--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mine was, as it were, the connecting link…" description: "\"Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savag..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/henry-david-thoreau-20_beans_mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link_15045.jpg" --- # Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and… ![“Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage or barbarous, so my field was, though not in a bad sense, a half-cultivated field. They were beans cheerfully returning to their wild and…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/henry-david-thoreau-20_beans_mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link_15045.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/henry-david-thoreau-20_beans_mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link_15045.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/henry-david-thoreau-20_beans_mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link_15045.jpg) > “Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage or barbarous, so my field was, though not in a bad sense, a half-cultivated field. They were beans cheerfully returning to their wild and primitive state that I cultivated, and my hoe played the Ranz des Vaches for them.” [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. The speaker sees his work as a transitional space, nurturing wild growth toward cultivation without erasing its natural character. **In simple terms:** A bridge between wilderness and agriculture. Key Takeaway Cultivation can honor wildness. Themes Nature Cultivation Transformation Balance Human Impact Mood Reflective Hopeful Respectful Type Philosophical Nature metaphor When to use this quote - Gardening - Land restoration - Ecological research - Sustainable farming Key Concepts Ecology Human-nature relationship Agricultural practice Practical Applications - Designing agroforestry systems - Developing permaculture curricula Questions to Reflect On - How does this view challenge the idea of human domination over nature? - What responsibilities arise when we intervene in natural processes? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beans/) [Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) [Connecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connecting/) [Cultivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultivated/) [Cultivated Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultivated-field-379271/) [Cultivated Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultivated-fields-379272/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half Cultivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-cultivated-379273/) [Hoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoe/) [Links](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/links/) [Mines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mines/) [Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [State Cultivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-cultivated-379274/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [A taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-taste-for-the-beautiful-is-most-cultivated-out-of-doors/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Alas! the culture of an Irishman is an enterprise to be undertaken with a sort of moral bog hoe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/alas-the-culture-of-an-irishman-is-an-enterprise-to-be-undertaken/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The mode of clearing and planting is to fell the trees, and burn once what will burn, then cut them up into suitable lengths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-mode-of-clearing-and-planting-is-to-fell-the-trees-and-burn-once/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [How long shall we sit in our porticoes practising idle and musty virtues, which any work would make impertinent? As if one were tobegin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-long-shall-we-sit-in-our-porticoes-practising-idle-and-musty/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As I drew a still fresher soil about the rows with my hoe, I disturbed the ashes of unchronicled nations who in primeval years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-i-drew-a-still-fresher-soil-about-the-rows-with-my-hoe-i-disturbed/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When my hoe tinkled against the stones, that music echoed to the woods and the sky, and was an accompaniment to my labor which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-my-hoe-tinkled-against-the-stones-that-music-echoed-to-the-woods/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Fashion was in a crisis up until the mid-'90s and, when it came out of the crisis, it was a very different place. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/fashion-was-in-a-crisis-up-until-the-mid-90s-and-when-it-came-out-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [A cultivated style would be like a mask. Everybody knows it's a mask, and sooner or later you must show yourself -- or at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/a-cultivated-style-would-be-like-a-mask-everybody-knows-it-s-a-mask/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirabeau-b-lamar/cultivated-mind-is-the-guardian-genius-of-democracy/) [Mirabeau B. Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirabeau-b-lamar/) > [All good qualities must be sown and cultivated. We can’t expect to change overnight from an ordinary person into one with high realizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-good-qualities-must-be-sown-and-cultivated-we-can-t-expect-to/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [What is honored in a country will be cultivated there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-is-honored-in-a-country-will-be-cultivated-there/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [That person is most cultivated who is able to put himself in the place of the greatest number of other persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/that-person-is-most-cultivated-who-is-able-to-put-himself-in-the/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [It's not that I am not emotional, but I am extremely secure and curb it, as I am afraid to let go and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranbir-kapoor/it-s-not-that-i-am-not-emotional-but-i-am-extremely-secure-and-curb/) [Ranbir Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranbir-kapoor/) > [My grandmother had six kids - one died as an infant - and she was dirt-poor, and all her kids got an education. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-alibar/my-grandmother-had-six-kids-one-died-as-an-infant-and-she-was-dirt/) [Lucy Alibar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-alibar/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## 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 Beans quotes > [For Starbucks, there will be no shortage of the highest-quality arabica beans. I suspect that for some others there could potentially be a problem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/for-starbucks-there-will-be-no-shortage-of-the-highest-quality/) [Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/) > [Every study on chocolate is pointing to the same conclusion: there is something in chocolate that is really good for us. That something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/every-study-on-chocolate-is-pointing-to-the-same-conclusion-there-is/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [I like beans. Lentils are beans, right? 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If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/the-beanball-is-one-of-the-meanest-things-on-earth-and-no-decent/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [For your information, I'm staying like this, and everyone else can just get used to it! If people don't like me the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/for-your-information-i-m-staying-like-this-and-everyone-else-can-just/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I was eating beans by candle light for a decade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-andre/i-was-eating-beans-by-candle-light-for-a-decade/) [Eric Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-andre/) > [ They pick me \[to be tested for steroids\] every time. I don't know why. 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