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
secret wild-and-free woods
It is remarkable how many creatures live wild and free though secret in the woods ...
associates
Associate reverently, and as much as you can, with your loftiest thoughts.
lasts firsts taught
What the first philosopher taught the last will have to repeat.
names moments wells
Nature is doing her best each moment to make us well. Why, nature is but another name for health.
humility devil speak
I am resolved that I will not through humility become the devil's attorney. I will endeavor to speak a good word for the truth.
real progress made
When any real progress is made, we unlearned and learn anew what we thought we knew before.
succeed littles made
To have made even one person's life a little better, that is to succeed.
genius divinity
Nature is full of genius, full of divinity.
spiritual nature serenity
To him whom contemplates a trait of natural beauty, no harm nor despair can come. The doctrines of despair, spiritual or political servitude, were never taught by those who shared the serenity of Nature. For each phase of Nature, though not invisible, is yet not too distinct or obtrusive. It is there to be found when we look for it, but not too demanding of our attention.
civilization giving glances
Give me a Wildness whose glance no civilization can endure.
looks
The question is not what you look at--but how you look, and whether you see.
mind walden-pond endeavor
Let every one mind his own business, and endeavor to be what he was made.
long looks long-time
We must look a long time before we can see
sight sea sky
I hear beyond the range of sound, I see beyond the range of sight, New earths and skies and seas around, And in my day the sun doth pale his light.