---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A modern child could teach old Hepzibah…"
description: "\"“A modern child could teach old Hepzibah more than old Hepzibah could teach the child.”\" — Nathaniel Hawthorne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_children_a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah_2115304.jpg"
---

#  A modern child could teach old Hepzibah more than old…

![“A modern child could teach old Hepzibah more than old Hepzibah could teach the child.” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_children_a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah_2115304.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_children_a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah_2115304.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_children_a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah_2115304.jpg)

> ““A modern child could teach old Hepzibah more than old Hepzibah could teach the child.””

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

## About This Quote

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

Youth can teach elders, suggesting that learning is a two‑way street regardless of age.

**In simple terms:** Children can teach adults.

Key Takeaway

Stay open to learning from all ages.

Themes

education generational exchange humility

Mood

inspired humble

Type

literary reflective

When to use this quote

- parenting
- mentoring
- community programs

Key Concepts

lifelong learning intergenerational dialogue

Questions to Reflect On

- What have you learned from a younger person?
- How can we value all perspectives?

A Different Perspective

Older generations may resist learning from youth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/)

## Related quotes

> [The parents exist to teach the child, but also they must learn what the child has to teach them; and the child has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-parents-exist-to-teach-the-child-but-also-they-must-learn-what/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“What is it that the child has to teach? The child naively believes that everything should be fair and everyone should be honest, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tzvi-freeman/what-is-it-that-the-child-has-to-teach-the-child-naively-believes/)

[Tzvi Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tzvi-freeman/)

> [If you're going to teach a child, teach him properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-williams/if-you-re-going-to-teach-a-child-teach-him-properly/)

Stanley Williams

> [“You never teach a subject, you always teach a child. You teach children in a way that they will learn, and then things will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-height/you-never-teach-a-subject-you-always-teach-a-child-you-teach-children/)

[Dorothy Height](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-height/)

> [What I do feel the modern child lacks, when compared with the earlier generation, is concentration, and the sheer dogged grit to carry a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miss-read/what-i-do-feel-the-modern-child-lacks-when-compared-with-the-earlier/)

[Miss Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miss-read/)

> [The modern child may early in his or her existence have natural inclinations toward spirituality. The child may have imagination, originality, a simple and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-modern-child-may-early-in-his-or-her-existence-have-natural/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [I do not think that the nerve of the modern child is any too good; how can one expect it, brought up as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-wace/i-do-not-think-that-the-nerve-of-the-modern-child-is-any-too-good-how/)

[Muriel Wace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-wace/)

> [The modern child will answer you back before you've said anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-modern-child-will-answer-you-back-before-you-ve-said-anything/)

[Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/)

> [Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder-tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/modern-education-includes-morality-therefore-the-modern-child-seeks/)

[L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/)

> [Teach a child good manners during babyhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nachman-of-breslov/teach-a-child-good-manners-during-babyhood/)

[Nachman of Breslov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nachman-of-breslov/)

> [“is more effective to train that subconscious, emotional you the same way you would teach a child to behave”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/is-more-effective-to-train-that-subconscious-emotional-you-the-same/)

[Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/)

> [ \[I'm a conscious parent when I\] believe that my child is here to teach me as much about myself and how I need to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-tsabary/i-m-a-conscious-parent-when-i-believe-that-my-child-is-here-to-teach/)

[Shefali Tsabary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-tsabary/)

> [“your lack of knowledge may not for you but surely it is dangerous for your child because you cannot teach them which you your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/your-lack-of-knowledge-may-not-for-you-but-surely-it-is-dangerous-for/)

[Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/)

> [If you have forgotten how to be a child you cannot teach children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/if-you-have-forgotten-how-to-be-a-child-you-cannot-teach-children/)

[Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/)

> [The child must teach the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/the-child-must-teach-the-man/)

[John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/)

## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne

> [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

[Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

## More Child quotes

> [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/)

[Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/)

> [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/)

[Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/)

> [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/)

[Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/)

> [I want to make my music and be a happy woman, a good wife, a good mom and one day hopefully have a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/i-want-to-make-my-music-and-be-a-happy-woman-a-good-wife-a-good-mom/)

[LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/)

> [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/)

[Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/)

> [We're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-re-raising-children-who-have-little-tolerance-for-disappointment/)

[Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/)

> [I'm a weirdo and an only child. That comes together to create one-woman shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-seales/i-m-a-weirdo-and-an-only-child-that-comes-together-to-create-one/)

[Amanda Seales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-seales/)

> [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-assist-a-child-we-must-provide-him-with-an-environment-which-will/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/)

[Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/)

> [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/)

[Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/)

> [if we center our lives on BMWs, RVs, VCRs, PCs and the other acronyms of consumerism, we cannot expect our children to do otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnetta-b-cole/if-we-center-our-lives-on-bmws-rvs-vcrs-pcs-and-the-other-acronyms-of/)

[Johnnetta B. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnetta-b-cole/)

> [Bring up your children in the way you think other peoples children should go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/bring-up-your-children-in-the-way-you-think-other-peoples-children/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/)

Sheila Kamerman

> [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/)

[Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/)

[Browse all 10,700 Child quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A modern child could teach old Hepzibah more than old Hepzibah could teach the child.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nathaniel Hawthorne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah-more-than-old-hepzibah-could/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Child"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah-more-than-old-hepzibah-could/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_children_a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah_2115304.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_children_a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah_2115304.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_children_a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah_2115304.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A modern child could teach old Hepzibah more than old Hepzibah could teach the child.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne",
                "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": "Nathaniel Hawthorne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A modern child could teach old...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah-more-than-old-hepzibah-could/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/a-modern-child-could-teach-old-hepzibah-more-than-old-hepzibah-could/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
