Henry David Thoreau

The perch swallows the grub-worm, the pickerel swallows the perch, and the fisherman swallows the pickerel; and so all the chinks in the scale of being are filled.

We falsely attribute to men a determined character, putting together all their yesterdays and averaging them, we presume we know them. Pity the man who has character to support, it is worse than a large family, he is the silent poor indeed.

Politics is the gizzard of society, full of gut and gravel.

The generative energy, which, when we are loose, dissipates and makes us unclean, when we are continent invigorates and inspires us. Chastity is the flowering of man; and what are called Genius, Heroism, Holiness, and the like, are but various fruits which succeed it.

The only wealth is life.

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.

When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet deep down in his private heart no man much respects himself.

If they had not landed there would be some reason for celebrating the fact.

The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet.

You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.

Courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven’t courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.

Genius always finds itself a century too early.

Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.

Short words are the best and old words when short are best of all.

No one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourself.

There is a great deal of human nature in people.

We feel at first as if some opportunities of kindness and sympathy were lost, but learn afterward that any pure grief is ample recompense for all. That is, if we are faithful; for a spent grief is but sympathy with the soul that disposes events, and is as natural as the resin of Arabian trees. Only nature has a right to grieve perpetually, for she only is innocent. Soon the ice will melt, and the blackbirds sing along the river which he frequented, as pleasantly as ever. The same everlasting serenity will appear in this face of God, and we will not be sorrowful, if he is not.

The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.

Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it, so that one babe commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it.

The amount of people in this world who are here to do something great far outweighs the rest.

I desire no future that will break the ties with the past.