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Henry David Thoreau Quotes - Page 107

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But men labor under a mistake. The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost.

But men labor under a mistake. The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost.

Henry David Thoreau
Wisdom, Mistake, Men
Henry David Thoreau (1882). “Walden”, p.11

Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly.

Henry David Thoreau
Wisdom, Treats, Sensitivity
Henry David Thoreau (1882). “Walden”, p.12

The mission of men there seems to be, like so many busy demons, to drive the forest all out of the country, from every solitary beaver swamp and mountain-side, as soon as possible.

Henry David Thoreau
Country, Men, Mountain
Henry David Thoreau (2009). “The Maine Woods”, p.5, Cosimo, Inc.

Blessed are they who never read a newspaper, for they shall see Nature, and through her, God.

Henry David Thoreau
Blessed, Environmental, Newspapers
Henry David Thoreau (2014). “Familiar Letters (Annotated Edition)”, p.288, Jazzybee Verlag

Great God, I ask thee for no meaner pelf Than that I may not disappoint myself, That in my action I may soar as high As I can now discern with this clear eye.

Henry David Thoreau
Eye, May, Action
Henry David Thoreau (2012). “The Portable Thoreau”, p.144, Penguin

Today...the bluebirds, old and young, have revisited their box, as if they would fain repeat the summer without intervention of winter, if Nature would let them.

Henry David Thoreau
Summer, Winter, Today
Henry David Thoreau (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau (Illustrated)”, p.2189, Delphi Classics

What is morality but immemorial custom? Conscience is the chief of conservatives.

Henry David Thoreau
Ethics, Morality, Chiefs
Henry David Thoreau (2013). “The Essential Thoreau”, p.537, Simon and Schuster

You cannot receive a shock unless you have an electric affinity for that which shocks you.

Henry David Thoreau
Ethics, Morality, Affinity
Henry David Thoreau (1873). “A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers”, p.303

It would be glorious to see mankind at leisure for once. It is nothing but work, work, work.

Henry David Thoreau
Relaxation, Would Be, Leisure
Henry David Thoreau (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau (Illustrated)”, p.1156, Delphi Classics

As if there were safety in stupidity alone

Henry David Thoreau
Safety, Stupidity, Ifs
Henry David Thoreau (2012). “The Portable Thoreau”, p.330, Penguin

There must be the... generating force of Love behind every effort destined to be successful.

Henry David Thoreau
Successful, Love Is, Effort
Henry David Thoreau (2011). “The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861”, p.110, New York Review of Books

The morning wind forever blows, the poem of creation is uninterrupted; but few are the ears to hear it.

Henry David Thoreau
Morning, Blow, Wind
Henry David Thoreau (2009). “Walden”, p.55, Cosimo, Inc.

Routine is a ground to stand on, a wall to retreat to; we cannot draw on our boots without bracing ourselves against it.

Henry David Thoreau
Wall, Routine, Boots
Henry David Thoreau, Odell Shepard (1961). “The Heart of Thoreau's Journals”, p.17, Courier Corporation

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.

Henry David Thoreau
Hiking, Mind, Wish
Henry David Thoreau (2006). “Thoreau and the Art of Life: Precepts and Principles”, p.27, Heron Dance Press

When I hear the hypercritical quarreling about grammar and style, the position of the particles, etc., etc... I see that they forget that the first requisite and rule is that expression shall be vital and natural.

Henry David Thoreau
Expression, Style, Firsts
Henry David Thoreau (1999). “Uncommon Learning: Thoreau on Education”, p.106, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

I am amused to see from my window here how busily a man has divided and staked off his domain. God must smile at his puny fences running hither and thither everywhere over the land.

Henry David Thoreau
Running, Men, Land
Henry David Thoreau, Joseph O. Valentine, Thoreau Society (2001). “Thoreau on Land: Nature's Canvas”, p.35, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Wherever you may seek solitude, men will ferret you out and compel you to belong to their desperate company of oddfellows.

Henry David Thoreau
Men, Solitude, Ferrets

Who looks in the sun will see no light else; but also he will see no shadow. Our life revolves unceasingly, but the centre is ever the same, and the wise will regard only the seasons of the soul.

Henry David Thoreau
Wise, Light, Soul
Henry David Thoreau (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau (Illustrated)”, p.2067, Delphi Classics

We are as much as we see. Faith is sight and knowledge. The hands only serve the eyes.

Henry David Thoreau
Eye, Sight, Hands
Henry David Thoreau (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau (Illustrated)”, p.2074, Delphi Classics

Men go to a fire for entertainment. When I see how eagerly men will run to a fire, whether in warm or in cold weather, by day or by night, dragging an engine at their heels, I'm astonished to perceive how good a purpose the level of excitement is made to serve.

Henry David Thoreau
Running, Night, Men
"The Journal, 1837-1861". Book by Henry David Thoreau, June, 1850, November 24, 2009.

The same law that shapes the earth-star shapes the snow-star. As surely as the petals of a flower are fixed, each of these countless snow-stars comes whirling to earth...these glorious spangles, the sweeping of heaven's floor.

Henry David Thoreau
Stars, Flower, Law
Henry David Thoreau (2013). “Quotable Thoreau: An A to Z Glossary of Inspiring Quotations from Henry David Thoreau”, p.89, BookBaby

Far from New England's blustering shore,New England's worm her hulk shall bore,And sink her in the Indian seas,Twine, wine, and hides, and China teas.

Henry David Thoreau
Wine, Sea, Tea
Henry David Thoreau (2014). “A Week On The Concord And Merrimack Rivers (Annotated Edition)”, p.121, Jazzybee Verlag

The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is not a meaningless fable. The founders of every State which has risen to eminence have drawn their nourishment and vigor from a similar wild source. It was because the children of the Empire were not suckled by the wolf that they were conquered and displaced by the children of the Northern forests who were.

Henry David Thoreau
Children, Vigor, Stories
Henry David Thoreau (2010). “Wild Apples and Other Natural History Essays”, p.75, University of Georgia Press

The Indian...stands free and unconstrained in Nature, is her inhabitant and not her guest, and wears her easily and gracefully. But the civilized man has the habits of the house. His house is a prison.

Henry David Thoreau
Men, House, Guests
Henry David Thoreau (2013). “Quotable Thoreau: An A to Z Glossary of Inspiring Quotations from Henry David Thoreau”, p.48, BookBaby

A slight sound at evening lifts me up by the ears, and makes life seem inexpressibly serene and grand. It may be Uranus, or it may be in the shutter.

Henry David Thoreau
Sound, Ears, May
Henry David Thoreau (1960). “H. D. Thoreau, a Writer's Journal”, p.6, Courier Corporation

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