Henry David Thoreau

Men will lie on their backs, talking about the fall of man, and never make an effort to get up.

With a little more deliberation in the choice of their pursuits, all men would perhaps become essentially students and observers.

Say what you have to say, not what you ought. Any truth is better than make-believe.

However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are.

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

The highest law gives a thing to him who can use it.

A man cannot be said to succeed in this life who does not satisfy one friend.

The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.

Dreams are the touchstones of our character.

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

There is no remedy for love, but to love more.

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.

Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.