None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
If it is surely the means to the highest end we know, can any work be humble or disgusting? Will it not rather be elevating as a ladder, the means by which we are translated?
Interpretation
The quote suggests that any work, if it contributes to a greater purpose, is worthy and uplifting.
Henry David Thoreau's quote emphasizes that the value of our work is determined by its contribution to a higher goal or purpose. When work aligns with a significant end, it transforms into a means of elevation, much like a ladder helps us ascend. This perspective invites us to view even the most humble tasks as essential to personal and collective growth.
In practice
In a speech about community service, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of even small contributions to a greater cause.
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
If an offender has committed murder, he must die. In this case, no possible substitute can satisfy justice. For there is no parallel between death and even the most miserable life, so that there is no equality of crime and retribution unless the perpetrator is judicially put to death.
Every breath is a sacrament, an affirmation of our connection with all other living things, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and a contribution to generations yet to come. Our breath is a part of life's breath, the ocean of air that envelopes the earth.
The things that have acquired unity are these: Heaven by unity has become clear; Earth by unity has become steady; The Spirit by unity has become spiritual; The Valley by unity has become full; All things by unity have come into existence.
I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one fish was caught, he was writhing, then he was thrown against the side of the boat. You couldn't disguise what it was. This was what we did to animals to eat them. The animal went from a living, vibrant creature fighting for life to a violent death. I recognized it, as did my brothers and sisters.
Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences.
The legend of the best player of chess has been destroyed.
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