None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
The boy gathers materials for a temple, and then when he is thirty, concludes to build a woodshed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the contrast between childhood dreams and adult realities.
Henry David Thoreau's quote reflects the journey of ambition and creativity, suggesting that as we grow older, we often abandon our grand visions in favor of more mundane and practical pursuits. The imagery of a boy who dreams of building a temple but only constructs a woodshed speaks to the ways in which society and responsibilities can limit our aspirations, urging us to examine whether we are pursuing our true passions or settling for less.
Themes
DreamsAmbitionCreativityAdulthoodRealities
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about pursuing one's passions, one could use this quote to encourage people to think big.
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
What is mind but motion in the intellectual sphere?
Oscar WildeRead
I may err but I am not a heretic, for the first has to do with the mind and the second with the will!
Meister EckhartRead
A man who has work that suits him and a wife, whom he loves, has squared his accounts with life.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelRead
I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent.
Giacomo CasanovaRead
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Discipleship is based solely on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on following after a particular belief or doctrine.
Oswald ChambersRead