Quotes by Henry David Thoreau
I have found that hollow, which even I had relied on for solid.
I have seen how the foundations of the world are laid, and I have not the least doubt that it will stand a good while.
If it is surely the means to the highest end we know, can any work be humble or disgusting? Will it not rather be elevating as a ladder, the means by which we are translated?
Truths and roses have thorns about them.
Is the babe young? When I behold it, it seems more venerable than the oldest man.
Great men, unknown to their generation, have their fame among the great who have preceded them, and all true worldly fame subsides from their high estimate beyond the stars.
It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man.
Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Alas! how little does the memory of these human inhabitants enhance the beauty of the landscape!
Every people have gods to suit their circumstances.
Old deeds for old people, and new deeds for new.
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
It is best to avoid the beginnings of evil.
Justice is sweet and musical; but injustice is harsh and discordant.
Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.
In wildness is the preservation of the world.
Men have a respect for scholarship and learning greatly out of proportion to the use they commonly serve.
It is too late to be studying Hebrew; it is more important to understand even the slang of today.
That government is best which governs least.
May we so love as never to have occasion to repent of our love!
A man cannot be said to succeed in this life who does not satisfy one friend.
In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.
I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.
