Henry David Thoreau
United States
12 Jul 1817 // 6 May 1862
Writer / Author / Poet
12 Jul 1817 // 6 May 1862
Writer / Author / Poet
Quotes
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Good poetry seems too simple and natural a thing that when we meet it we wonder that all men are not always poets. Poetry is nothing but healthy speech
What is peculiar in the life of a man consists not in his obedience, but his opposition, to his instincts. In one direction or another he strives to live a supernatural life
Knowledge does not come to us in details, but in flashes of light from heaven
The world is but a canvas to the imagination
The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run
In human intercourse the tragedy begins, not when there is a misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood
The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the characters of individuals
The universe is wider than our views of it
The savage in man is never quite eradicated
In the long run, men only hit what they aim at. Therefore, though you should fail immediately, you had better aim at something high
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays