None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
The life in us is like the water in the river. It may rise this year higher than man has ever known it, and flood the parched uplands; even this may be the eventful year, which will drown out all our muskrats. It was not always dry land where we dwell. I see far inland the banks where the stream anciently washed, before science began to record its freshets.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the ever-changing nature of life, likening it to a river that can rise unexpectedly and change the landscape.
Thoreau compares the fluctuations of life to a river's water levels, suggesting that just as the river can rise and flood areas that were once dry, our experiences can drastically change the conditions of our lives. He reflects on the cyclical nature of existence and the historical changes that have shaped our environment, prompting us to recognize both the power of nature and the transient nature of our own circumstances.
Themes
LifeChangeNatureRiverExperiences
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about resilience, one might say, 'As Thoreau observed, the life in us is like the water in the river, showing us that change is a natural part of existence.'
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
I am going to tell you what nature behaves like. If you will simply admit that maybe she does behave like this, you will find her a delightful, entrancing thing. Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, 'But how can it be like that?' ...Nobody knows how it can be like that.
Richard P. FeynmanRead
I pledge allegiance to the soil _x000D_ of Turtle Island, _x000D_ and to the beings who thereon dwell _x000D_ one ecosystem _x000D_ in diversity _x000D_ under the sun _x000D_ With joyful interpenetratio n for all.
Gary SnyderRead
I've never seen anywhere in the world as beautiful as Kashmir. It has something to do with the fact that the valley is very small and the mountains are very big, so you have this miniature countryside surrounded by the Himalayas, and it's just spectacular. And it's true, the people are very beautiful too.
Salman RushdieRead
Humbly serving all with their beauty, flowers say more to us about God than anything else. Each one brings a message that the Heavenly Father is right here.
Paramahansa YoganandaRead
Is the minor convenience of allowing the present generation the luxury of doubling its energy consumption every 10 years worth the major hazard of exposing the next 20,000 generations to this lethal waste?
David R. BrowerRead
O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead