None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Talk of mysteries! — Think of our life in nature, — daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, — rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! The solid earth! The actual world! The common sense! Contact! Contact! Who are we? Where are we?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the profound and mysterious experience of being alive within the natural world.
In this quote, Thoreau encourages us to contemplate our existence in nature and the tangible world around us. He highlights the importance of recognizing the beauty and mystery of daily life, as well as the significance of our connection to the earth and to each other. By emphasizing 'contact,' he invites us to engage more fully with our surroundings and ponder our place within them, suggesting that understanding ourselves involves understanding the natural world.
Themes
NatureMysteryExistenceConnectionLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental awareness, one could use this quote to emphasize the connection between humans and the natural world.
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.
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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.
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That grand old poem called Winter
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