--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I wrote the following pages, or…" description: "\"“When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/henry-david-thoreau-20_home_when-i-wrote-the-following-pages-or-rath_2404257.jpg" --- # When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of… ![“When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/henry-david-thoreau-20_home_when-i-wrote-the-following-pages-or-rath_2404257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/henry-david-thoreau-20_home_when-i-wrote-the-following-pages-or-rath_2404257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/henry-david-thoreau-20_home_when-i-wrote-the-following-pages-or-rath_2404257.jpg) > ““When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months.”” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thoreau describes his solitary, self‑sufficient life in a self‑built cabin near Walden Pond, emphasizing manual labor and isolation. **In simple terms:** He lived alone, built his home, and earned a living by hand. Key Takeaway Embrace simplicity and self‑reliance. Themes nature self‑reliance solitude Mood reflective peaceful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - cabin building - hand‑crafted work - forest living Key Concepts minimalism contemplation Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of self‑reliance can you adopt today? - How does solitude affect creativity? A Different Perspective Modern life may not allow such isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Walden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walden/) [Walden pond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walden-pond/) ## Related quotes > [When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-wrote-the-following-pages-or-rather-the-bulk-of-them-i-lived/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Kessler depicts his developing intimacy with a handful of dairy goats and offers an enviable glimpse of the pastoral good life. Yet he also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-paxson/kessler-depicts-his-developing-intimacy-with-a-handful-of-dairy-goats/) Heather Paxson > [“What I have observed of the pond is no less true in ethics. ... 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We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other.We meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/society-is-commonly-too-cheap-we-meet-at-very-short-intervals-not-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“There is some of the same fitness in a man's building his own house that there is in a bird's building its own nest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-is-some-of-the-same-fitness-in-a-man-s-building-his-own-house/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this it will be retained; that, in respect to egotism, is the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-most-books-the-i-or-first-person-is-omitted-in-this-it-will-be/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Once upon a time, there was a little creature that was rather small and rather wicked and it lived all alone in the woods.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-vernon/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-little-creature-that-was-rather-small/) [Ursula Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-vernon/) > [I have hardly begun to live on Staten Island yet; but, like the man who, when forbidden to tread on English ground, carried Scottish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-hardly-begun-to-live-on-staten-island-yet-but-like-the-man-who/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Many have believed that Walden reached quite through to the other side of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/many-have-believed-that-walden-reached-quite-through-to-the-other/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had one of the most outdoorsy childhoods you could imagine. I basically lived in the woods until I was 13. My dad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-basso/i-had-one-of-the-most-outdoorsy-childhoods-you-could-imagine-i/) [Gabriel Basso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-basso/) > [The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man's abode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-setting-sun-is-reflected-from-the-windows-of-the-alms-house-as/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## 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/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Home quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. 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