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
time car railroads
The startings and arrivals of the cars are now the epochs in the village day.
confidence respect doubt
If one hesitates in his path, let him not proceed. Let him respect his doubts, for doubts, too, may have some divinity in them.
swamps wilderness primitive
The most primitive places left with us are the swamps, where the spruce still grows shaggy with usnea.
cat home woods
The most domestic cat, which has lain on a rug all her days, appears quite at home in the woods, and, by her sly and stealthy behavior, proves herself more native there than the regular inhabitants.
ocean giving desert
My spirits infallibly rise in proportion to the outward dreariness. Give me the ocean, the desert, or the wilderness!
change patience hero
We are independent of the change we detect. The longer the lever, the less perceptible its motion. It is the slowest pulsation which is the most vital. The hero then will know how to wait, as well as to make haste. All good abides with him who waiteth wisely; we shall sooner overtake the dawn by remaining here than by hurrying over the hills of the west.
change doubt tradition
So easy is it, though many housekeepers doubt it, to establish new and better customs in the place of the old.
change men animal
Man is an animal who more than any other can adapt himself to all climates and circumstances.
change events causes
For the most part we allow only outlying and transient circumstances to make our occasions. They are, in fact, the cause of our distraction.
memories pyramids facts
The monument of death will outlast the memory of the dead. The Pyramids do not tell the tale which was confided to them; the living fact commemorates itself.
communication men silence
There are some things which a man never speaks of, which are much finer kept silent about. To the highest communications we only lend a silent ear.
poetry littles poetic
We have heard much about the poetry of mathematics, but very little of it has yet been sung. The ancients had a juster notion of their poetic value than we.
morality ethics physics
Mathematics should be mixed not only with physics but with ethics.
climbing solitude society
As for the dispute about solitude and society, any comparison is impertinent. It is an idling down on the plane at the base of a mountain, instead of climbing steadily to its top.