None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
What is a country without rabbits and partridges? They are among the most simple and indigenous animal products; ancient and venerable families known to antiquity as to modern times; of the very hue and substance of Nature, nearest allied to leaves and to the ground.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the importance of simple, natural elements of a country, emphasizing their deep-rooted connection to its identity.
Henry David Thoreau's quote highlights the intrinsic value of simple, native wildlife like rabbits and partridges in defining a country's essence. Through this analogy, he underscores the deep relationship between nature and culture, suggesting that these creatures represent a continuity of life and a connection to the earth, which is essential for understanding what a country truly embodies.
Themes
CountryNatureWildlifeIdentitySimplicity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a conservation event, one could invoke this quote to emphasize the importance of preserving local wildlife.
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
Henry David ThoreauRead
Similar quotes
When we settled our country, the dark forest was considered in some ways evil and something that you needed to plow or, later, bulldoze. We now have a new understanding of the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the need for bird flyways and why all species matter.
Douglas BrinkleyRead
It was, as I have said, a fine autumnal day; the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance. The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tendered kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet.
Washington IrvingRead
Animals come from nature. They were not designed. All my inspiration comes from nature, whether it's an animal or the layout of bark or of a leaf. Sometimes my patterns are very bold, and you can barely see where they come from, but all the textures and all the prints come out of nature.
Diane Von FurstenbergRead
Zoo animals are ambassadors for their cousins in the wild.
Jack HannaRead
Nature in America has always been suspect, on the defensive, cannibalized by progress. In America, every specimen becomes a relic.
Susan SontagRead
If we do not act to curb climate change immediately, we will leave our children and grandchildren an unrecognizable planetIt is the poor, those least responsible for climate change and least able to afford adaptation, who would suffer the most.
Jim Yong KimRead