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
wisdom treats sensitivity
Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly.
wisdom mistake men
But men labor under a mistake. The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost.
book levels different
There are as many strata at different levels of life as there are leaves in a book. When on the higher levels we can remember the lower levels, but when on the lower we cannot remember the higher.
children live-free mist
Live free, child of the mist,- and with respect to knowledge we are allchildren of the mist.
truth years giving
If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself. Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.
writing deeds may
Writing may be either the record of a deed or a deed. It is nobler when it is a deed.
eye light darkness
The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us.
land earth theme
New earths, new themes expect us.
nature rain land
The gentle rain which waters my beans and keeps me in the house today is not drear and melancholy, but good for me too. Though it prevents my hoeing them, it is of far more worth than my hoeing. If it should continue so long as to cause the seeds to rot in the ground and destroy the potatoes in the low lands, it would still be good for the grass on the uplands, and, being good for the grass, would be good for me, too.
nature adventure sleep
When the first light dawned on the earth, and the birds awoke, and the brave river was heard rippling confidently seaward, and the nimble early rising wind rustled the oak leaves about our tent, all people, having reinforced their bodies and their souls with sleep, and cast aside doubt and fear, were invited to unattempted adventures.
wise years age
Count your age with friends but not with years.
night reality men
Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life ... would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.
law giving use
The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.
ocean garden sea
The ocean is a wilderness reaching round the globe, wilder than a Bengal jungle, and fuller of monsters, washing the very wharves of our cities and the gardens of our sea-side residences.