Henry David Thoreau ( 10 of 165 )
Simplicity is the nature of great souls.
Simplicity is the nature of great souls.
What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?
What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?
I would give all the wealth of the world, and all the deeds of all the heroes, for one true read more
I would give all the wealth of the world, and all the deeds of all the heroes, for one true vision.
Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances read more
Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have even lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor. -Henry David Thoreau.
The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the characters of individuals.
The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the characters of individuals.
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and read more
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.
I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a read more
I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.
I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and read more
I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favour in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. 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.
A man's interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and read more
A man's interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.
