None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
If words were invented to conceal thought, newspapers are a great improvement of a bad invention
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the use of language as a means of hiding true intentions, suggesting that media often distorts reality.
Henry David Thoreau's quote implies that while language can be used to obscure genuine thoughts and feelings, print media, particularly newspapers, enhances this negative trait of language. He cynically suggests that newspapers take the art of deception to a new level, thereby improving upon a flawed way of communication that initially aimed to be truthful but instead masks reality.
Themes
LanguageMediaTruthCommunicationDeception
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about media literacy, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of critical thinking.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes βThrough 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
Similar quotes
Having one king, one god, one belief, they can act single-mindedly.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
All power is in essence power to deny mortality.
Ernest BeckerRead
Real people have trouble balancing their checkbooks, much less calculating how much they need to save for retirement; they sometimes binge on food, drink, or high-definition televisions. They are more like Homer Simpson than Mr. Spock.
Richard ThalerRead
The issue is privacy. Why is the decision by a woman to sleep with a man she has just met in a bar a private one, and the decision to sleep with the same man for $100 subject to criminal penalties?
Anna QuindlenRead
In all things there is a law of cycles.
TacitusRead
They have done what they like. Their difficulty is to like what they have done.
Winston ChurchillRead