None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
We are made happy when reason can discover no occasion for it. The memory of some past moments is more persuasive than the experience of present ones. There have been visions of such breadth and brightness that these motes were invisible in their light.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Happiness often stems from our memories rather than current circumstances and can be brighter than present realities.
This quote by Henry David Thoreau suggests that true happiness can be derived from memories of the past that outshine our current experiences, even when there may seem to be no clear reason for joy in the present. It reflects on how powerful and persuasive our recollections can be, allowing us to find joy even amidst darkness, as the beauty of strong memories can render everyday troubles insignificant.
Themes
HappinessMemoriesReasonPresentJoy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a motivational speech about finding joy in life beyond current challenges.
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
What other sport holds out hope of improvement to a man or a woman over fifty? True, the pros begin to falter at around forty, but it is their putting nerves that go, not their swings. For a duffer like [me], the room for improvement is so vast that three lifetimes could be spent roaming the fiarways carving away at it, convinced that perfection lies just over the next rise. And that hope, perhaps, is the kindest bliss of all that golf bestows upon its devotees.
John UpdikeRead
It is impossible that happiness, and yearning for what is not present, should ever be united.
EpictetusRead
I'm a happy man, because I am successful in what I do, of course; but what makes me most happy is I have people around me that I love and who love me back. This, for me, is the most important thing. Nobody likes to be alone.
Novak DjokovicRead
That I can read and be happy while I am reading, is a great blessing.
Anthony TrollopeRead
If I didn’t think, I’d be much happier.
Sylvia PlathRead
The sound of laughter is like the vaulted dome of a temple of happiness.
Milan KunderaRead