--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are often struck by the force and…" description: "\"We are often struck by the force and precision of style to which hard-working men, unpracticed in writing, easily attain when required to make the effo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/871/henry-david-thoreau-20_deer_we-are-often-struck-by-the-force-and-pre_1597282.jpg" --- # We are often struck by the force and precision of style to… ![“We are often struck by the force and precision of style to which hard-working men, unpracticed in writing, easily attain when required to make the effort. As if plainness and vigor and sincerity, the ornaments of style, were better learned on the farm and in the workshop than in the schools. The…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/871/henry-david-thoreau-20_deer_we-are-often-struck-by-the-force-and-pre_1597282.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/871/henry-david-thoreau-20_deer_we-are-often-struck-by-the-force-and-pre_1597282.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/871/henry-david-thoreau-20_deer_we-are-often-struck-by-the-force-and-pre_1597282.jpg) > “We are often struck by the force and precision of style to which hard-working men, unpracticed in writing, easily attain when required to make the effort. As if plainness and vigor and sincerity, the ornaments of style, were better learned on the farm and in the workshop than in the schools. The sentences written by such rude hands are nervous and tough, like hardened thongs, the sinews of the deer, or the roots of the pine.” [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. Hard‑working, untrained writers can produce vigorous style through effort, as if learned on farms rather than schools. **In simple terms:** Effort yields strong writing even without formal training. Key Takeaway Practice writing to develop powerful style. Themes writing effort authenticity education Mood inspirational reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workshop writing - self‑study - field research - manual trades Key Concepts craftsmanship natural talent discipline stylistic vigor Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance natural vigor with refined technique? - What role does practice play versus formal study? A Different Perspective Formal education still offers valuable techniques and critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deer/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Effort Plainness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort-plainness-6066479/) [Farms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farms/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Hardened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardened/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [Ornaments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ornaments/) [Plainness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plainness/) [Precision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precision/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Rude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rude/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Sentences Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences-written-732616/) [Sincerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincerity/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Style Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style-hard-2793776/) [Thongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thongs/) [Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough/) [Unpracticed Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpracticed-writing-6066478/) [Vigor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vigor/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) [Working man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-man/) [Workshops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workshops/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-easily-1741857/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [In an ancient and dead language, any recognition of living nature attracts us. These are such sentences as were written while grass grew and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-an-ancient-and-dead-language-any-recognition-of-living-nature/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Women's style is so hard for me. I just know what I think looks good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pusha-t/women-s-style-is-so-hard-for-me-i-just-know-what-i-think-looks-good/) [Pusha T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pusha-t/) > [A lot of people misunderstand what is Strong Style. Hard hits? Stiff? I don't think so. Strong Style is a kind of philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinsuke-nakamura/a-lot-of-people-misunderstand-what-is-strong-style-hard-hits-stiff-i/) [Shinsuke Nakamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinsuke-nakamura/) > [“Some of the people who hate me love some of the sentences that I have written, until they get to the name of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-the-people-who-hate-me-love-some-of-the-sentences-that-i-have/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [When I'm really fixated on a bit of writing, I can easily spend six days without leaving the house and barely leaving my room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/when-i-m-really-fixated-on-a-bit-of-writing-i-can-easily-spend-six/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [When I'm writing I get easily bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-koch/when-i-m-writing-i-get-easily-bored/) [Herman Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-koch/) > [“If you give me six sentences written by the most innocent of men, I will find something in them with which to hang them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-give-me-six-sentences-written-by-the-most-innocent-of-men-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no way of writing well and also of writing easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/there-is-no-way-of-writing-well-and-also-of-writing-easily/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [So many people seem to imagine that because the actual tools of writing are easily accessible, it is less difficult than the other arts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/so-many-people-seem-to-imagine-that-because-the-actual-tools-of/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [The notion of the writer as a kind of sociological sample of a community is ludicrous. Even worse is the notion that writers should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/the-notion-of-the-writer-as-a-kind-of-sociological-sample-of-a/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [Sometimes a thong completely betrays you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/sometimes-a-thong-completely-betrays-you/) [Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/) > [It feels like I could go outside with a bikini thong on right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-feels-like-i-could-go-outside-with-a-bikini-thong-on-right-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thongs are the leading cause of pregnancy in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-marbles/thongs-are-the-leading-cause-of-pregnancy-in-the-united-states/) [Jenna Marbles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-marbles/) > [My favorite party trick is to wear nothing but a gold thong in the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-styles/my-favorite-party-trick-is-to-wear-nothing-but-a-gold-thong-in-the/) [Harry Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-styles/) > [Everyone's showing their thong out the back of their jeans. But you shouldn't wear any. You get a better line if you wear no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beckham/everyone-s-showing-their-thong-out-the-back-of-their-jeans-but-you/) [Victoria Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beckham/) ## 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 Deer quotes > [“You’d wait in the orchard for hours to watch a deer break from the shadows. You said it was like lifting a cello out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-c-corral/you-d-wait-in-the-orchard-for-hours-to-watch-a-deer-break-from-the/) [Eduardo C. Corral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-c-corral/) > [I like deer. They're kinda cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-griffin/i-like-deer-they-re-kinda-cool/) [Forrest Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-griffin/) > [I smiled,"Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes she'll find it strong as iron-bound brass, or gold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-smiled-deoch-my-heart-is-made-of-stronger-stuff-than-glass-when-she/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Heartless though it may seem to some, among the least harmful things to eat are sustainably culled wild animals. In the absence of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/heartless-though-it-may-seem-to-some-among-the-least-harmful-things/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > [The deer aren't our prey or our possessions -- they're us. They're us at one point in the cycle of life and we're them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-deer-aren-t-our-prey-or-our-possessions-they-re-us-they-re-us-at/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [Deer won't trust their eyes, and they won't trust their ears, but they'll always trust their sense of smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/deer-won-t-trust-their-eyes-and-they-won-t-trust-their-ears-but-they/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [Enlightenment is like witnessing the brilliant sun for the first time in the morning. It is like seeing the beautiful flowers that grow in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/enlightenment-is-like-witnessing-the-brilliant-sun-for-the-first-time/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [“The deer that goes too often to the lick meets the hunter at last!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenimore-cooper/the-deer-that-goes-too-often-to-the-lick-meets-the-hunter-at-last/) [James Fenimore Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenimore-cooper/) > [I don't like reindeer. They seem like regular deer, only more dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-don-t-like-reindeer-they-seem-like-regular-deer-only-more-dangerous/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If, in order to succeed in an enterprise, I were obliged to choose between fifty deer commanded by a lion, and fifty lions commanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/if-in-order-to-succeed-in-an-enterprise-i-were-obliged-to-choose/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-now-suspect-that-just-as-a-deer-herd-lives-in-mortal-fear-of-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every time I go to work, I feel like it's the first time; I feel terrified and excited and exhilarated and like a deer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-tyler/every-time-i-go-to-work-i-feel-like-it-s-the-first-time-i-feel/) [Liv Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-tyler/) > [I am so excited this year getting to play the 85th Anniversary Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Everyone knows on Thanksgiving morning to get up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/i-am-so-excited-this-year-getting-to-play-the-85th-anniversary-macy-s/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [He had mittens, Minjekahwun, Magic mittens made of deer-skin; When upon his hands he wore them, He could smite the rocks asunder, He could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/he-had-mittens-minjekahwun-magic-mittens-made-of-deer-skin-when-upon/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Charles preferred his deer to taste like meat and his pancakes to look like pancakes. Brother Wolf thought he was too picky. Brother Wolf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/charles-preferred-his-deer-to-taste-like-meat-and-his-pancakes-to/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) [Browse all 337 Deer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are often struck by the force and precision of style to which hard-working men, unpracticed in writing, easily attain when required to make the effort. As if plainness and vigor and sincerity, the ornaments of style, were better learned on the farm and in the workshop than in the schools. 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