Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreauwas an American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian. A leading transcendentalist, Thoreau is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay Resistance to Civil Government, an argument for disobedience to an unjust state...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth12 July 1817
CountryUnited States of America
days entry good possible present ridiculous tucked
She sits composedly sentinel, with paws tucked under her, a good part of her days at present by some ridiculous little hole, the possible entry of a mouse.
asked aunt frogs half hear heard hour life maria promise stood today
My Aunt Maria asked me to read the life of Dr. Chalmers,which, however, I did not promise to do.Yesterday, Sunday, she was heard through the partitionshouting to my Aunt Jane, who is deaf, 'Think of it!He stood half an hour today to hear the frogs croak,and he wouldn't read the life of Chalmers.'
call names
Let us make distinctions, call things by the right names
entire fishing knowing lives men purpose
Many men go fishing their entire lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.
fish fishing knowing lives men
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.
born success
We were born to succeed, not to fail.
few greater man measure might require seeing shall tape understand understanding
We shall see but little way if we require to understand what we see. How few things can a man measure with the tape of his understanding! How many greater things might he be seeing in the meanwhile!
branches evil hacking striking thousands
There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
character family large man pity poor silent support worse
Pity the man who has a character to support --it is worse than a large family -- he is silent poor indeed.
accounts affairs count half hundred instead life million simplicity
Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.
cultivate desirable law law-and-lawyers respect
It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for law, so much as a respect for right.
cultivate desirable respect
It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right
It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?
capacities judge nor
Man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedent, so little has been tried.