--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play…" description: "\"Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play, I mind my compass and my way.\" — Matthew Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/matthew-green-32832_play_though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play_912211.jpg" --- # Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play, I mind my compass… ![“Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play, I mind my compass and my way.” quote by Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/matthew-green-32832_play_though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play_912211.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/matthew-green-32832_play_though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play_912211.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/matthew-green-32832_play_though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play_912211.jpg) > “Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play, I mind my compass and my way.” [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Joy in observing dolphins contrasted with personal navigation and purpose. **In simple terms:** Enjoy nature while staying focused on goals. Key Takeaway Balance wonder with direction. Themes nature focus purpose Mood serene reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - coastal walks - meditation - goal setting - creative inspiration Key Concepts poetry mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay grounded amid beauty? - What does the compass symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Distraction can derail goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dolphins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolphins/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) ## Related quotes > [I understood that I might fail, but I wouldn't let it happen because I changed my compass along the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-braun/i-understood-that-i-might-fail-but-i-wouldn-t-let-it-happen-because-i/) [Adam Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-braun/) > [“Even in this world, more things exist without our knowledge than with it and the order in creation which you see is that which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/even-in-this-world-more-things-exist-without-our-knowledge-than-with/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [There is the life of the plankton in almost endless variety; there are the many kinds of fish, both surface and bottom living; there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alister-hardy/there-is-the-life-of-the-plankton-in-almost-endless-variety-there-are/) Alister Hardy > [I'm unclear on the definition of person the courts have been using. Something that sieves out dolphins but lets corporations slide on through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-m-unclear-on-the-definition-of-person-the-courts-have-been-using/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [ “As he \[Sir Malcolm Sargeant, conductor of the London Philharmonic\] stood in waist deep in the shallows of Whaler's Cove, the littler spinners came… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-pryor/as-he-sir-malcolm-sargeant-conductor-of-the-london-philharmonic-stood/) [Karen Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-pryor/) > [God is a God of galaxies, of storms, of roaring seas and boiling thunder, but He is also the God of bread baking, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/god-is-a-god-of-galaxies-of-storms-of-roaring-seas-and-boiling/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [We have restricted humans from giving 'free' food to bears and dolphins because we know that such feeding would make them dependent and lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/we-have-restricted-humans-from-giving-free-food-to-bears-and-dolphins/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [Why he would agree to install an eight-by-eight-foot fish tank and then not fill it with a single dolphin made me want to burn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/why-he-would-agree-to-install-an-eight-by-eight-foot-fish-tank-and/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [For it is a mad world and it will get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/for-it-is-a-mad-world-and-it-will-get-madder-if-we-allow-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I've never had any intimate relationships with a dolphin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/i-ve-never-had-any-intimate-relationships-with-a-dolphin/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [I've got a lot of good friends - the owner of the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets - both owners are friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-ve-got-a-lot-of-good-friends-the-owner-of-the-miami-dolphins-and/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Context is to data what water is to a dolphin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/context-is-to-data-what-water-is-to-a-dolphin/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/write-this-since-my-boy-is-the-coach-i-m-going-to-try-out-for-the/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/must-whales-and-dolphins-be-subjected-to-deafening-noise-that-will/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## More by Matthew Green > [Thus, I steer my bark, and sail On even keel, with gentle gale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/thus-i-steer-my-bark-and-sail-on-even-keel-with-gentle-gale/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“It's very strange to be an imaginary friend. You can't be suffocated and you can't get sick and you can't fall and break your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/it-s-very-strange-to-be-an-imaginary-friend-you-can-t-be-suffocated/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“No matter what happens, I don’t think that anyone will remember me when I disappear. It will be like I was never here. