--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let no one think that I do not love the…" description: "\"Let no one think that I do not love the old ministers. They were, probably, the best men in their generation, and they deserve that their biographies s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/henry-david-thoreau-20_biographies_let-no-one-think-that-i-do-not-love-the_2926069.jpg" --- # Let no one think that I do not love the old ministers… ![“Let no one think that I do not love the old ministers. They were, probably, the best men in their generation, and they deserve that their biographies should fill the pages of the town histories. If I could but hear the "glad tidings" of which they tell, and which, perchance, they heard, I might…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/henry-david-thoreau-20_biographies_let-no-one-think-that-i-do-not-love-the_2926069.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/henry-david-thoreau-20_biographies_let-no-one-think-that-i-do-not-love-the_2926069.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/henry-david-thoreau-20_biographies_let-no-one-think-that-i-do-not-love-the_2926069.jpg) > “Let no one think that I do not love the old ministers. They were, probably, the best men in their generation, and they deserve that their biographies should fill the pages of the town histories. If I could but hear the "glad tidings" of which they tell, and which, perchance, they heard, I might write in a worthier strain than this.” [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. Thoreau praises past leaders, urging recognition of their contributions and lamenting his own inadequate expression. **In simple terms:** He respects old leaders and wishes he could write better about them. Key Takeaway Honor past leaders, strive for better expression. Themes respect history humility legacy writing Mood reflective admiring Type historical personal When to use this quote - historical reflection - public speaking - writing memoirs Key Concepts recognition legacy self‑critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance respect with critical assessment? - What stories of past leaders inspire you? A Different Perspective His admiration may overlook flaws of those leaders. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clergy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clergy/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have much to learn of the Indian, nothing of the missionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-much-to-learn-of-the-indian-nothing-of-the-missionary/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When you travel to the Celestial City, carry no letter of introduction. When you knock, ask to see God,--none of the servants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-you-travel-to-the-celestial-city-carry-no-letter-of-introduction/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In respect to religion and the healing art, all nations are still in a state of barbarism. In the most civilized countries the priest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-respect-to-religion-and-the-healing-art-all-nations-are-still-in-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The sort of morality which the priests inculcate is a very subtle policy, far finer than the politicians', and the world is very successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sort-of-morality-which-the-priests-inculcate-is-a-very-subtle/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Methinks some creeds in vestries and churches do forget the hunter wrapped in furs by the Great Slave Lake, and that the Esquimauxsledges are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/methinks-some-creeds-in-vestries-and-churches-do-forget-the-hunter/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Priests and physicians should never look one another in the face. They have no common ground, nor is there any to mediate betweenthem. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/priests-and-physicians-should-never-look-one-another-in-the-face-they/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Good religious men, with the love of men in their hearts, and the means to pay their toll in their pockets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/good-religious-men-with-the-love-of-men-in-their-hearts-and-the-means/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [An ordinary man will work every day for a year at shoveling dirt to support his body, or a family of bodies; but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/an-ordinary-man-will-work-every-day-for-a-year-at-shoveling-dirt-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have heard of a minister, who had been a fisherman, being settled in Bridgewater for as long a time as he could tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-heard-of-a-minister-who-had-been-a-fisherman-being-settled-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The inhabitants of Canada appeared to be suffering between two fires,--the soldiery and the priesthood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-inhabitants-of-canada-appeared-to-be-suffering-between-two-fires/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It is remarkable that among all the preachers there are so few moral teachers. The prophets are employed in excusing the ways of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-remarkable-that-among-all-the-preachers-there-are-so-few-moral/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Truly unexpected tidings make both ears tingle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/truly-unexpected-tidings-make-both-ears-tingle/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [May dawn, as the proverb goes, bring happy tidings coming from her mother night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/may-dawn-as-the-proverb-goes-bring-happy-tidings-coming-from-her/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## 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 Biographies quotes > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [I have my own biography of Gram Parsons - I don't want to be part of somebody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-have-my-own-biography-of-gram-parsons-i-don-t-want-to-be-part-of/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [All Philosophy is Biography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-carroll/all-philosophy-is-biography/) [Peter J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-carroll/) > [Life is a biography, not a series of disconnected moments, more or less pleasurable but increasingly tedious and unsatisfying unless one imposes a purposive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/life-is-a-biography-not-a-series-of-disconnected-moments-more-or-less/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [I hope any poem I've ever written could stand on its own and not need to be a part of biography, critical theory or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-goldbarth/i-hope-any-poem-i-ve-ever-written-could-stand-on-its-own-and-not-need/) [Albert Goldbarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-goldbarth/) > [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I don't want to say that most rock bands live these formulaic biography existences - but they kinda do. There's always a divorce. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-don-t-want-to-say-that-most-rock-bands-live-these-formulaic/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [On the other hand, when I give it closer thought, I realize I'm not enough of a dictator to conduct an orchestra because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eberhard-weber/on-the-other-hand-when-i-give-it-closer-thought-i-realize-i-m-not/) [Eberhard Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eberhard-weber/) > [It can be a long gap between the emergence of fully researched historical biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/it-can-be-a-long-gap-between-the-emergence-of-fully-researched/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [Always live your life with your biography in mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/always-live-your-life-with-your-biography-in-mind/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) Browse all 587 Biographies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let no one think that I do not love the old ministers. 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