None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
I have a deep sympathy with war; it so apes the gait and bearing of the soul.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Thoreau reflects on how war mirrors the inner struggles of the human spirit.
In this quote, Thoreau expresses a complex relationship with war, indicating that while he feels a deep sympathy for it, he recognizes that it emulates the qualities and struggles of the human soul. He suggests that the conflict and turmoil of war echo the conflicts that individuals face within themselves, highlighting the darker aspects of human nature and the depths of human experience.
Themes
WarSoulSympathyConflictHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the impacts of war on society, one might use this quote to illustrate the psychological effects of conflict.
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
Go anywhere in England where there are natural wholesome, contented and really nice English people; and what do you find? That the stables are the real centre of the household.
George Bernard ShawRead
If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that registered earthquakes ten thousand miles away.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
Are there other people who, when watching a documentary set in a prison, secretly think, as I have, 'Wish I had all that time to read'?
Zadie SmithRead
We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
OvidRead
Going back to a simpler life based on living by sufficiency rather than excess is not a step backward.
Yvon ChouinardRead
At the bottom of all these noble races the beast of prey, the splendid blond beast, prowling about avidly in search of spoil and victory.
Friedrich NietzscheRead