None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
We soon get through with nature. She excites an expectation which she cannot satisfy.
Interpretation
Nature inspires hope and anticipation, but often leaves us wanting more.
In this quote, Thoreau reflects on the relationship humans have with nature, suggesting that while we are often captivated by its beauty and splendor, there is an inherent frustration in our inability to fully grasp or satisfy our expectations of it. Nature stirs our imagination and desires, yet it remains elusive and beyond our control, highlighting a profound disconnect in our quest for understanding its essence.
In practice
In a discussion about environmental conservation, one might use this quote to highlight our complicated relationship with nature.
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
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Nature favors those organisms which leave the environment in better shape for their progeny to survive.
The more our world functions like the natural world, the more likely we are to endure on this home that is ours, but not ours alone.
The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.
The yard was full of tomato plants about to ripen, and mint, mint, everything smelling of mint, and one fine old tree that I loved to sit under on those cool perfect starry California October nights unmatched anywhere in the world.
No prosaic description can portray the grandeur of 40 miles of rugged mountains rising beyond a placid lake in which each shadowy precipice and each purple gorge is reflected with a vividness that rivals the original.
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