None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
I came to love my rows, my beans, though so many more than I wanted. They attached me to the earth, and so I got strength like Antaeus.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker finds strength and connection to the earth through their love of cultivating plants, despite having more than expected.
In this quote, Thoreau reflects on the profound connection between humans and nature, suggesting that the act of nurturing life—symbolized by rows of beans—can ground a person and provide emotional strength. The reference to Antaeus, a figure from Greek mythology known for gaining strength from the earth, emphasizes how engaging with nature can be empowering and fulfilling.
Themes
StrengthEarthNatureGardeningLoveBeansAntaeus
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience, one might quote Thoreau to emphasize the importance of connection to nature.
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
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If the earth is man's extended body, to be loved and respected as one's own body, those who do no greening of themselves will hardly bring about the greening of America. The idea of 'greening' involves color, flowering, freshness of spring, and, above all, respect for what is organic and vegetative as distinct from the mechanical and metallic.
Alan WattsRead
Down the hill I went, and then, I forgot the ways of men, For night-scents, heady and damp and cool Wakened ecstasy
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