Wisdom of Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817¬–May 6, 1862) was an American philosopher and writer. He is best known as an advocate of transcendentalism. He also believed in reinca
ation.

His book Walden is about life in the woods, an experiment on self-sufficiency. His essay, Civil Disobedience, influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. In it, he wrote, "I heartily accept the motto—'That government is best which governs least’…”

Below we list some words of wisdom from Henry David Thoreau.
“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”

“If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.”

“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.”

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”

“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your ete
ity in each moment.”

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?”

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.”

“It is never too late to give up our prejudices.”

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”

“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 which he hears, however measured or far away.”

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”

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

“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.”

“I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.”

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

“I have the habit of attention to such excess, that my senses get no rest - but suffer from a constant strain.”

“I have a great deal of company in the house, especially in the morning when nobody calls.”

“Men have a respect for scholarship and learning greatly out of proportion to the use they commonly serve.”

“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so.”

“The universe is wider than our views of it.”

“There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly.”

Copyright © Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo