Famous Quotes by Henry David Thoreau
There are many Famous Quotes by Henry David Thoreau, but here are some of our favorites. Thoreau was an American writer, philosopher, abolitionist, and naturalist who is best known for his book Walden.
This article features a collection of Famous Quotes by Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was an American philosopher, poet, and essayist who is best known for his work Walden. These quotes provide insight into his thoughts on topics such as nature, simplicity, and civil disobedience.
Famous Quotes by Henry David Thoreau
“Our life is frittered away by detail…simplify, simplify.” – Henry David Thoreau
“The animal merely makes a bed, which he warms with his body in a sheltered place; but man, having discovered fire, boxes up some air in a spacious apartment, and warms that, instead of robbing himself, makes that his bed, in which he can move about divested of more cumbrous clothing, maintain a kind of summer in the midst of winter, and by means of windows even admit the light and with a lamp lengthen out the day.”
― Henry David Thoreau
“Be yourself, not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” – Henry David Thoreau
Famous Quotes of Henry David Thoreau
“It’s the beauty within us that makes it possible for us to recognize the beauty around us. The question is not what you look at but what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” – 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
“The animal merely makes a bed, which he warms with his body in a sheltered place; but man, having discovered fire, boxes up some air in a spacious apartment, and warms that, instead of robbing himself, makes that his bed, in which he can move about divested of more cumbrous clothing, maintain a kind of summer in the midst of winter, and by means of windows even admit the light and with a lamp lengthen out the day.”
― Henry David Thoreau
Famous Quotes From 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, Walden
“I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.” – 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
Quotes From 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, Walden
“When it’s time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Simplify your life. Don’t waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant. Don’t burden yourself with possessions. Keep your needs and wants simple and enjoy what you have. Don’t destroy your peace of mind by looking back, worrying about the past. Live in the present. Simplify!” – Henry David Thoreau
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that 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.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
Henry David Thoreau Most Famous Works
“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
“The universe is wider than our views of it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden
“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.” – Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau Most Famous Work
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
“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.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Not till we are completely lost or turned around… do we begin to find ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.” – Henry David Thoreau
“You must not only aim right, but draw the bow with all your might.” – Henry David Thoreau
Why Was Henry David Thoreau Important
“However mean your life is, meet it and live it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” – 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
“Not till we are completely lost or turned around… do we begin to find ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau Known For
“However mean your life is, meet it and live it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” – 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
“Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.” – Henry David Thoreau
Famous Works of Henry David Thoreau
“You must not only aim right, but draw the bow with all your might.” – Henry David Thoreau
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that 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.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.” – Henry David Thoreau
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
“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.” – Henry David Thoreau
Famous Quotes Henry David Thoreau Civil Disobedience
“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
“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
“Simplify your life. Don’t waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant. Don’t burden yourself with possessions. Keep your needs and wants simple and enjoy what you have. Don’t destroy your peace of mind by looking back, worrying about the past. Live in the present. Simplify!” – Henry David Thoreau
Henry Thoreau Famous Quotes
“The universe is wider than our views of it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden
“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, Walden
“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“Our life is frittered away by detail…simplify, simplify.” – Henry David Thoreau
Quotes by Henry David Thoreau About Nature
“I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“When it’s time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Be yourself, not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” – Henry David Thoreau
“It’s the beauty within us that makes it possible for us to recognize the beauty around us. The question is not what you look at but what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” – 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, Walden
What Is Thoreau’s Most Famous Quote?
Thoreau’s most famous quote is “Simplify, simplify.” He believed in living a simple life, close to nature. He is also known for his famous quote “In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
What Is the Famous Quote From Walden?
The most famous quote from Henry David Thoreau‘s Walden is “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” This quote is often misunderstood to mean that Thoreau went to the woods in order to escape the complications of life. However, what Thoreau is really saying is that he went to the woods in order to live a life that was purposeful and deliberate. He wanted to strip away the non–essentials and really focus on what was important. And, in the end, he did not want to look back on his life and realize that he had not truly lived. This quote has resonated with many people over the years because it speaks to a deep desire that we all have to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling.
What Was Thoreau’s Last Words?
Thoreau’s last words were “Moose…Indian…” These were his dying words according to his sister Sophia. Some believe that Thoreau was referring to the moose that he had seen on a recent trip to Maine, while others believe that he was referring to the Native Americans that he had read about in his travels.
What Is Thoreau’s Motto?
Thoreau‘s motto is “simplify, simplify.” He believes that people should live simply and in harmony with nature. Thoreau was a great advocate for living a simple life and his philosophy has inspired many people.
Henry David Thoreau was an American essayist, poet, and philosopher who is best known for his book Walden, which details his experience living in a simple cabin in the woods near Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau was an advocate for simple living and is often quoted as saying “simplify, simplify.” In conclusion, Famous Quotes by Henry David Thoreau about simplicity are still relevant today and can be applied to our lives in order to find more happiness and contentment.