Sincerity is a great but rare virtue, and we pardon to it much complaining, and the betrayal of many weaknesses. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
Deep are the foundations of sincerity. Even stone walls have their foundation below the frost. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
The word which is best said came nearest to not being spoken at all, for it is cousin to a deed which… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
Some poems are for holidays only. They are polished and sweet, but it is the sweetness of sugar, and not such as… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not;… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
We are often struck by the force and precision of style to which hard-working men, unpracticed in writing, easily attain when required… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
The true poem is not that which the public read. There is always a poem not printed on paper,... in the poet's… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity, and find that there was no advantage in them - that it was… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
We never exchange more than three words with a Friend in our lives on that level to which our thoughts and feelings… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
I often accuse my finest acquaintances of an immense frivolity; for, while there are manners and compliments we do not meet, we… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
Perfect sincerity and transparency make a great part of beauty, as in dewdrops, lakes, and diamonds. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
After all the field of battle possesses many advantages over the drawing-room. There at least is no room for pretension or excessive… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
We should never stand upon ceremony with sincerity. We should never cheat and insult and banish one another by our meanness, if… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
Did you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly towards an object, and in no… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
“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… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the… — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe. — Henry David Thoreau Copy Share Image
