In this post, we’ve collected for you the best Henry David Thoreau quotes so that you can be inspired by the wisdom of one of American literature most famous writers.
Henry David Thoreau Short Biography
Henry David Thoreau was born on 12 July 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, U.S, Henry David Thoreau was a famous author and philosopher in American literature, he was best known for his deep reflection upon simple living in nature.
Thoreau was one of the most prominent authors in America. He had many other interests such as writing poetry and essays as well as studying environment issues and philosophy.
Thoreau wrote so many works and one of his famous works ‘Walden’, which highlights his experience of living self-sufficiently in a cottage on the shores.
Henry David Thoreau’s desire to live in harmony with nature not only had a positive impact on his literary career but also made him one of the most prominent figure in the environment movement.
During his life, Thoreau was a staunch abolitionist of the death penalty. His thoughts about civil disobedience would later made an impact on the thoughts of prominent figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Jr.
Inspirational Henry David Thoreau Quotes
“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” – Henry David Thoreau
“The language of friendship is not words but meanings.”
“The universe is wider than our views of it.”
“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”
“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
“Surely joy is the condition of life.”
“Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.”
“Be not simply good – be good for something.”
“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.”
“Only that traveling is good which reveals to me the value of home and enables me to enjoy it better.”
“It appears to be a law that you cannot have a deep sympathy with both man and nature.”
“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.”
“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.”
Quotes by Henry David Thoreau About Life and Nature
“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”
“Be yourself– not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.”
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”
“All good things are wild and free.”
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately…”
“Our life is frittered away by detail…simplify, simplify.”
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
“Not all who wander are lost.”
“Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”
“Things do not change; we change.”
“Men are born to succeed, not to fail.”
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
“It is better to have your head in the clouds, and know where you are… than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them, and think that you are in paradise.”
Henry David Thoreau Quotes on Dreams, Success, and Friends
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.”
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
“Most of the luxuries and many so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.”
“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.”
“Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.”
“Morning is when I’m awake, and there is dawn in me.”
“Truths and roses have thorns about them.”
“A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority.”
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”
Thoughtful Quotes From Henry David Thoreau
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”
“Be yourself, not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.”
“It is never too late to give up our prejudices.”
“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.”
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”
“The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us.”
“Knowledge does not come to us by details, but in flashes of light from heaven.”
“When it is time to die, let us not discover that we never lived.”
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”
“If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.”
Other Inspirational Quotes
“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.”
“I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man.”
“For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once done well is done forever.”
“If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.”
“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.”
“It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?”
“The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend.”
“I have an immense appetite for solitude, like an infant for sleep, and if I don’t get enough for this year, I shall cry all the next.”
“All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be.”
“The path of least resistance leads to crooked rivers and crooked men.”
More Henry David Thoreau Quotes
“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.”
“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.”
“This world is but canvas to our imaginations.”
“Say what you have to say, not what you ought. Any truth is better than make-believe.”
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”
“We are born as innocents. We are polluted by advice.”
“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
“Be resolutely and faithfully what you are; be humbly what you aspire to be.”
“Nature is as well adapted to our weakness as to our strength.”
Latest Thoughts
The above collection of quotes by Henry David Thoreau provides us with insights on how to live a life of meaning and purpose.
His timeless wisdom on the importance of living simply and self-sufficiently continue to inspire many readers today.
His famous work ‘Walden’ remains one of the greatest source of inspiration for people who want to live an authentic life and enjoy the beauty of living in harmony with nature.
Henry David Thoreau wisdom continues to be a great source of inspiration for many generations to come through his powerful quotes, which provoke rational thinking.
Over to you now, which quote from the above list of Henry David Thoreau quotes did you like the most? Please let us know in the comments section.
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