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
rubber way obstacles
Trade and commerce, if they were not made of Indian rubber, would never manage to bounce over the obstacles which legislators are continually putting in their way.
feet atmosphere desire
My desire for knowledge is intermittent; but my desire to commune with the spirit of the universe, to be intoxicated with the fumes, call it, of that divine nectar, to bear my head through atmospheres and over heights unknown to my feet, is perennial and constant.
summer believe world
Who could believe in the prophecies ... that the world would end this summer, while one milkweed with faith matured its seeds.
errors long sorrow
One cannot too soon forget his errors and misdemeanors for to dwell long upon them is to add to the offense, and repentance and sorrow can only be displaced by somewhat better, and which is as free and original as if they had not been.
cheating may ethics-and-morals
Don't be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so.
vices morality life-is
Our whole life is startlingly moral. There is never an instant's truce between virtue and vice.
trust thinking care
I think that we may safely trust a good deal more than we do. We may waive just so much care of ourselves as we honestly bestow elsewhere.
nature significant piety
The words which express our faith and piety are not definite; yet they are significant and fragrant like frankincense to superior natures.
summer kings winter
Many of the phenomena of Winter are suggestive of an inexpressible tenderness and fragile delicacy. We are accustomed to hear this king described as a rude and boisterous tyrant; but with the gentleness of a lover he adorns the tresses of Summer.
army government may
Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government.
kindness hate
We hate the kindness which we understand.
betrayal our-words should
The volatile truth of our words should continually betray the inadequacy of the residual statement.
winter sunshine fire
What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter's day?
time reality doors
Must be out-of-doors enough to get experience of wholesome reality, as a ballast to thought and sentiment. Health requires this relaxation, this aimless life.