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/no-matter-what-happens-i-don-t-think-that-anyone-will-remember-me/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Fling but a stone, the giant dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/fling-but-a-stone-the-giant-dies/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Nor bigots who but one way see, through blinkers of authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/nor-bigots-who-but-one-way-see-through-blinkers-of-authority/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“In love the artless catch the game, And they scarce miss who never aim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/in-love-the-artless-catch-the-game-and-they-scarce-miss-who-never-aim/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [They politics like ours profess, the greater prey upon the less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/they-politics-like-ours-profess-the-greater-prey-upon-the-less/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Experience join'd with common sense, To mortals is a providence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/experience-join-d-with-common-sense-to-mortals-is-a-providence/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“I hated Pinocchio. I think I was the only one in the class who hated him. Pinocchio was alive, but that was not enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/i-hated-pinocchio-i-think-i-was-the-only-one-in-the-class-who-hated/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“Everyone gets so worried about the people who are still living when the people who are really hurting are the dead ones. People like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/everyone-gets-so-worried-about-the-people-who-are-still-living-when/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“It's hard to not worry, because trying not to worry reminds me that I should be worried”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/it-s-hard-to-not-worry-because-trying-not-to-worry-reminds-me-that-i/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Talk of unusual swell of waist In maid of honor loosely laced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/talk-of-unusual-swell-of-waist-in-maid-of-honor-loosely-laced/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [Avarice, the sphincter of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/avarice-the-sphincter-of-the-heart/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) > [“The world can be so complicated for Max. Even when he gets something right, it can still go wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/the-world-can-be-so-complicated-for-max-even-when-he-gets-something/) [Matthew Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) [Explore all 15 Matthew Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/) ## More Dolphins quotes > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Must whales and dolphins be subjected to deafening noise that will cause more than 3.5 million instances of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss? For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/must-whales-and-dolphins-be-subjected-to-deafening-noise-that-will/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/write-this-since-my-boy-is-the-coach-i-m-going-to-try-out-for-the/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Context is to data what water is to a dolphin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/context-is-to-data-what-water-is-to-a-dolphin/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [I've got a lot of good friends - the owner of the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets - both owners are friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-ve-got-a-lot-of-good-friends-the-owner-of-the-miami-dolphins-and/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I've never had any intimate relationships with a dolphin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/i-ve-never-had-any-intimate-relationships-with-a-dolphin/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [For it is a mad world and it will get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/for-it-is-a-mad-world-and-it-will-get-madder-if-we-allow-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Why he would agree to install an eight-by-eight-foot fish tank and then not fill it with a single dolphin made me want to burn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/why-he-would-agree-to-install-an-eight-by-eight-foot-fish-tank-and/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [We have restricted humans from giving 'free' food to bears and dolphins because we know that such feeding would make them dependent and lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/we-have-restricted-humans-from-giving-free-food-to-bears-and-dolphins/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [God is a God of galaxies, of storms, of roaring seas and boiling thunder, but He is also the God of bread baking, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/god-is-a-god-of-galaxies-of-storms-of-roaring-seas-and-boiling/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [ “As he \[Sir Malcolm Sargeant, conductor of the London Philharmonic\] stood in waist deep in the shallows of Whaler's Cove, the littler spinners came… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-pryor/as-he-sir-malcolm-sargeant-conductor-of-the-london-philharmonic-stood/) [Karen Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-pryor/) > [I'm unclear on the definition of person the courts have been using. Something that sieves out dolphins but lets corporations slide on through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-m-unclear-on-the-definition-of-person-the-courts-have-been-using/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [There is the life of the plankton in almost endless variety; there are the many kinds of fish, both surface and bottom living; there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alister-hardy/there-is-the-life-of-the-plankton-in-almost-endless-variety-there-are/) Alister Hardy > [I've been a Dolphin for 17 years, and I'll be a Dolphin for the rest of my life. That will never change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-marino/i-ve-been-a-dolphin-for-17-years-and-i-ll-be-a-dolphin-for-the-rest/) [Dan Marino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-marino/) > [Ere the dolphin dies Its hues are brightest. Like an infant's breath Are tropic winds before the voice of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fitz-greene-halleck/ere-the-dolphin-dies-its-hues-are-brightest-like-an-infant-s-breath/) [Fitz-Greene Halleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fitz-greene-halleck/) [Browse all 188 Dolphins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolphins/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play, I mind my compass and my way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play-i-mind-my-compass-and-my-way/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dolphins" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play-i-mind-my-compass-and-my-way/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/matthew-green-32832_play_though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play_912211.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/matthew-green-32832_play_though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play_912211.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/matthew-green-32832_play_though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play_912211.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Though pleas'd to see the dolphins play, I mind my compass and my way.” — Matthew Green", "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": "Matthew Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Though pleas'd to see the dolphins...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play-i-mind-my-compass-and-my-way/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-green/though-pleas-d-to-see-the-dolphins-play-i-mind-my-compass-and-my-way/#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 } } ] } ```