--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Too old to plant trees for my own…" description: "\"Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.\" — Thomas Jefferson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/thomas-jefferson-43_gratification_too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratif_3102658.jpg" --- # Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall… ![“Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/thomas-jefferson-43_gratification_too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratif_3102658.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/thomas-jefferson-43_gratification_too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratif_3102658.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/thomas-jefferson-43_gratification_too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratif_3102658.jpg) > “Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflects on legacy, urging actions that benefit future generations rather than immediate self‑interest. **In simple terms:** Act for future, not just self. Key Takeaway Plant for posterity. Themes legacy environment selflessness Mood thoughtful reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - family planning - community projects - environmental activism - philanthropy Key Concepts intergenerational responsibility altruism Questions to Reflect On - What lasting impact do you want to leave? - How can you balance present joy with future benefit? A Different Perspective May neglect present needs while focusing on future. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gratification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratification/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plant a tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant-a-tree/) [Serving others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serving-others/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [What dazzles, for the moment spends its spirit; Whats genuine, shall posterity inherit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-dazzles-for-the-moment-spends-its-spirit-whats-genuine-shall/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [He who seeks truth shall find beauty. He who seeks beauty shall find vanity. He who seeks order shall find gratification. He who seeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/he-who-seeks-truth-shall-find-beauty-he-who-seeks-beauty-shall-find/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [To plant trees is to give body and life to one's dreams of a better world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-page/to-plant-trees-is-to-give-body-and-life-to-one-s-dreams-of-a-better/) [Russell Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-page/) > [Plant trees, Lots of trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/plant-trees-lots-of-trees/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [It is a simple matter to plant trees in straight lines, but informal groupings will test the sensitivities of the most experienced planter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-stuart-thomas/it-is-a-simple-matter-to-plant-trees-in-straight-lines-but-informal/) Graham Stuart Thomas > [Those who plant trees plant hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/those-who-plant-trees-plant-hope/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [Even if we planted a tree on every square yard available in the planet by the end of the century we would only capture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graciela-chichilnisky/even-if-we-planted-a-tree-on-every-square-yard-available-in-the/) [Graciela Chichilnisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graciela-chichilnisky/) > [When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/when-we-plant-trees-we-plant-the-seeds-of-peace-and-seeds-of-hope/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Great people plant trees they'll never sit under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/great-people-plant-trees-they-ll-never-sit-under/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Let soldiers on manoeuvres plant trees. Give police and criminals a shovel and a thousand seedlings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wright/let-soldiers-on-manoeuvres-plant-trees-give-police-and-criminals-a/) [John Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wright/) > [Plant trees. They give us two of the most crucial elements for our survival: oxygen and books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/plant-trees-they-give-us-two-of-the-most-crucial-elements-for-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The true meaning of life is to plant trees whose shade you never expect to sit under.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-holmes/the-true-meaning-of-life-is-to-plant-trees-whose-shade-you-never/) [Gina Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-holmes/) > [The only thing I do for posterity is plant trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-llewellyn/the-only-thing-i-do-for-posterity-is-plant-trees/) [Roddy Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-llewellyn/) > [The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-meaning-of-life-is-to-plant-trees-under-whose-shade-you-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/society-grows-great-when-old-men-plant-trees-whose-shade-they-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Gratification quotes > [One moment of gratification is not worth a lifetime of being unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-moment-of-gratification-is-not-worth-a-lifetime-of-being-unhappy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Happiness is a state of inner fulfillment, not the gratification of inexhaustible desires for outward things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/happiness-is-a-state-of-inner-fulfillment-not-the-gratification-of/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) > [For me, just the sheer fact that I get to act and do this for a living is enough personal gratification and individual fulfillment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-gladstone/for-me-just-the-sheer-fact-that-i-get-to-act-and-do-this-for-a-living/) [Lily Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-gladstone/) > [This is the great truth life has to teach us ... that gratification of our individual desires and expression of our personal preferences without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teach-us-that-gratification-of/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“In our quest for entertainment and instant gratification, we have become detached from the real world and its problems, contributing to the erosion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/in-our-quest-for-entertainment-and-instant-gratification-we-have/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Our ideas of happiness, gratification, contentment, satisfaction, all demand that those feelings come from within us. If you flip that on its head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/our-ideas-of-happiness-gratification-contentment-satisfaction-all/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [The realization that my problem was one that concerned all men, a problem of living and thinking, suddenly swept over me and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-realization-that-my-problem-was-one-that-concerned-all-men-a/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When we allow ourselves to show some patience and take time to listen to the others, we may learn a lot about ourselves. Patience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-we-allow-ourselves-to-show-some-patience-and-take-time-to-listen/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [I definitely think we're living in a world or generation where we need constant gratification and adoration with Instagram and likes, and we base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-ballinger/i-definitely-think-we-re-living-in-a-world-or-generation-where-we/) [Colleen Ballinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-ballinger/) > [“They therefore have no opportunity to suffer the interval between desire and gratification which the less privileged endure, and which, for all its apparent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/they-therefore-have-no-opportunity-to-suffer-the-interval-between/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [ “Nothing could be more admirable than the manner in which for forty years he \[Joseph Black\] performed this useful and dignified office. His style… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-peter-brougham/nothing-could-be-more-admirable-than-the-manner-in-which-for-forty/) Henry Peter Brougham > [All men who live only according to their five senses, and seek nothing beyond the gratification of their natural appetites for pleasure and reputation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/all-men-who-live-only-according-to-their-five-senses-and-seek-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [While business advertises, charity is taught to beg. While business motivates with a dollar, charity is told to motivate with guilt. While business takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pallotta/while-business-advertises-charity-is-taught-to-beg-while-business/) [Dan Pallotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pallotta/) > [“We’re making our decisions … or so we think. Yet in truth, ignorance, greed, and the scourge of immediate gratification are often the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/we-re-making-our-decisions-or-so-we-think-yet-in-truth-ignorance/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) [Browse all 551 Gratification quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratification/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratification-i-shall-do-it-for-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gratification" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratification-i-shall-do-it-for-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/thomas-jefferson-43_gratification_too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratif_3102658.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/thomas-jefferson-43_gratification_too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratif_3102658.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a96/thomas-jefferson-43_gratification_too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratif_3102658.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity.” — Thomas Jefferson", "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": "Thomas Jefferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Too old to plant trees for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratification-i-shall-do-it-for-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/too-old-to-plant-trees-for-my-own-gratification-i-shall-do-it-for-my/#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 } } ] } ```