Henry David Thoreau

Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it.

What is called genius is the abundance of life and health.

The volatile truth of our words should continually betray the inadequacy of the residual statement.

Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed by them.

Behave so the aroma of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere.

How does it become a man to behave towards the American government today? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.

He was doing missionary work. But from the outset he had little success in convincing his charges of their responsibility for a sin committed at the beginning of creation, one which, as they understood it, they were ready and capable (indeed, they carried charms to assure it) of duplicating themselves. He did no better convincing them that a man had died on a tree to save them all: an act which one old Indian, if Gwyon had translated correctly, regarded as “rank presumption”.

Of all noises, I think music is the least disagreeable.

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

It is your business when the wall next door catches fire.

We aim above the mark to hit the mark.

I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.

We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.

It is one of the beautiful compensations in this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

Believe nothing against another but on good authority; and never report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to some other to conceal it.

Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need – a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.

Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.

You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.

Of a truth, Knowledge is power, but it is a power reined by scruple, having a conscience of what must be and what may be; whereas Ignorance is a blind giant who, let him but wax unbound, would make it a sport to seize the pillars that hold up the long-wrought fabric of human good, and turn all the places of joy as dark as a buried Babylon.

Blame is safer than praise.