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Henry David Thoreau

141 quotes

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American essayist, poet, and philosopher best known for his book *Walden*, a reflection on simple living in natural surroundings. A leading transcendentalist, Thoreau championed individualism, civil disobedience, and a deep reverence for nature that continues to influence environmentalists and free thinkers to this day.

“In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Men

All Quotes by Henry David Thoreau

“If it is surely the means to the highest end we know, can any work be humble or disgusting? Will it not rather be elevating as a ladder, the means by which we are translated?”

— Henry David Thoreau

Work

“There is always a present and extant life, be it better or worse, which all combine to uphold.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Life

“To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Women

“Dreams are the touchstones of our character.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Dreams

“Live the life you've dreamed.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Life

“The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Friendship

“'Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Health

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Life

“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Best

“This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Art

“Nature puts no question and answers none which we mortals ask. She has long ago taken her resolution.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Nature

“There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Nature

“What is called genius is the abundance of life and health.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Health

“As for doing good that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may seem, am satisfied that it does not agree with my constitution.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Good

“The lawyer's truth is not Truth, but consistency or a consistent expediency.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Truth

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Morning

“All men are children, and of one family. The same tale sends them all to bed, and wakes them in the morning.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Family

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?”

— Henry David Thoreau

Great

“The perception of beauty is a moral test.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Beauty

“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Wisdom