Henry David Thoreau quotes

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American philosopher, writer, and naturalist, best known for his book "Walden" and his essay "Civil Disobedience". A firm believer in environmental conservation and simple living, Thoreau's writings continue to inspire generations. His two years of living in a cabin near Walden Pond, Massachusetts, served as the foundation for his exploration of self-reliance and the value of nature. Thoreau's legacy extends to his activism, as he advocated for the abolition of slavery and protested against unjust government policies. His profound insights into the human condition and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world make him a significant figure in American literature and the transcendentalist movement.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

- Henry David Thoreau

What people say you cannot do, you try and find that you can.

- Henry David Thoreau

We hear and apprehend only what we already half know.

- Henry David Thoreau

We are constantly invited to be what we are.

- Henry David Thoreau

We are born as innocents. We are polluted by advice.

- Henry David Thoreau

This world is but canvas to our imaginations.

- Henry David Thoreau

The path of least resistance leads to crooked rivers and crooked men.

- Henry David Thoreau

The greatest art is to shape the quality of the day.

- Henry David Thoreau

That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.

- Henry David Thoreau

Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare.

- Henry David Thoreau

It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. What are we busy about?

- Henry David Thoreau

One should always be on the trail of one's own deepest nature. For it is the fearless living out of your own essential nature that connects you to the divine.

- Henry David Thoreau

In what concerns you much, do not think that you have companions: know that you are alone in the world.

- Henry David Thoreau

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. It is not important that he should mature as soon as an apple-tree or an oak. Shall he turn his spring into summer?

- Henry David Thoreau

I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

- Henry David Thoreau

I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.

- Henry David Thoreau

I make myself rich by making my wants few.

- Henry David Thoreau

I can alter my life by altering my attitude. He who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers.

- Henry David Thoreau

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise.

- Henry David Thoreau

He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul's estate.

- Henry David Thoreau

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin!

- Henry David Thoreau

Be yourself, not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be.

- Henry David Thoreau

A man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of life getting his living.

- Henry David Thoreau

A man can suffocate on courtesy.

- Henry David Thoreau

What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?

- Henry David Thoreau

To be awake is to be alive.

- Henry David Thoreau

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.

- Henry David Thoreau

My friend is one... who take me for what I am.

- Henry David Thoreau

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with their song still in them.

- Henry David Thoreau

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

- Henry David Thoreau