Henry David Thoreau

I saw that the State was half-witted, that it was timid as a lone woman with her silver spoons, and that it did not know its friends from its foes, and I lost all my remaining respect for it, and pitied it.

Henry David Thoreau

I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.

Henry David Thoreau

I silently smiled at my incessant good fortune.

Henry David Thoreau

I speak for the slave when I say that I prefer the philanthropy of Captain Brown to that philanthropy which neither shoots me nor liberates me.

Henry David Thoreau

I stand in awe of my body.

Henry David Thoreau

I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least – and it is commonly more than that – sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.

Henry David Thoreau

I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.

Henry David Thoreau

I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.

Henry David Thoreau

I think we may safely trust a good deal more than we do.

Henry David Thoreau

I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.

Henry David Thoreau