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
beginning matters seem small
For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever...
respect littles matter
It is worth the while to live respectably unto ourselves. We can possibly get along with a neighbor, even with a bedfellow, whom we respect but very little; but as soon as it comes to this, that we do not respect ourselves, then we do not get along at all, no matter how much money we are paid for halting.
matter tough spirit
There are various tough problems yet to solve, and we must shift to live, betwixt spirit and matter, such a human life as we can.
optimism elements matter
I have found all things thus far, persons and inanimate matter, elements and seasons, strangely adapted to my resources.
american-author fine house planet tolerable
What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?
man meet pleased wild wish
I should be pleased to meet man in the woods. I wish he were to be encountered like wild caribous and moose.
great mankind poets works
The works of the great poets have never yet been read by mankind, for only great poets can read them
almost far staying travel worth
Far travel, very far travel, or travail, comes to almost the worth of staying home.
Say what you have to say, not what you ought.
compared fate man opinion private public rather thinks weak
Public opinion is a weak tyrant, compared with our private opinion - what a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates his fate
compared man opinion private public rather thinks tyrant weak
Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.
best books chance
Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all
beware clothes require
Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
beware caution clothes require
Beware of all enterprises that require a new set of clothes.