None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
A man may acquire a taste for wine or brandy, and so lose his love for water, but should we not pity him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on how one's preferences can change over time, often leading to regret or loss of simpler pleasures.
Henry David Thoreau suggests that while a person can develop a fondness for more complex and potentially harmful indulgences like wine or brandy, it is important to feel compassion for him because he may have sacrificed the pure and natural joys of life, represented by water. This highlights the conflict between sophisticated tastes and the value of simplicity.
Themes
TasteWineBrandyWaterSimplicityPleasure
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of maintaining simple pleasures in life.
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.
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Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
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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.
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That grand old poem called Winter
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