Quote by Henry David Thoreau

The rarest quality in an epitaph is truth.

The rarest quality in an epitaph is truth.

Summary

This quote highlights the scarcity of honesty and authenticity in epitaphs, which are written to commemorate the deceased. It suggests that many epitaphs often sugarcoat or embellish the lives and virtues of individuals, rather than showcasing the unfiltered truth. By stating that truth is the rarest quality in an epitaph, the quote critiques the tendency to paint a perfect picture of the deceased, perhaps emphasizing the importance of embracing flaws and acknowledging the complexities of human existence even in death.

Topics

Truth

By Henry David Thoreau

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

Mixing humor and politics is something that works.

Mixing humor and politics is something that works.

Humor

Living in Cambridge, with nature and everything, it's so cle

Living in Cambridge, with nature and everything, it's so clean.

Nature

If I like a food, I'll eat it, even if I know it's not good

If I like a food, I'll eat it, even if I know it's not good for me.

Food

Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citiz

Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Politics Good

The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it i

The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.

Albert Einstein

The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making

The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions.

Mike Krzyzewski

Truth

He that gives good advice, builds with one hand he that give

He that gives good advice, builds with one hand he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other.

Good

Women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example

Women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example of their mothers, that a little knowledge of human weakness, justly termed cunning, softness of temper, outward obedience and a scrupulous attention to a puerile kind of propriety, will obtain for them the protection of man.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Men & Women

Life is a game and true love is a trophy.

Life is a game and true love is a trophy.

Rufus Wainwright

Brains, integrity, and force may be all very well, but what

Brains, integrity, and force may be all very well, but what you need today is Charm. Go ahead and work on your economic programs if you want to, I'll develop my radio personality.

Work

The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine t

The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.

Deception/lying

The seven deadly sins: Want of money, bad health, bad temper

The seven deadly sins: Want of money, bad health, bad temper, chastity, family ties, knowing that you know things, and believing in the Christian religion.

Money Health Religion Family