A true politeness does not result from any hasty and artificial polishing, it is true, but grows naturally in characters of the right grain and quality, through a long fronting of men and events, and rubbing on good and bad fortune. Henry David Thoreau More Quotes by Henry David Thoreau More Quotes From Henry David Thoreau In my afternoon walk I would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society. Henry David Thoreau afternoon good-morning society The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things. Henry David Thoreau wisdom men country Science with its retorts would have put me to sleep; it was the opportunity to be ignorant that I improved. It suggested to me that there was something to be seen if one had eyes. It made a believer of me more than before. I believed that the woods were not tenantless, but choke-full of honest spirits as good as myself any day,--not an empty chamber, in which chemistry was left to work alone, but an inhabited house,--and for a few moments I enjoyed fellowship with them. Henry David Thoreau nature eye sleep A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. Henry David Thoreau wise inspirational life There is no just and serene criticism as yet. Henry David Thoreau criticism literature quiet Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour. Henry David Thoreau details hours men No human being, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does. Henry David Thoreau learning life knowledge Action from principle, the perception and the performance of right, changes things and relations; it is essentially revolutionary, and does not consist wholly with anything which was. It not only divides States and churches, it divides families; ay, it divides the individual, separating the diabolical in him from the divine. Henry David Thoreau church perception doe That government is best which governs least. Henry David Thoreau democracies-have freedom government I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will. Henry David Thoreau lonely love men I will come to you, my friend, when I no longer need you. Then you will find a palace, not an almshouse. Henry David Thoreau palaces need-you needs We believe that the possibility of the future far exceeds the accomplishment of the past. We review the past with the common sense, but we anticipate the future with transcendental senses. In our sanest moments we find ourselves naturally expecting or prepared for far greater changes than any which we have experienced within the period of distinct memory, only to be paralleled by experiences which are forgotten. Henry David Thoreau memories believe past A farmer, a hunter, a soldier, a reporter, even a philosopher, may be daunted; but nothing can deter a poet, for he is actuated by pure love. Who can predict his comings and goings? His business calls him out at all hours, even when doctors sleep. Henry David Thoreau business love philosophy The era of wild apples will soon be over. I wander through old orchards of great extent, now all gone to decay, all of native fruit which for the most part went to the cider mill. But since the temperance reform and the general introduction of grafted fruit, no wild apples, such as I see everywhere in deserted pastures, and where the woods have grown up among them, are set out. I fear that he who walks over these hills a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples. Henry David Thoreau cider decay apples How few things can a man measure with the tape of his understanding ; How many greater things might he be seeing in the meanwhile. Henry David Thoreau failure understanding men Justice is sweet and musical; but injustice is harsh and discordant. Henry David Thoreau musical justice sweet . . . I was rich, if not in money, in sunny hours and summer days. . . . Henry David Thoreau rich wealth summer The only danger in Friendship is that it will end. Henry David Thoreau ends danger friendship Every man is the builder of a temple called his body. Henry David Thoreau motivational-sports body men It is remarkable how long men will believe in the bottomlessness of a pond without taking the trouble to sound it. Henry David Thoreau men long believe
