memory and the lessons learned over time, leaving history without a voice.
Themes
BooksCivilizationHistoryKnowledgeCulture
In practice
Example use cases
During a library opening ceremony, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of books in community life.
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
As long as any adult thinks that he, like the parents and teachers of old, can become introspective, invoking his own youth to understand the youth before him, he is lost.
Margaret MeadRead
I think education is power. I think that being able to communicate with people is power. One of my main goals on the planet is to encourage people to empower themselves." Another "I was raised to believe that excellence is the deterrent to racism and sexism. And that's how I operate my life." And another "It does not matter who you are or where you came from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always.
Oprah WinfreyRead
The primary goal of real education is not to deliver facts but to guide students to the truths that will allow them to take responsibility for their lives.
John Taylor GattoRead
Books themselves need no defense. Their spokesmen come and go, their readers live and die, they remain constant.
Lawrence Clark PowellRead
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
James MadisonRead
I have read my books by many lights, hoarding their beauty, their wit or wisdom against the dark days when I would have no book, nor a place to read. I have known hunger of the belly kind many times over, but I have known a worse hunger: the need to know and to learn.
Louis L'AmourRead