Henry David Thoreau

The greatest of evils is to be guilty of none.

I perceive that, when an old garment is taken off, the new is not yet put on.

I would rather be a corn-stalk in the field than a man in society.

We are told that an Indian cannot be made to feel a slight. I confess I have never found an Indian who could not.

Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me.

Live your life, do your work, then take your hat.

To be great is to be misunderstood.

What does it mean to be a philosopher? It means to be able to say, 'I have seen the world, and I have found it good.'

Wherever a man goes, men will pursue him with their petty questions, and endeavor to pry into his private affairs. Commonly, if you are an honest man, they will want to know what you are doing in their neighborhood.

I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and I threw them out the window in disgust.

I have yet to hear a man confess that he had no time for a walk.

Dress a cow in a silk gown, and she still is a cow.

The very best thing, of course, is to have a good laugh. But if you can't have that, a good cry is not bad either.

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.

Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul.

The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water and time.

I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.