None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
A lake is a landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that a lake reflects not only the beauty of nature but also allows individuals to introspect and understand themselves better.
Henry David Thoreau's quote emphasizes the profound connection between nature and the human experience. A lake, being a serene and picturesque element of the landscape, serves as a mirror to the soul, inviting those who gaze into it to reflect on their inner thoughts, emotions, and depth of character. It highlights the idea that nature can be a powerful catalyst for personal introspection and discovery.
In practice
In a motivational speech about connecting with nature for self-reflection.
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
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.
That grand old poem called Winter
Nature is not always tricked in holiday attire, but the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs, is overspread with melancholy today. Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.
The mountains seem to have conquered us long before we set foot on them, and they will remain long after our brief existence. This indomitable force of the mountains gives us humans a blank canvas on which to paint the drive of discovery and, in the process, test the limits of human performance.
Agriculture is at the same time the most tranquil, healthy, and independent occupation.
Good farmers, who take seriously their duties as stewards of Creation and of their land's inheritors, contribute to the welfare of society in more ways than society usually acknowledges, or even knows. These farmers produce valuable goods, of course; but they also conserve soil, they conserve water, they conserve wildlife, they conserve open space, they conserve scenery.
Thank God I have the seeing eye, that is to say, as I lie in bed I can walk step by step on the fells and rough land seeing every stone and flower and patch of bog and cotton pass where my old legs will never take me again.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.