Henry David Thoreau Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Henry David Thoreau quotes, Henry David Thoreau sayings, and Henry David Thoreau proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

The civilized man is a more experienced and wiser savage. Henry David Thoreau
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. Henry David Thoreau
When my legs begin to move, the thoughts begin to flow. Henry David Thoreau
Each thought that is welcomed and recorded is a nest egg, by the side of which more will be laid. Henry David Thoreau
Routine is a ground to stand on, a wall to retreat to; we cannot draw on our boots without bracing ourselves against it. Henry David Thoreau
Rise free from care before the dawn, and seek adventures. Henry David Thoreau
All that is told of the sea has a fabulous sound to an inhabitant of the land and all its products have a certain fabulous quality, as if they belonged to another planet. Henry David Thoreau
Almost any mode of observation will be successful at last, for what is most wanted is method. Henry David Thoreau
The same soil is good for men and for trees. A man's health requires as many acres of meadow to his prospect as his farm does loads of muck. Henry David Thoreau
The murmurs of many a famous river on the other side of the globe reach even to us here, as to more distant dwellers on its banks;many a poet's stream, floating the helms and shields of heroes on its bosom. Henry David Thoreau
All good things are wild and free. Henry David Thoreau
All good things are cheap: all bad are very dear. Henry David Thoreau
The scenery when it is truly seen reacts on the life of the seer. Henry David Thoreau
Nature is not made after such a fashion as we would have her. We piously exaggerate her wonders, as the scenery around our home. Henry David Thoreau
The most stupendous scenery ceases to be sublime when it becomes distinct, or in other words limited, and the imagination is no longer encouraged to exaggerate it. The actual height and breadth of a mountain or a waterfall are always ridiculously small; they are the imagined only that content us. Henry David Thoreau
A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. Henry David Thoreau
The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams. Henry David Thoreau
This world is but a canvas for our imagination. Henry David Thoreau
If misery loves company, misery has company enough. Henry David Thoreau
If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment. Henry David Thoreau
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. Henry David Thoreau
One must maintain a little bit of summer even in the middle of winter. Henry David Thoreau
Absolutely speaking, Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you is by no means a golden rule, but the best of current silver. An honest man would have but little occasion for it. It is golden not to have any rule at all in such a case. Henry David Thoreau
Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still. Henry David Thoreau
Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. Henry David Thoreau
The soil, it appears, is suited to the seed, for it has sent its radicle downward, and it may now send its shoot upward also with confidence. Why has man rooted himself thus firmly in the earth, but that he may rise in the same proportion into the heavens above? Henry David Thoreau
Our village life would stagnate if it were not for the unexplored forests and meadows which surround it. Henry David Thoreau
If misery loves company, misery has company enough. Henry David Thoreau
Experience is in the fingers and head. The heart is inexperienced. Henry David Thoreau
What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. Henry David Thoreau