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.'

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. Henry David Thoreau
The kindness I have longest remembered has been of this sort, the sort unsaid; so far behind the speaker's lips that almost it already lay in my heart. It did not have far to go to be communicated. 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
A man might well pray that he may not taboo or curse any portion of nature by being buried in it. Henry David Thoreau
He who cannot exaggerate is not qualified to utter truth. Henry David Thoreau
Exaggeration! was ever any virtue attributed to a man without exaggeration? was ever any vice, without infinite exaggeration? Do we not exaggerate ourselves to ourselves, or do we recognize ourselves for the actual men we are? Are we not all great men? Yet what are we actually, to speak of? We live by exaggeration. Henry David Thoreau
Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. Henry David Thoreau
We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander. Henry David Thoreau
Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Henry David Thoreau
All misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune. Henry David Thoreau
Our taste is too delicate and particular. It says nay to the poet's work, but never yea to his hope. Henry David Thoreau
All endeavour calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. Henry David Thoreau
Behave so the aroma of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere. Henry David Thoreau
Dreams are the touchstones of our character. Henry /David Thoreau
My life has been the poem / I would have writ / But I could not both live / and utter it. Henry David Thoreau
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. Henry David Thoreau
We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. Henry David Thoreau
Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes. Henry David Thoreau
Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads. Henry David Thoreau
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. Henry David Thoreau
Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes. Henry David Thoreau
True friendship can afford true knowledge. It does not depend on darkness and ignorance. Henry David Thoreau
I did not know that mankind were suffering for want of gold. I have seen a little of it. I know that it is very malleable, but not so malleable as wit. A grain of gold will gild a great surface, but not so much as a grain of wisdom. Henry David Thoreau
I did not know that mankind were suffering for want of gold. I have seen a little of it. I know that it is very malleable, but not so malleable as wit. A grain of gold will gild a great surface, but not so much as a grain of wisdom. Henry David Thoreau
Not till June can the grass be said to be waving in the fields. When the frogs dream, and the grass waves, and the buttercups toss their heads, and the heat disposes to bathe in the ponds and streams, then is summer begun. Henry David Thoreau
There are two seasons when the leaves are in their glory, their green and perfect youth in June and this their ripe old age. Henry David Thoreau
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. Henry David Thoreau
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. Henry David Thoreau
The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men. Henry David Thoreau
Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. Henry David Thoreau