Painterly empty olive coat hanging above a pair of worn boots.

Original artwork, not a still

Walden • 1854

Henry David Thoreau

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

New clothing becomes a warning sign attached to an undertaking. The suspicion falls on ventures that demand a change of outward appearance before participation. The line does not say clothes are the venture’s purpose; it asks the reader to distrust the requirement itself.

Context reviewed

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