Famous phrases and quotes from Thoreau 2

 

Famous phrases and quotes from Thoreau 2

 

During his life, Thoreau opposed American slavery and promulgated ideas that were very advanced for that time of war, violence and scarcity. In fact, such central figures in United States History as Martin Luther King himself acknowledged being strongly influenced by the figure of the writer.

 

In today's article we are going to learn about the best phrases of Henry David Thoreau, to get closer to his thoughts and his exceptional prose.

 

1. You are more aware than before of what is important and what is trivial. It's worth waiting for the future!

A positive phrase from the great Henry David Thoreau.

 

2. There are moments when all the accumulated anxiety and effort are calmed in the infinite indolence and rest of nature.

There are different types of anxiety and, as Thoreau states, sometimes we are able to mitigate it in a true phase of catharsis.

 

3. I went to the forests because I wanted to live deliberately; face the facts of life alone and see if she could learn what she had to teach. I wanted to live deeply and discard everything that was not life... So as not to realize, at the moment of dying, that I had not lived.

One of those philosophical quotes that invite us to reflect.

 

4. The law never made men one iota more just; and, because of their respect for them, even the best disposed daily become agents of injustice.

In this quote he reveals to us the anarchist side of him.

 

5. What a man thinks of himself, this is what determines, or rather indicates his destiny.

Our self-concept is more powerful than we usually think.

 

6. Mathematics does not lie, there are many lying mathematicians.

Statistics can always lead to erroneous conclusions if we do not know how to interpret them properly.

8. Almost all people live life in quiet desperation.

A sad phrase that contains a truth that endures in our times.

 

9. How vain it is to sit down and write when you have not yet gotten up to live.

A reflection on the writing profession. If you have not experimented, your texts may be  complete  empty.

 

10. There is more religion in man's science than science in his religion.

What does science think about religious people?

 

11. Most men, even in this relatively free country, are so busy with unnecessary artifices and absurdly mediocre work that they have no time left to reap the best fruits of life.

Another quote from Henry David Thoreau about superficiality and ostentatious living.

 

12. Nine-tenths of wisdom comes from being judicious in time.

Famous phrase where he explains his notion of responsibility.

 

Recommended article: “89 phrases about intelligence and knowledge”

13. Heaven could be defined as the place that men avoid.

A thought that leads us to reflect on good and evil.

 

14. There is no worse smell than that given off by corrupted goodness.

When a good man becomes corrupt, the honour he earned through years of honesty fades away beyond repair.

 

15. Is democracy as we know it the ultimate achievement in government? Is it not possible to take one more step towards the recognition and organization of human rights? There can never be a truly free and enlightened State.

16. It is as difficult to see yourself, as it is to look back without turning around.

Our capacity for self-reflection is certainly limited.

 

17. No human being, past the irrational age of childhood, will consciously want to kill any creature that sustains its life from the same earth as itself.

An animalistic phrase that perhaps is not surprising today, but that in its time represented a radical look at the life of living beings.

 

18. Time is nothing but the current in which I am fishing.

One of these reflections on time that leave us thinking for hours.

 

19. The light that blinds our eyes is darkness for us. Only dawns the day for which we are awake. There are still many days until dawn. He alone is but a morning star.

Were you looking for philosophical phrases? This famous Thoreau quote is for framing.

 

20. If you cannot convince a person of the bad thing he is doing, he then tries to do the good thing. People believe only what they see.

Ethics are preached with day-to-day actions.

21. If you have built castles in the air, your work is not lost; now place the bases under them.

We can build on daily daydreams.

 

22. Things do not change; we change.

Without knowing it, throughout life we constantly change.

 

23. Instead of love, money or fame, give me the truth.

The truth will help us achieve anything in life.

24. I have never found a more sociable companion than solitude.

This great writer and poet cultivated a pessimistic idea of the world.

 

25. Love should not only be a flame, but a light.

Love illuminates our lives and provides us with the warmth necessary to live.

 

26. There is not a moment of truce between virtue and vice.

It is up to us to bet on one or the other.

 

27. as if you could kill time without insulting eternity!

A poetic vision of the passage of time.

 

28. What good is a house if you do not have a tolerable planet on which to place it.

A surprising and humorous contribution in equal parts.

 

29. A man is rich in proportion to the things he can throw away.

An interesting reflection that makes us think that many of us can be rich.

 

30. Any man who is more right than his neighbour is already constitutes a majority of one.

A nice way to conceive the daily life of families.

 

31. Read the good books first; most likely, you will not be able to read them all.

A tip for avid readers.

 

32. There are many who go around the branches, for one who goes directly to the root.

In general, people find it difficult to be specific and concise.

33. Stop scratching the bark; there is ripe fruit on your forehead.

We must look at our environment to find what is truly important.

 

34. Under a government that imprisons someone unjustly, the proper place for a just person is also prison.

We must stand in solidarity against injustice in times of tyranny.

 

36. Citizen life: millions of beings living together in solitude.

A pessimistic view of society.

 

37. Don't just be good; be good for a reason.

Whenever we have a goal in life, goodness will come out on its own and help us achieve it.

 

38. Disobedience is the true foundation of freedom. The obedient must be slaves.

His ideas laid the foundations for civil rights in the West.

 

39. This world is nothing more than a canvas for our imagination.

A phrase that tells us about the multiple possibilities of life.

 

40. There is only one remedy for love: to love more.

Love can do everything, and as long as it is genuine, it generates more love.

 

41. The rich man is always sold to the institution that makes him rich.

Something that has not changed after more than 200 years of history.

 

42. The borders are not east or west, north or south, but where man faces a fact.

An allegorical way of defining borders in the world, as places of passage where events happen.

 

43. Each new generation laughs at previous fashions, but religiously follows the current one.

Absurd fashions are a social phenomenon that is still valid after more than 200 years of history.

44. I learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and undertakes the life he has imagined for himself, he will find unexpected success in his ordinary hours.

Confidence in ourselves and the conviction that we will succeed are key in our daily lives.

 

45. Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.

Only in this way will we be able to be rich.

 

46. Kindness is the only investment that never goes bankrupt.

Kindness costs nothing and is worth a lot.

 

47. The seeker of defects finds them even in paradise.

There are people who become obsessed with finding the negative in any aspect of life.

 

48. Love your life no matter how poor it is.

We must value what we have in life, above all else.

 

49. He who knows how to listen to the murmur of the rivers will never feel complete despair.

If we are able to obtain happiness in nature, we do not need anything else.

 

50. Never look back, unless you are planning to go in that direction.

Good advice that we can apply on all our trips.

 

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:

 

Xavier Molina. (2017, May 19). The 50 best quotes by Henry David Thoreau. Psychology and Mind Portal. https://psicologiaymente.com/reflexiones/frases-henry-david-thoreau

With affection,

Ruben