--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It will always be found that one…" description: "\"It will always be found that one flourishing institution exists and battens on another mouldering one. The Present itself is parasitic to this extent.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/henry-david-thoreau-20_flourishing_it-will-always-be-found-that-one-flouris_3111554.jpg" --- # It will always be found that one flourishing institution… ![“It will always be found that one flourishing institution exists and battens on another mouldering one. The Present itself is parasitic to this extent.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/henry-david-thoreau-20_flourishing_it-will-always-be-found-that-one-flouris_3111554.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/henry-david-thoreau-20_flourishing_it-will-always-be-found-that-one-flouris_3111554.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/henry-david-thoreau-20_flourishing_it-will-always-be-found-that-one-flouris_3111554.jpg) > “It will always be found that one flourishing institution exists and battens on another mouldering one. The Present itself is parasitic to this extent.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Institutions thrive by relying on the decline of others; the present itself feeds on this parasitic relationship. **In simple terms:** Success often depends on others' failure. Key Takeaway Beware of systems that profit from others' decline. Themes society economics ethics Mood critical reflective Type philosophical social When to use this quote - business strategy - policy making - social critique Key Concepts dependency parasitism Questions to Reflect On - What institutions rely on others' decline? - Can cooperation replace parasitic dynamics? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex interdependencies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flourishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourishing/) [Flourishing Institution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourishing-institution-5434995/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Institution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution/) [Institution Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution-exists-1054655/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Present Parasitic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-parasitic-5434996/) ## Related quotes > [The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tyndale/the-church-is-the-one-institution-that-exists-for-those-outside-it/) [William Tyndale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tyndale/) > [The idea of the state is, or should be, a very limited, prescribed idea. The state looks after the defense of the realm, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-idea-of-the-state-is-or-should-be-a-very-limited-prescribed-idea/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We all want merit to mean something, and we all may be tempted to reduce that meaning to something measurable and concrete like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/we-all-want-merit-to-mean-something-and-we-all-may-be-tempted-to/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [When Southern people tell us they are no more responsible for the origin of slavery than we are, I acknowledge the fact. When it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/when-southern-people-tell-us-they-are-no-more-responsible-for-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [To create a world in which life can flourish and prosper we must replace the values and institutions of capitalism with values and institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-korten/to-create-a-world-in-which-life-can-flourish-and-prosper-we-must/) [David Korten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-korten/) > [Where there is a lull in truth an institution springs up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/where-there-is-a-lull-in-truth-an-institution-springs-up/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Where there is a lull of truth, an institution springs up. But the truth blows right on over it, nevertheless, and at length blows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/where-there-is-a-lull-of-truth-an-institution-springs-up-but-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm forming a charitable institution for education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amar-bose/i-m-forming-a-charitable-institution-for-education/) [Amar Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amar-bose/) > [Every institution goes through three stages - utility, privilege, and abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/every-institution-goes-through-three-stages-utility-privilege-and/) [François-René de Chateaubriand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/) > [I don't believe that someone who sets up an institution should be able to take out the money from the institution or pay dividends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pallam-raju/i-don-t-believe-that-someone-who-sets-up-an-institution-should-be/) [Pallam Raju](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pallam-raju/) > [The institution of marriage, if you look at it over many centuries, has come and gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/the-institution-of-marriage-if-you-look-at-it-over-many-centuries-has/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) > [In my short experience of human life, the outward obstacles, if there were any such, have not been living men, but the institutions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-my-short-experience-of-human-life-the-outward-obstacles-if-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I could not help being struck with the foolishness of that institution which treated me as if I were mere flesh and blood and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-could-not-help-being-struck-with-the-foolishness-of-that/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I could not undertake to form a nucleus of an institution for the development of infant minds, where none already existed. It would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-could-not-undertake-to-form-a-nucleus-of-an-institution-for-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Books, not which afford us a cowering enjoyment, but in which each thought is of unusual daring; such as an idle man cannot read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-not-which-afford-us-a-cowering-enjoyment-but-in-which-each/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Flourishing quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [No government can be strong and flourishing while the national character is weak and degraded. A government must flourish and decay with its subjects;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-robbins-curtis/no-government-can-be-strong-and-flourishing-while-the-national/) [Benjamin Robbins Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-robbins-curtis/) > [The economic position is only flourishing on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano. If the short-term credits are called in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-stresemann/the-economic-position-is-only-flourishing-on-the-surface-germany-is/) [Gustav Stresemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-stresemann/) > [“I’ve come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-ve-come-to-think-that-flourishing-consists-of-putting-yourself-in/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [The heavens are now seen to resemble a luxuriant garden, which contains the greatest variety of productions, in different flourishing beds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-herschel/the-heavens-are-now-seen-to-resemble-a-luxuriant-garden-which/) [William Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-herschel/) > [Flourishing is everyone's birthright. I'm trying to break this hold that being smiley and cheery has on what people think the good life is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jurvetson/flourishing-is-everyone-s-birthright-i-m-trying-to-break-this-hold/) [Steve Jurvetson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jurvetson/) > [To create a world in which life can flourish and prosper we must replace the values and institutions of capitalism with values and institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-korten/to-create-a-world-in-which-life-can-flourish-and-prosper-we-must/) [David Korten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-korten/) > [“If they say you will fall, rise. If they say you will fail, succeed. If they say you will break, kept it together. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-they-say-you-will-fall-rise-if-they-say-you-will-fail-succeed-if/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [A mass of dust, world's momentary slave, Is man, in state of our old Adam made, Soon born to die, soon flourishing to fade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barnabe-barnes/a-mass-of-dust-world-s-momentary-slave-is-man-in-state-of-our-old/) [Barnabe Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barnabe-barnes/) > [Flourishing goes beyond happiness, or satisfaction with life. True, people who flourish are happy. But that's not the half of it. Beyond feeling good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-fredrickson/flourishing-goes-beyond-happiness-or-satisfaction-with-life-true/) [Barbara Fredrickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-fredrickson/) > [I remember times when the whole music scene was just flourishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roscoe-mitchell/i-remember-times-when-the-whole-music-scene-was-just-flourishing/) [Roscoe Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roscoe-mitchell/) > [“There will be times in your life when things simply have to be replaced because they are tired, broken, worn out, harmful, outdated, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-things-simply-have-to-be/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [The cognitive skills prized by the American educational establishment and measured by achievement tests are only part of what is required for success in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-heckman/the-cognitive-skills-prized-by-the-american-educational-establishment/) [James Heckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-heckman/) > [In Israel, a land lacking in natural resources, we learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. Through creativity and innovation, we transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/in-israel-a-land-lacking-in-natural-resources-we-learned-to/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Ungrateful people breed negativity. No one gets any pleasure from giving to an ungrateful person. When you show appreciation, the object of your attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccabe/ungrateful-people-breed-negativity-no-one-gets-any-pleasure-from/) [Paul McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccabe/) [Browse all 166 Flourishing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourishing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It will always be found that one flourishing institution exists and battens on another mouldering one. 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