None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Each new year is a surprise to us. We find that we had virtually forgotten the note of each bird, and when we hear it again, it is remembered like a dream, reminding us of a previous state of existence. How happens it that the associations it awakens are always pleasing, never saddening, reminiscences of our sanest hours. The voice of nature is always encouraging.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the joy and surprises that each new year brings as we reconnect with memories inspired by nature's sounds.
In this quote, Henry David Thoreau poetically expresses how the arrival of a new year can evoke pleasant memories through the natural sounds we often forget. He marvels at the sudden recollection of these sounds, like the calls of birds, which serve as reminders of joyful times in our past, highlighting nature's role in providing comfort and encouragement in life.
Themes
NatureMemoriesEncouragementNew YearJoyBirds
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used at a New Year's gathering to inspire reflection on the past year.
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.
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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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