Henry David Thoreau

American naturalist, essayist, poet, philosopher

Henry David Thoreau quotes

Beautiful Thoreau quotes about nature, love, solitude



Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, and philosopher, who is recognized for his essential contributions to the movement of New England transcendentalism. His works largely focus on two central subjects, nature and social justice, and his life’s work has left us with evidence that these two fundamental ideas are inextricably intertwined.

Thoreau was well ahead of his time, as he used his platform to advocate for an end to racism, attention to climate change, and the importance of democracy and individual freedom of expression. His core belief system involved a return to simplistic minimalism, to enjoying our natural surroundings, and preserving our natural resources for future generations to come. The earth is our greatest asset and our greatest teacher.

We can learn valuable lessons from simply being still in our surroundings, from becoming one with nature, and giving ourselves over tothe abundance of peace and calm that is found in natural elements. If we don’t take proper care to protect the earth from environmental threats, the human race will continue to suffer from the negative effects. We can use the quotes and teachings of Henry David Thoreau to be reminded of the severe consequences that can come when social intolerance and environmental disregard are widely accepted.
 
Henry David Thoreau on success
Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.
- Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau quotes
Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.
- Henry David Thoreau
How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.
- Henry David Thoreau
great quotes about wealth
Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.
- Henry David Thoreau
confidence and dreams quotes
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
- Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau quotes
Enthusiasm is a supernatural serenity.
- Henry David Thoreau
The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
- Henry David Thoreau
I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.
- Henry David Thoreau
Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.
- Henry David Thoreau
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.
- Henry David Thoreau
We are constantly invited to be who we are.
- Henry David Thoreau
Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.
- Henry David Thoreau
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
- Henry David Thoreau
What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?
- Henry David Thoreau
Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
- Henry David Thoreau
Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?
- Henry David Thoreau
I have no doubt that it is part of the destiny of the human race in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals.
- Henry David Thoreau
If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.
- Henry David Thoreau
Our life is frittered away by detail...simplify, simplify.
- Henry David Thoreau
Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.
- Henry David Thoreau
We are born as innocents. We are polluted by advice.
- Henry David Thoreau
In a world of peace and love, music would be the universal language.
- Henry David Thoreau
If I am not I, who will be?
- Henry David Thoreau
I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.
- Henry David Thoreau
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.
- Henry David Thoreau
Night is certainly more novel and less profane than day.
- Henry David Thoreau
I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.
- Henry David Thoreau
To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.
- Henry David Thoreau
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