None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Thoreau critiques the nature of news, suggesting it is trivial compared to philosophical thought.
In this quote, Thoreau expresses his disdain for conventional news, equating it to gossip rather than significant information. He implies that those who consume and disseminate news are merely engaging in trivial chatter, similar to old women gossiping over tea, rather than participating in meaningful discussions about life and ideas. This reflects his belief in the deeper value of philosophical inquiry over superficial conversations.
Themes
NewsGossipPhilosophyTrivialityThought
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about the impact of social media, one might quote Thoreau to highlight the trivial nature of online news.
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.
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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.
Henry David ThoreauRead
That grand old poem called Winter
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Similar quotes
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It should not be strange that the values cherished by all the three major religions are the same, since they originate from a common source. For example, Islam, the predominant religion in the Middle East, accepts as an integral part of its religious teachings both the Old and the New Testaments. If this commonality of moral traditions among the world's major religions does not say something about the universality of religion, it does say something about the universality of mankind.
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Ela acreditava em anjo e, porque acreditava, eles existiam" | "She believed in angels, and, because she believed, they existed
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Nothing could be more reckless than to base one's moral philosophy on the latest pronouncements of science.
Edward AbbeyRead
The very essence of instinct is that it's followed independently of reason.
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The first revolt is against the supreme tyranny of theology, of the phantom of God. As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth.
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