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What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?
Henry David Thoreau
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Interpretation

What this quote means

A house is meaningless without a healthy planet to support it.

This quote by Henry David Thoreau emphasizes the importance of our environment in relation to our homes and lives. It suggests that no matter how significant our possessions might be, they lose their value if we do not care for the planet that provides us with the foundation of life and well-being.

Themes

PlanetEnvironmentHomeNatureValue

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech advocating for environmental conservation, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of protecting our planet.

More from Henry David Thoreau

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
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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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