Henry David Thoreau

In the long run you hit only what you aim at. Therefore, though you should fail immediately, you had better aim at something high.

As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may seem, am satisfied that it does not agree with my constitution.

Knowledge does not come to us in details, but in flashes of light from heaven.

A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extremely rare. For the most part we miss the hue and fragrance of the thought; as if we could be satisfied with the dews of the morning or evening without their colors, or the heavens without their azure.

I have a deep sympathy with war, it so apes the gait and bearing of the soul.

We are not what we are, nor do we treat or esteem each other for such, but for what we are capable of being.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

What a new face courage puts on everything!

Ahh, that mountain of self-discovery. Every time you have reached the summit, the clouds clear and you see there is still a ways to go. Don’t look up with thoughts of despair; thinking how much further do I have to go?! Take a moment and look back to see how far you have come. Don’t lose sight of your accomplishments, and focus on the continued commitment to self-discovery and development.

A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.

If I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior.

Think of and look at your work as though it were done by your enemy. I you look at it to admire it, you are lost.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

There is no one who does not exaggerate!

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.

The soul is pure when it leaves the body and drags nothing bodily with it, by virtue of having no willing association with the body in life but avoiding it… Practicing philosophy in the right way is a training to die easily.

Clever tyrants are never punished.

Try, try, try, and keep on trying is the rule that must be followed to become an expert in anything.

He who praises every body, praises nobody.

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

Nature has given women so much power that the law has very wisely given them little.