---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is anything for which I would go…"
description: "\"If there is anything for which I would go back to childhood, and live this weary life over again, it is for the burning, exalting, transporting thrill ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/horace-mann-2022_adventure_if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-g_862714.png"
---

#  If there is anything for which I would go back to…

![“If there is anything for which I would go back to childhood, and live this weary life over again, it is for the burning, exalting, transporting thrill and ecstasy with which the young faculties hold their earliest communion with knowledge.” quote by Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/horace-mann-2022_adventure_if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-g_862714.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/horace-mann-2022_adventure_if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-g_862714.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/horace-mann-2022_adventure_if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-g_862714.png)

> “If there is anything for which I would go back to childhood, and live this weary life over again, it is for the burning, exalting, transporting thrill and ecstasy with which the young faculties hold their earliest communion with knowledge.”

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Returning to childhood wonder of learning brings profound excitement and purpose.

**In simple terms:** Learning like a child feels thrilling and meaningful.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate curiosity and joy in education.

Themes

education wonder joy

Mood

inspirational hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- classroom teaching
- self‑directed study
- creative workshops

Key Concepts

intrinsic motivation lifelong learning

Questions to Reflect On

- What child‑like curiosity can you revive?
- How does joy in learning affect achievement?

A Different Perspective

Adult responsibilities can dull youthful curiosity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Burning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Childhood Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood-live-629822/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Communion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communion/) [Ecstasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecstasy/) [Faculty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faculty/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Thrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrill/) [Thrill Ecstasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrill-ecstasy-869579/) [Transporting Thrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transporting-thrill-869578/) [Weary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weary/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/)

## Related quotes

> [When looking at her I imagine my childhood and I live it all over again. Having children is getting to live two lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-looking-at-her-i-imagine-my-childhood-and-i-live-it-all-over/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“And children are still the way you were ...as a child, sad and happy in just the same way and if you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rilke-letters-to-a-young-poet/and-children-are-still-the-way-you-were-as-a-child-sad-and-happy-in/)

[Rilke Letters to a Young Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rilke-letters-to-a-young-poet/)

> [The greatest privilege of childhood is to live totally in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-privilege-of-childhood-is-to-live-totally-in-the-present/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Hurts of childhood live on; in one form or other they are there to the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/hurts-of-childhood-live-on-in-one-form-or-other-they-are-there-to-the/)

[Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/)

> [Children are still the way you were as a child, sad and happy in just the same way-and if you think of your childhood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/children-are-still-the-way-you-were-as-a-child-sad-and-happy-in-just/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [It is one of the most beautiful facts in this human existence of ours, that we remember the earliest and freshest part of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/it-is-one-of-the-most-beautiful-facts-in-this-human-existence-of-ours/)

[Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/)

> [Ecstasy is what everyone craves - not love or sex, but a hot-blooded, soaring intensity, in which being alive is a joy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/ecstasy-is-what-everyone-craves-not-love-or-sex-but-a-hot-blooded/)

[Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/)

> [I have managed not to finish certain books. With barely a twinge of conscience, I hurl down what bores me or doesn't give what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-sharon-schwartz/i-have-managed-not-to-finish-certain-books-with-barely-a-twinge-of/)

[Lynne Sharon Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-sharon-schwartz/)

> [Running the big rapids is like sex: half the fun lies in the anticipation. Two thirds of the thrill with the approach. The remainder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/running-the-big-rapids-is-like-sex-half-the-fun-lies-in-the/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [No one has success until he has the abounding life. This is made up of the many-fold activity of energy, enthusiasm and gladness. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-whiting/no-one-has-success-until-he-has-the-abounding-life-this-is-made-up-of/)

[Lilian Whiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-whiting/)

> [Every nerve that can thrill with pleasure, can also agonize with pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/every-nerve-that-can-thrill-with-pleasure-can-also-agonize-with-pain/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [“Laymen are not allowed to carry around the blessed Host to throw at people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright-2/laymen-are-not-allowed-to-carry-around-the-blessed-host-to-throw-at/)

[John C Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright-2/)

> [“Is the Lord’s Supper only for Christians? Whenever I ask this question I immediately remember the character of those that partook of the Last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/is-the-lord-s-supper-only-for-christians-whenever-i-ask-this-question/)

[Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/)

> [Not simply the righteousness of our Saviour, not simply the beauty of His holiness or the graces of His character, are we to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adoniram-judson-gordon/not-simply-the-righteousness-of-our-saviour-not-simply-the-beauty-of/)

[Adoniram Judson Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adoniram-judson-gordon/)

> [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

## More by Horace Mann

> [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [The earth endured Christ's ministry only three years;--not three weeks after his real character and purposes were generally known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-earth-endured-christ-s-ministry-only-three-years-not-three-weeks/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? Nay, why do we call men wicked at all? Evil is inevitable, but is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-evil-is-inevitable-how-are-the-wicked-accountable-nay-why-do-we/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [The soul of the truly benevolent man does not seem to reside much in his own body. Its life, to a great extent, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-soul-of-the-truly-benevolent-man-does-not-seem-to-reside-much-in/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [The pulpit only "teaches" to be honest; the market-place "trains" to overreaching and fraud; and teaching has not a tithe of the efficiency of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-pulpit-only-teaches-to-be-honest-the-market-place-trains-to/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [On entering this world our starting-point is ignorance. None, however, but idiots remain there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/on-entering-this-world-our-starting-point-is-ignorance-none-however/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [So, in the infinitely nobler battle in which you are engaged against error and wrong, if ever repulsed or stricken down, may you always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/so-in-the-infinitely-nobler-battle-in-which-you-are-engaged-against/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [We conceive of immortality as having a beginning, but no end; but we conceive of eternity as having neither beginning nor end. Hence it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/we-conceive-of-immortality-as-having-a-beginning-but-no-end-but-we/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [In our country and in our times no man is worthy the honored name of statesman who does not include the highest practicable education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/in-our-country-and-in-our-times-no-man-is-worthy-the-honored-name-of/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Genius may conceive but patient labor must consummate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/genius-may-conceive-but-patient-labor-must-consummate/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Even the choicest literature should be taken as the condiment, and not as the sustenance of life. It should be neither the warp nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/even-the-choicest-literature-should-be-taken-as-the-condiment-and-not/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Of all "rights" which command attention at the present time among us, woman's rights seem to take precedence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/of-all-rights-which-command-attention-at-the-present-time-among-us/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [After a child has arrived at the legal age for attending school,-whether he be the child of noble or of peasant,-the only two absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/after-a-child-has-arrived-at-the-legal-age-for-attending-school/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Let the Common School be expanded to its capabilities, let it be worked with the efficiency of which it is susceptible, and nine tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/let-the-common-school-be-expanded-to-its-capabilities-let-it-be/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [Resistance to improvement contradicts the noblest instincts of the race. It begets its opposite. The fanaticism of reform is only the raging of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/resistance-to-improvement-contradicts-the-noblest-instincts-of-the/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

[Explore all 191 Horace Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

## More Adventure quotes

> [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/)

[Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/)

> [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/)

[Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/)

> [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

> [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/)

[Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/)

> [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/)

[Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/)

> [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/)

[Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/)

> [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/)

[Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/)

> [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/)

[Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/)

> [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/)

[John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/)

> [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/)

[D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/)

> [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/)

[Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/)

> [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

[Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If there is anything for which I would go back to childhood, and live this weary life over again, it is for the burning, exalting, transporting thrill and ecstasy with which the young faculties hold their earliest communion with knowledge.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Horace Mann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-go-back-to-childhood-and-live/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Adventure"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-go-back-to-childhood-and-live/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/horace-mann-2022_adventure_if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-g_862714.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/horace-mann-2022_adventure_if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-g_862714.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/horace-mann-2022_adventure_if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-g_862714.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If there is anything for which I would go back to childhood, and live this weary life over again, it is for…” — Horace Mann",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Horace Mann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If there is anything for which...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-go-back-to-childhood-and-live/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-there-is-anything-for-which-i-would-go-back-to-childhood-and-live/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
