Some dreams we have are nothing else but dreams, Unnatural and full of contradictions; Yet others of our most romantic schemes, Are something more than fictions.
Thomas HoodRead
I remember, I remember The fir-trees dark and high; I used to think their slender tops Were close against the sky; It was a childish ignorance, But now 't is little joy To know I'm farther off from heaven Than when I was a boy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the loss of innocence and the realization that adult understanding can bring sorrow instead of joy.
In this quote, Thomas Hood reminisces about his childhood perception of the fir-trees reaching towards the sky, symbolizing a time of innocence and wonder. As he grows older, he recognizes that with maturity comes a painful awareness of life's limitations and the distance from the ideals of heaven and joy, contrasting the naive joy of childhood with the more complex emotions of adulthood.
Themes
ChildhoodInnocenceNostalgiaAdultGrowthHeaven
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of maintaining a sense of wonder, one could use this quote to illustrate the contrast between childhood and adulthood.
More from Thomas Hood
All quotes →Tis like the birthday of the world,_x000D_ _x000D_ When earth was born in bloom;_x000D_ _x000D_ The light is made of many dyes,_x000D_ _x000D_ The air is all perfume:_x000D_ _x000D_ There's crimson buds, and white and blue,_x000D_ _x000D_ The very rainbow showers_x000D_ _x000D_ Have turned to blossoms where they fell,_x000D_ _x000D_ And sown the earth with flowers.
Thomas HoodRead
Some minds improve by travel, others, rather, resemble copper wire, or brass, which get the narrower by going farther.
Thomas HoodRead
It was a childish ignorance, But now 'tis little joy To know I'm further off from heaven Than when I was a boy.
Thomas HoodRead
The Autumn is old; The sere leaves are flying; He hath gather'd up gold, And now he is dying;- Old age, begin sighing!
Thomas HoodRead
I resolved that, like the sun, as long as my day lasted, I would look on the bright side of everything.
Thomas HoodRead
Similar quotes
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Barack ObamaRead
Do the people of the South really entertain fears that a Republican administration would, directly, or indirectly, interfere with their slaves, or with them, about their slaves? If they do, I wish to assure you, as once a friend, and still, I hope, not an enemy, that there is no cause for such fears.
Abraham LincolnRead
The past exists only in our memories, the future only in our plans. The present is our only reality. The tree that you are aware of intellectually, because of that small time lag, is always in the past and therefore is always unreal. Any intellectually conceived object is always in the past and therefore unreal. Reality is always the moment of vision before the intellectualization takes place. There is no other reality.
Robert M. PirsigRead
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We all create the person we become by our choices as we go through life. In a real sense, by the time we are adults, we are the sum total of the choices we have made.
Eleanor RooseveltRead
When the supreme magistrate will not execute the judgment of the Lord, those who made him supreme magistrate, under God, who have under God, sovereighn liberty to dispose of crowns and kingdoms, are to execute the judgment of the Lord, when wicked men make the law of God of none effect.
Samuel RutherfordRead