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Enthusiasms Quotes

On keeping early passions alive.

One quote reflects on regret, describing adults who had real enthusiasms as kids but were never encouraged, leaving them unhappy in unrelated jobs later in life. Another takes a more hopeful view, arguing that all noble enthusiasms pass through a feverish early stage before growing wiser and more serene — a matter of passion maturing rather than fading, close in spirit to Action taken over time.

I have known lots of adults who enjoyed similar enthusiasms as a kid and weren't encouraged and then didn't go anywhere with it and so they're unhappy in their jobs as adults.

Quotes by William Joyce

All noble enthusiasms pass through a feverish stage, and grow wiser and more serene.

Quotes by William Ellery Channing

It takes courage to stay young, to make your enthusiasms work for you. Don't let anyone drag you down.

Quotes by Ken Adam

I didn't like England. I couldn't take the look of the place or the style of friendship. I need more intimacy from people than is considered okay there, and I felt that my personality and my enthusiasms weren't understood. I...

Quotes by Jane Campion

Action Quotes

I tried to stir the imagination and enthusiasms of students to take risks, to do what they were most afraid of doing, to widen their horizons of action.

Quotes by James Broughton

Frequently Asked Questions

What regret does one quote express about childhood enthusiasms?
It describes adults who had genuine enthusiasms as kids but weren't encouraged to pursue them, and who ended up unhappy in unrelated jobs as a result. It's framed as a specific kind of missed potential rather than general nostalgia.
What does 'noble enthusiasms pass through a feverish stage' mean?
It suggests that passions often start out intense and unrefined before settling into something wiser and calmer over time. The quote treats that early feverish intensity as a natural, even necessary, part of developing real enthusiasm.
Why is staying enthusiastic described as requiring courage?
One quote directly links the two, arguing it takes Courage to stay young and keep your enthusiasms working for you rather than letting others discourage you. It treats sustained passion as an act of resistance against pressure to give it up.
How does friendship relate to enthusiasm in one of these quotes?
One reflection describes needing more intimacy from Friendship than a particular place offered, tying a sense of personal enthusiasm to feeling genuinely connected to others. It suggests enthusiasm can suffer when real closeness is missing.
Do these quotes agree that enthusiasm naturally fades with age?
No, they push back on that idea — one explicitly argues enthusiasms grow wiser rather than disappearing, and another insists it takes courage to actively keep them alive. Together they treat enthusiasm as something worth protecting rather than something inevitably lost.

A third quote frames staying enthusiastic as an act of Courage, insisting it takes real nerve to keep your enthusiasms working for you and not let anyone drag you down. A final, more personal reflection ties enthusiasm to belonging, describing needing more intimacy from Friendship than one particular country's culture allowed.