None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke strops our vice.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the duality of human nature, emphasizing that our virtuous actions can also enhance our flaws.
Henry David Thoreau's quote illustrates the idea that human beings possess both virtues and vices, akin to a double-edged blade that can either cut with integrity or cause harm. Each time we strive to improve our virtuous traits, there is a potential for awakening our lesser qualities as well. This reflects the complexity of morality, suggesting that self-improvement must be approached with caution and awareness of our inherent dualities.
Themes
Human NatureVirtueViceSelf-ImprovementMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about ethical dilemmas, you might say, 'As Thoreau reminds us, we are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke strops our vice.'
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.
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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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Similar quotes
There is just as much evil in all of us as there is good. We're all continuously guilty, even if we're not doing it intentionally to be evil. Here we are sitting in luxury hotels, living it up on the the backs of others in the third world. We all have a guilty conscience, but we do very little about it.
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Making matters worse is people's natural inclination to be easy on themselves, judging themselves according to their good intentions-while holding others to a higher standard and judging them by their worst actions.
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If you don't have a moral question governing your society, then you don't have a society that is going to survive.
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I believe that the idea of the totality, the finality of the master-plan, is misguided. One should advocate a gradual transformation of public space, a metamorphic process, without relying on a hypothetical time in the future when everything will be perfect. The mistake of planners and architects is to believe that fifty years from now Alexanderplatz will be perfected. -p.197
Daniel LibeskindRead