None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books are essential for preserving and understanding our history and culture.
This quote emphasizes the crucial role books play in the advancement of civilization. Books not only store knowledge and experiences from the past but also serve as a means for future generations to understand the context of their present and build upon the foundational ideas that have shaped society. Without books, we would risk losing our collective memory and the lessons learned over time, leaving history without a voice.
Themes
BooksCivilizationHistoryKnowledgeCulture
In practice
Example use cases
During a library opening ceremony, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of books in community life.
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.
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
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It's not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It's whether or not our work fulfills us. Being a teacher is meaningful.
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Will SchwalbeRead
The impact of giving someone a connected smartphone is no different from giving them a real computer. I look at how my kids learn and how different it is from how I learned because the impact of these things is just so huge. Sometimes I think we don't fully internalize what it is to get the power of knowledge in everyone's hand.
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