20 Timeless Henry David Thoreau Quotes

Quick Links :

The wisdom of Henry David Thoreau continues to inspire and influence people to this day. As a renowned American author, philosopher, and environmentalist, Thoreau's writings and ideas remain timeless and universal. Here are 20 of his most memorable and thought-provoking quotes that continue to resonate with readers:

Embracing Simplicity and Living in the Moment

1. "Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail." - Walden

2. "The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments." - Walden

Nature and the Environment

3. "In wildness is the preservation of the world." - Walking

4. "Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact." - Walden

Individuality and Self-Reliance

5. "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." - Walden

6. "Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Walden

Social Justice and Reform

7. "Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves." - Civil Disobedience

8. "Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government and form a new one that suits them better." - Civil Disobedience

Philosophy and Spirituality

9. "I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor." - Walden

10. "To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust." - Walden

Literature and Writing

11. "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

12. "Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to make his mark." - Journal

Life and Mortality

13. "Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each." - Walden

14. "I do not wish to be redundant in expressing my detestation of war. It is not merely useless, but positively malignant." - Walden

Innovation and Progress

15. "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." - Walden

16. "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Journal

Friendship and Community

17. "There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of Nature and has his senses still." - Walden

18. "Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together." - Walden

Learning and Personal Growth

19. "I am still a learner, but what I have learned I have learned by living and seeking to understand the truth." - Walden

20. "The highest morality is not to resist evil, but to overcome evil with good." - A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

Gallery of Henry David Thoreau Quotes