Green sprouts grow in a shallow bowl of soil beside an upright peacock feather against dark green.

Original artwork, not a still

Henry Ward Beecher

Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Gratitude grows in humility, the quote says, and pride smothers it. It uses a soil metaphor: a humble mind is where thanks naturally sprout. Proud people rarely feel thankful because they think they deserve more than they've been given, so nothing ever seems like a gift.

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