A small brass gate in a lilac hedge with its latch held closed from inside.

Original artwork, not a still

Henry David Thoreau

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker warns that excessive moral scrupulousness has a cost: a person too careful about being good may miss much of what living offers. The closing advice is to aim beyond conventional morality, seeking a fuller life rather than merely a blameless one.

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