Henry David Thoreau Be Quotations

Be not merely good. Be good for something.

In a world of peace and love, music would be the universal language.

Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations tomen; his labor would be depreciated in the market. He has no time to be anything but a machine.

One who knew how to appropriate the true value of this world would be the poorest man in it. The poor rich man! all he has is whathe has bought.

In Canada an ordinary New England house would be mistaken for the château, and while every village here contains at least severalgentlemen or "squires," there is but one to a seigniory.

If you would be chaste, you must be temperate.

I am convinced that if all men were to live as simply as I then did, thieving and robbery would be unknown. These take place only in communities where some have got more than is sufficient while others have not enough.

We should seek to be fellow students with the pupil, and should learn of, as well as with him, if we would be most helpful to him.

It would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile, as where I live.

If I shall sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society, as most appear to do, I'm sure that, for me, there would be nothing left worth living for.

It would be worth the while if in each town there were a committee appointed to see that the beauty of the town received no detriment. If we have the largest boulder in the county, then it should not belong to an individual, nor be made into door-steps.

It would be glorious to see mankind at leisure for once. It is nothing but work, work, work.

I do not wish to kill nor to be killed, but I can foresee circumstances in which these things would be by me unavoidable.