“ If a low use is to be served, one man will do nearly or quite as well as another; if a high one, individual excellence is to be regarded. ”
Henry David Thoreau, Walking (1851). copy citation
| Author | Henry David Thoreau |
|---|---|
| Source | Walking |
| Topic | excellence |
| Date | 1851 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1022/1022-h/1022-h.htm |
Context
“and because the majority, like dogs and sheep, are tame by inherited disposition, this is no reason why the others should have their natures broken that they may be reduced to the same level. Men are in the main alike, but they were made several in order that they might be various. If a low use is to be served, one man will do nearly or quite as well as another; if a high one, individual excellence is to be regarded. Any man can stop a hole to keep the wind away, but no other man could serve so rare a use as the author of this illustration did. Confucius says,—“The skins of the tiger and the leopard, when they are tanned, are as the skins of the dog and the sheep tanned.””
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