Houses, are but badly built boats so firmly aground that you cannot think of moving them. They are definitely inferior things, belonging to the vegetable not the animal world, rooted and stationary, incapable of gay transition. I admit, doubtfully, as exceptions, snail-shells and caravans. The desire to build a house is the tired wish of a man content thenceforward with a single anchorage. The desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to accept the idea of a final resting-place.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Houses represent permanence and stagnation, while boats symbolize freedom and youth.
- In plain terms
- Building a house means settling down; building a boat means keeping moving.
- What can you take from it?
- Choose movement over settling if you crave freedom.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you prefer stability or change?
- What does home mean to you?
Another view
Stability is also a valid life goal for many.
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They found, like many explorers before them, that somehow, in their absence, they had got into trouble at home.
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