Quotes by Henry David Thoreau

“To say that a man is your Friend, means commonly no more than this, that he is not your enemy. Most contemplate only what would be the accidental and trifling advantages of Friendship, as that the Friend can assist in time of need by his substance, or his influence, or his counsel. Even the utmost goodwill and harmony and practical kindness are not sufficient for Friendship, for Friends do not live in harmony merely, as some say, but in melody.”

“Truths and roses have thorns about them.”

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”

“Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.”

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

“Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be.”

“It is better to keep a friend from falling than to help him up”

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”

“To believe in men is the first step toward helping them”

“And above all things, never think that youre not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning”

“Envy comes from peoples ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts”

“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.”

“It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.”

“Always you have to contend with the stupidity of men.”

“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.”

“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”

“Snowflakes are one of natures most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together.”

“The first thing we do, lets kill all the lawyers.”

“Those whom we can love, we can hate; to others we are indifferent.”

“You know about a person who deeply interests you more than you can be told. A look, a gesture, an act, which to everybody else is insignificant tells you more about that one than words can.”