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The broadest and most prevalent error requires the most disinterested virtue to sustain it.
Henry David Thoreau
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that significant errors in society demand a higher moral integrity to recognize and address them.

Henry David Thoreau asserts that widespread misconceptions or errors in society can often be deeply rooted and require people to engage in selflessness and virtue to truly understand and correct them. It implies that those who can see beyond the common beliefs may possess a moral duty to guide others towards truth.

Themes

ErrorVirtueTruthSocietyIntegrity

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about social issues, one might say, 'As Thoreau suggests, addressing the prevalent errors in our society requires us to act with disinterested virtue.'

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None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
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