None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Speech is for the convenience of those who are hard of hearing; but there are many fine things which we cannot say if we have to shout.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the limitations of verbal communication, suggesting that some thoughts and feelings cannot be conveyed effectively through loud expressions.
Henry David Thoreau's quote reflects on the nature of communication, indicating that while speech serves a purpose, especially for those who may not hear well, there are subtleties and complexities in thought and emotion that cannot be captured when one has to resort to shouting. It suggests that genuine expression often requires a quieter, more nuanced approach, one that allows for deeper connection and understanding beyond mere words.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a presentation about the importance of non-verbal cues in communication.
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.
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
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.
That grand old poem called Winter
Similar quotes
Sense your presence, the naked, unveiled, unclothed beingness. It is untouched by young or old, rich or poor, good or bad, or any other attributes.
Language is a virus from outer space.
I write a manifesto and I want nothing, yet I say certain things, and in principle I am against manifestoes, as I am also against principles.
Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish.
Death is not a blotting-out of existence, a final escape from life; nor is death the door to immortality. He who has fled his Self in earthly joys will not recapture It amidst the gossamer charms of an astral world. There he merely accumulates finer perceptions and more sensitive responses to the beautiful and the good, which are one. It is on the anvil of this gross earth that struggling man must hammer out the imperishable gold of spiritual identity.
Your duty is to be, and not to be this or that. I Am That I Am sums up the whole truth; the method is summarized in Be Still.