Henry David Thoreau · A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
“Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.”
| Source | Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) |
| Date | 1849 |
| Wording | Exact |
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About This Line
A touchstone was the dark stone jewelers used to test gold. Thoreau borrows the image for dreams: not escape, but assay — the truest test of a person is what they reach toward when nothing is at stake and no one is watching.
Why We Carry This Line
Not until I read about touchstones did I fully understand this quote. For all the dreamers, me included.
Objects Carrying This Line
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