None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Talk about slavery! It is not the peculiar institution of the South. It exists wherever men are bought and sold, wherever a man allows himself to be made a mere thing or a tool, and surrenders his inalienable rights of reason and conscience. Indeed, this slavery is more complete than that which enslaves the body alone.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Slavery transcends physical bondage, existing wherever human dignity is compromised.
In this thought-provoking quote, Henry David Thoreau reflects on the broader implications of slavery beyond the historical context of physical ownership. He argues that true slavery can manifest in situations where individuals relinquish their autonomy and moral judgement, becoming mere tools or objects within a system that devalues their inherent rights. Thoreau emphasizes that this ideological and existential form of slavery is even more severe than physical enslavement, as it shackles the mind and spirit.
Themes
SlaveryFreedomAutonomyRightsDignity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about human rights, one might quote Thoreau to emphasize the need for mental and moral freedom.
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
Similar quotes
The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
Everyone says you've got to do a foundation and legal structure to finance social change. What nonsense!
Bill DraytonRead
The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe.
Peter De VriesRead
Ultimately a hero is a man who would argue with the gods, and so awakens devils to contest his vision. The more a man can achieve, the more he may be certain that the devil will inhabit a part of his creation.
Norman MailerRead
It would be an endless task to trace the variety of meannesses, cares, and sorrows into which women are plunged by the prevailing opinion that they were created rather to feel than reason, and that all the power they obtain must be obtained by their charms and weaknesses.
Mary WollstonecraftRead
This inner peace of mind occurs on three levels of understanding. Physical quietness seems the easiest to achieve, although there are levels and levels of this too, as attested by the ability of Hindu mystics to live buried alive for many days. Mental quietness, in which one has no wandering thoughts at all, seems more difficult, but can be achieved. But value quietness, in which one has no wandering desires at all but simply performs the acts of his life without desire, that seems the hardest.
Robert M. PirsigRead