Henry David Thoreau Quotes

“Cultivate the habit of early rising. It is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“Every man is the builder of a temple called his body.”
– Henry David Thoreau



A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.
– Henry David Thoreau


“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioned ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“I stand in awe of my body.”
– Henry David Thoreau


Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.
– Henry David Thoreau



“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“The price price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. “
– Henry David Thoreau


“If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. Men will believe what they see.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“In what concerns you much, do not think that you have companions: know that you are alone in the world.”
– Henry David Thoreau



As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
– Henry David Thoreau






“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.”
– Henry David Thoreau


“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.”
– Henry David Thoreau


Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.
– Henry David Thoreau