--- title: "4 Human experience Quotes By Henry David Thoreau" description: "4 Human experience quotes by Henry David Thoreau. Plus more from Henry David Thoreau and more Human experience sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1da/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_observation-is-so-wide-awake-and-facts-a_1117741.jpg" --- > [Observation is so wide awake, and facts are being so rapidly added to the sum of human experience, that it appears as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/observation-is-so-wide-awake-and-facts-are-being-so-rapidly-added-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1da/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_observation-is-so-wide-awake-and-facts-a_1117741.jpg) > [He who is only a traveler learns things at second-hand and by the halves, and is poor authority. We are most interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/he-who-is-only-a-traveler-learns-things-at-second-hand-and-by-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/henry-david-thoreau-20_accounts_he-who-is-only-a-traveler-learns-things_2333814.jpg) > [“I only know myself as a human entity; the scene, so to speak, of thoughts and affections; and I'm sensible of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-only-know-myself-as-a-human-entity-the-scene-so-to-speak-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08e/henry-david-thoreau-20_human-experience_i-only-know-myself-as-a-human-entity-the_2436208.jpg) > [He who is only a traveler learns things at second-handand by the halves, and is poorauthority. We are most interested when science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/he-who-is-only-a-traveler-learns-things-at-second-handand-by-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37b/henry-david-thoreau-20_human-experience_he-who-is-only-a-traveler-learns-things_2934490.jpg) ## Other authors on Human experience - [Neale Donald Walsch 7 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/neale-donald-walsch/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-caroline-myss-21321.jpg) Caroline Myss 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/caroline-myss/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b007/author-daniel-c-peterson-26398.jpg) Angelika Regossi 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/angelika-regossi/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-sebastian-junger-83883.jpg) Sebastian Junger 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/sebastian-junger/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-george-eliot-37652.jpg) George Eliot 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/george-eliot/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bren-brown-19292.jpg) Brené Brown 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/bren-brown/) ## 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/human-experience/henry-david-thoreau/#itemlist", "name": "4 Human experience Quotes By Henry David Thoreau", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Observation is so wide awake, and facts are being so rapidly added to the sum of human experience, that it appears as if the theorizer would always be in arrears, and were doomed forever to arrive at imperfect conclusion; but the power to perceive a law is equally rare in all ages of the world, and depends but little on the number of facts observed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/observation-is-so-wide-awake-and-facts-are-being-so-rapidly-added-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1da/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_observation-is-so-wide-awake-and-facts-a_1117741.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1da/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_observation-is-so-wide-awake-and-facts-a_1117741.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1da/henry-david-thoreau-20_age_observation-is-so-wide-awake-and-facts-a_1117741.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Observation is so wide awake, and facts are being so rapidly added to the sum of human experience, that it…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who is only a traveler learns things at second-hand and by the halves, and is poor authority. 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