3,409 Quotes by Henry David Thoreau

We cannot put a noose around another man's neck without first hanging ourselves.

Much of our poetry has the very best manners, but no character.

Many are concerned about the monuments of the West and the East -- to know who built them. For my part, I should like to know who in those days did not build them -- who were above such trifling.

This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore.

Scholars are wont to sell their birthright for a mess of learning.

What the banker sighs for, the meanest clown may have-leisure and a quiet mind.

Do we call this the land of the free? What is it to be free from King George the Fourth and continue the slaves of prejudice? What is it to be born free and equal, and not to live? What is the value of any political freedom, but as a means to moral freedom?

What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter's day?

My actual life is a fact, in view of which I have no occasion to congratulate myself; but for my faith and aspiration I have respect. It is from these that I speak.