None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Man wanted a home, a place for warmth, or comfort, first of physical warmth, then the warmth of the affections.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the human desire for a place that provides both physical comfort and emotional connection.
Henry David Thoreau's quote reflects the fundamental human need for a home that encompasses not just physical shelter, but also emotional warmth and affection. It signifies that true comfort comes from a space where individuals can feel safe, loved, and connected with others, highlighting the dual aspects of home as both a physical and emotional sanctuary.
In practice
In a speech about community, one might quote Thoreau to highlight the importance of belonging.
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
Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to.
I don't see women and think of them as competition or with judgment. Women really move me. I feel connected to all kinds of women. I am angry because I think we've been mistreated throughout history in different countries, including America. I admire women.
One heart is not connected to another through harmony alone. They are, instead, linked deeply through their wounds. Pain linked to pain, fragility to fragility. There is no silence without a cry of grief, no forgiveness without bloodshed, no acceptance without a passage through acute loss. That is what lies at the root of true harmony.
We all, sometimes, leave each other there under the skies, and we never understand why.
Once when I had remarked on the affection quite often found between cat and dog, my friend replied, "Yes. But I bet no dog would ever confess it to the other dogs.
Even jealousy is based on fantasies: a fantasy that someone else has what belongs to you.
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