--- title: "9 Decay Quotes By Henry David Thoreau" description: "9 Decay quotes by Henry David Thoreau. Plus more from Henry David Thoreau and more Decay sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/henry-david-thoreau-20_aging_the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-l_378891.jpg" --- > [The constant abrasion and decay of our lives makes the soil of our future growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-lives-makes-the-soil-of-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/henry-david-thoreau-20_aging_the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-l_378891.jpg) > [Decay and disease are often beautiful, like the pearly tear of the shellfish and the hectic glow of consumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/decay-and-disease-are-often-beautiful-like-the-pearly-tear-of-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_decay-and-disease-are-often-beautiful-li_744516.jpg) > [If we see nature as pausing, immediately all mortifies and decays; but seen as progressing, she is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-we-see-nature-as-pausing-immediately-all-mortifies-and-decays-but/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_if-we-see-nature-as-pausing-immediately_602080.jpg) > [The foul slime stands for the sloth and vice of man, the decay of humanity; the fragrant flower that springs from it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-foul-slime-stands-for-the-sloth-and-vice-of-man-the-decay-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_courage_the-foul-slime-stands-for-the-sloth-and_3002587.jpg) > [I think that every town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of five hundred or a thousand acres, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-think-that-every-town-should-have-a-park-or-rather-a-primitive/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-think-that-every-town-should-have-a-pa_1232900.jpg) > [We love to see any redness in the vegetation of the temperate zone. It is the color of colors. This plant speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-love-to-see-any-redness-in-the-vegetation-of-the-temperate-zone-it/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/henry-david-thoreau-20_blood_we-love-to-see-any-redness-in-the-vegeta_2346867.jpg) > [The era of wild apples will soon be over. I wander through old orchards of great extent, now all gone to decay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-era-of-wild-apples-will-soon-be-over-i-wander-through-old/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/henry-david-thoreau-20_apples_the-era-of-wild-apples-will-soon-be-over_1871884.jpg) > [So behave that the odor of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere, that when we behold or scent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/so-behave-that-the-odor-of-your-actions-may-enhance-the-general/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/henry-david-thoreau-20_action_so-behave-that-the-odor-of-your-actions_232784.jpg) > [I would not have every man nor every part of a man cultivated, any more than I would have every acre of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-would-not-have-every-man-nor-every-part-of-a-man-cultivated-any/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-would-not-have-every-man-nor-every-par_2196383.jpg) ## Other authors on Decay ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/henry-david-thoreau/#itemlist", "name": "9 Decay Quotes By Henry David Thoreau", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The constant abrasion and decay of our lives makes the soil of our future growth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-lives-makes-the-soil-of-our/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/henry-david-thoreau-20_aging_the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-l_378891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/henry-david-thoreau-20_aging_the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-l_378891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/henry-david-thoreau-20_aging_the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-l_378891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The constant abrasion and decay of our lives makes the soil of our future growth.” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Decay and disease are often beautiful, like the pearly tear of the shellfish and the hectic glow of consumption.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/decay-and-disease-are-often-beautiful-like-the-pearly-tear-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_decay-and-disease-are-often-beautiful-li_744516.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_decay-and-disease-are-often-beautiful-li_744516.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_decay-and-disease-are-often-beautiful-li_744516.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Decay and disease are often beautiful, like the pearly tear of the shellfish and the hectic glow of…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we see nature as pausing, immediately all mortifies and decays; but seen as progressing, she is beautiful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-we-see-nature-as-pausing-immediately-all-mortifies-and-decays-but/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_if-we-see-nature-as-pausing-immediately_602080.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_if-we-see-nature-as-pausing-immediately_602080.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/henry-david-thoreau-20_beautiful_if-we-see-nature-as-pausing-immediately_602080.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we see nature as pausing, immediately all mortifies and decays; but seen as progressing, she is beautiful.” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The foul slime stands for the sloth and vice of man, the decay of humanity; the fragrant flower that springs from it, for the purity and courage which are immortal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-foul-slime-stands-for-the-sloth-and-vice-of-man-the-decay-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_courage_the-foul-slime-stands-for-the-sloth-and_3002587.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_courage_the-foul-slime-stands-for-the-sloth-and_3002587.