A small wooden bow beside a round straw target with one arrow in the center and a green ribbon on it.

Original artwork, not a still

Henry David Thoreau

Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Merely being morally correct is not enough, the speaker argues. Goodness should be aimed at some purpose and produce something useful, rather than staying a private virtue. The advice asks that character be turned outward toward a worthwhile end, so that being good means contributing, not just avoiding wrong.

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