Henry David Thoreau Quotes

Henry David Thoreau quotes are definitely some of my favorite inspirational quotes. With my background in environmental education, I find wisdom and inspiration in his environmental sayings. Thoreau is perhaps most well known for his book Walden, a reflection on living simply, and for his essay Civil Disobedience.

Collection of Henry David Thoreau Quotes and Sayings

"Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind."
- Henry David Thoreau


"What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates his fate."
- Henry David Thoreau


"Every part of nature teaches that the passing away of one life is to make room for another."
- Henry David Thoreau


"The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer of winter, and is about as ample at one season as at another. It is as well for cheerfulness as for warmth and dryness."
- Henry David Thoreau


"Success usuallly comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."
- Henry David Thoreau

More Henry David Thoreau Quotations

"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
- 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 foundations under them."
- Henry David Thoreau


"To be awake is to be alive."
- Henry David Thoreau


"Let a slight snow come and cover the earth, and the tracks of men will show how little the woods and fields are frequented."
- Henry David Thoreau


"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die discover that I had not lived."
- Henry David Thoreau


You may also enjoy these Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes or these environmental quotes.