Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.

The sentence hinges on a contrast between external regulation and internal character. “By statute” frames Thanksgiving as a civic institution—something the state can schedule—but Martin argues that gratitude cannot be legislated. For the “honest man,” thanksgiving is not a performance reserved for a holiday; it recurs whenever the “heart of gratitude” prompts it. The moral claim is that sincerity (honesty) naturally produces frequent gratitude, while a once-a-year observance risks becoming rote or hollow. The aphorism thus reframes Thanksgiving from a single ritual day into an ethical practice: a continual readiness to recognize dependence, receive gifts without entitlement, and respond with thanks.