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/henry-david-thoreau-20_courage_the-foul-slime-stands-for-the-sloth-and_3002587.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The foul slime stands for the sloth and vice of man, the decay of humanity; the fragrant flower that springs…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that every town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of five hundred or a thousand acres, either in one body or several, where a stick would never be cut for fuel, not for the navy, not to make wagons, but stand and decay for higher uses - a common possession for instruction and recreation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-think-that-every-town-should-have-a-park-or-rather-a-primitive/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-think-that-every-town-should-have-a-pa_1232900.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-think-that-every-town-should-have-a-pa_1232900.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-think-that-every-town-should-have-a-pa_1232900.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that every town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of five hundred or a thousand…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We love to see any redness in the vegetation of the temperate zone. It is the color of colors. This plant speaks to our blood…What a perfect maturity it arrives at! It is the emblem of a successful life concluded by a death not premature, which is an ornament to Nature. What if we were to mature as perfectly, root and branch, glowing in the midst of our decay, like the poke!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-love-to-see-any-redness-in-the-vegetation-of-the-temperate-zone-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/henry-david-thoreau-20_blood_we-love-to-see-any-redness-in-the-vegeta_2346867.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/henry-david-thoreau-20_blood_we-love-to-see-any-redness-in-the-vegeta_2346867.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/henry-david-thoreau-20_blood_we-love-to-see-any-redness-in-the-vegeta_2346867.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We love to see any redness in the vegetation of the temperate zone. It is the color of colors. This plant…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The era of wild apples will soon be over. I wander through old orchards of great extent, now all gone to decay, all of native fruit which for the most part went to the cider mill. But since the temperance reform and the general introduction of grafted fruit, no wild apples, such as I see everywhere in deserted pastures, and where the woods have grown up among them, are set out. I fear that he who walks over these hills a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-era-of-wild-apples-will-soon-be-over-i-wander-through-old/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/henry-david-thoreau-20_apples_the-era-of-wild-apples-will-soon-be-over_1871884.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/henry-david-thoreau-20_apples_the-era-of-wild-apples-will-soon-be-over_1871884.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/henry-david-thoreau-20_apples_the-era-of-wild-apples-will-soon-be-over_1871884.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The era of wild apples will soon be over. I wander through old orchards of great extent, now all gone to…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So behave that the odor of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere, that when we behold or scent a flower, we may not be reminded how inconsistent your deeds are with it; for all odor is but one form of advertisement of a moral quality, and if fair actions had not been performed, the lily would not smell sweet. The foul slime stands for the sloth and vice of man, the decay of humanity; the fragrant flower that springs from it, for the purity and courage which are immortal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/so-behave-that-the-odor-of-your-actions-may-enhance-the-general/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/henry-david-thoreau-20_action_so-behave-that-the-odor-of-your-actions_232784.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/henry-david-thoreau-20_action_so-behave-that-the-odor-of-your-actions_232784.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/henry-david-thoreau-20_action_so-behave-that-the-odor-of-your-actions_232784.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So behave that the odor of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere, that when we…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would not have every man nor every part of a man cultivated, any more than I would have every acre of earth cultivated: part will be tillage, but the greater part will be meadow and forest, not only serving an immediate use, but preparing a mould against a distant future, by the annual decay of the vegetation which it supports.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-would-not-have-every-man-nor-every-part-of-a-man-cultivated-any/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-would-not-have-every-man-nor-every-par_2196383.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-would-not-have-every-man-nor-every-par_2196383.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/henry-david-thoreau-20_acres_i-would-not-have-every-man-nor-every-par_2196383.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would not have every man nor every part of a man cultivated, any more than I would have every acre of…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/henry-david-thoreau/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/henry-david-thoreau/", "name": "Decay Quotes by Henry David Thoreau", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/henry-david-thoreau/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/henry-david-thoreau-20_aging_the-constant-abrasion-and-decay-of-our-l_378891.jpg" }, "description": "9 Decay quotes by Henry David Thoreau. Plus more from Henry David Thoreau and more Decay sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/henry-david-thoreau/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/henry-david-thoreau/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Decay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/henry-david-thoreau/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```