Henry David Thoreau

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.

On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world.

Speech is for the convenience of those who are hard of hearing; but there are many fine things which we cannot say if we have to shout.

Men profess to be lovers of music, but for the most part they give no evidence in their opinions and lives that they have heard it.

What is once well done is done forever.

There is no remedy for love than to love more.

No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes.

Life on board a pleasure steamer violates every moral and physical condition of healthy life except fresh air. It is a guzzling, lounging, gambling, dog’s life. The only alternative to excitement is irritability.

Be confident, not certain

When any calamity has been suffered, the first thing to be remembered is how much has been escaped.

A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.

The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.

The minority is sometimes right; the majority always wrong.

Men lose their tempers in defending their taste.

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

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.

It is a common enough case, that of a man being suddenly captivated by a woman nearly the opposite of his ideal.

What you seek in vain for, half your life, one day you come full upon, all the family at dinner. You seek it like a dream, and as soon as you find it, you become its prey.

When a man says he had pleasure with a woman he does not mean conversation.

Go fish and hunt far and wide day by day – farther and wider – and rest thee by many brooks and hearth-sides without misgiving. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Rise free from care before the dawn, and seek adventures. Let the noon find thee by other lakes, and the night overtake thee everywhere at home. There are no larger fields than these, no worthier games than may here be played.

If a man’s eye is on the Eternal, his intellect will grow.