None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
As naturally as the oak bears an acorn and the vine a gourd, man bears a poem, either spoken or done.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Thoreau suggests that creating art is a natural process for humans, much like the way trees and plants naturally produce their fruits.
In this quote, Thoreau draws a parallel between nature and human creativity, emphasizing that just as an oak tree produces acorns and a vine produces gourds, so too do people naturally create poems and artistic expressions. He highlights the intrinsic relationship between humanity and art, implying that the act of creation is a fundamental aspect of being human, as natural and inevitable as the cycles found in the natural world.
Themes
CreativityArtNaturalPoetrySelf-Expression
In practice
Example use cases
During a poetry reading event, one could inspire the audience with this quote to encourage their creative expression.
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.
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 want to give the audience a hint of a scene. No more than that. Give them too much and they won't contribute anything themselves. Give them just a suggestion and you get them working with you. That's what gives the theater meaning: when it becomes a social act.
Orson WellesRead
I've always believed that there's an amazing number of things you can do through a rock'n'roll song and that you can do serious writing in a rock song if you can somehow do it without losing the beat.
Lou ReedRead
In those days it was either live with music or die with noise, and we chose rather desperately to live.
Ralph EllisonRead
Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is the fact that I need to embrace mystery in order to be completely human.
Yusef KomunyakaaRead
The proliferation of styles, genres, and media need not be the death knell of anything. Instead, it's a sign that our acceptance for variation and experimentation has become wider, our interests have become more diverse, and our appetites have become more omnivorous.
Celeste NgRead
The source of genius is imagination alone, the refinement of the senses that sees what others do not see, or sees them differently.
Eugene DelacroixRead