--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You must not count much upon what I can…" description: "\"You must not count much upon what I can do or learn in New York… Everything there disappoints me but the crowd; rather, I was disappointed with the res..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/henry-david-thoreau-20_boston_you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can_996762.jpg" --- # You must not count much upon what I can do or learn in New… ![“You must not count much upon what I can do or learn in New York… Everything there disappoints me but the crowd; rather, I was disappointed with the rest before I came. I have no eyes for their churches, and what else they find to brag of. Though I know but little about Boston, yet what attracts…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/henry-david-thoreau-20_boston_you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can_996762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/henry-david-thoreau-20_boston_you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can_996762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/henry-david-thoreau-20_boston_you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can_996762.jpg) > “You must not count much upon what I can do or learn in New York… Everything there disappoints me but the crowd; rather, I was disappointed with the rest before I came. I have no eyes for their churches, and what else they find to brag of. Though I know but little about Boston, yet what attracts me, in a quiet way, seems much meaner and more pretending than there,--libraries, pictures, and faces in the street. You don't know where any respectability inhabits.” [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. Urban crowds disappoint; quiet places reveal deeper pretensions; true respect is elusive. **In simple terms:** Cities can be shallow; solitude reveals truth. Key Takeaway Seek authentic experiences beyond crowds. Themes urban critique solitude authenticity Mood contemplative critical Type essayistic philosophical When to use this quote - travel - urban planning - personal reflection - spiritual practice Key Concepts sociology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does authenticity mean to you? - How do you find respect in modern life? A Different Perspective Solitude can also lead to loneliness and isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Disappointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointed/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Respectability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectability/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) ## Related quotes > [It seems to me that the god that is commonly worshipped in civilized countries is not at all divine, though he bears a divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-seems-to-me-that-the-god-that-is-commonly-worshipped-in-civilized/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You may rely on it that you have the best of me in my books, and that I am not worth seeing personally, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-may-rely-on-it-that-you-have-the-best-of-me-in-my-books-and-that/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If I seem to boast more than is becoming, my excuse is that I brag for humanity rather than for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-i-seem-to-boast-more-than-is-becoming-my-excuse-is-that-i-brag-for/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Nostalgia combines regularly with manifest respectability to give credence to old error as opposed to new truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/nostalgia-combines-regularly-with-manifest-respectability-to-give/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Sweet, sane, still Nakedness in Nature! — ah if poor, sick, prurient humanity in cities might really know you once more! Is not nakedness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/sweet-sane-still-nakedness-in-nature-ah-if-poor-sick-prurient/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Young wives are the leading asset of corporate power. They want the suburbs, a house, a settled life, and respectability. They want society to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/young-wives-are-the-leading-asset-of-corporate-power-they-want-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [When she lives at his palace, the maiden niece of a bishop can pass for a respectable woman because, if she has a love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/when-she-lives-at-his-palace-the-maiden-niece-of-a-bishop-can-pass/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Maybe someday it will seem quaint that, during a time of plague, some of the parents of the 1990s wanted to deny their children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/maybe-someday-it-will-seem-quaint-that-during-a-time-of-plague-some/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [There exists, at the bottom of all abasement and misfortune, a last extreme which rebels and joins battle with the forces of law and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-exists-at-the-bottom-of-all-abasement-and-misfortune-a-last/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [A musical audience is at best uninspiring, at worst definitely drab. ... Respectability hangs like a pall over the orchestra and the boxes; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/a-musical-audience-is-at-best-uninspiring-at-worst-definitely-drab/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Advice,' Doña Vorchenza chuckled. 'Advice. The years play a sort of alchemical trick, transmuting one's mutterings to a state of respectability. Give advice at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/advice-do-a-vorchenza-chuckled-advice-the-years-play-a-sort-of/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [Intellectual respectability required mental health, and it was becoming evident to me by then that "mental health" consisted of trusting everyone about everything as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-thornley/intellectual-respectability-required-mental-health-and-it-was/) [Kerry Thornley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-thornley/) > [What I need to do is have a great positive attitude and a great work ethic. Those two things validate me. Yes, it's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-robinson/what-i-need-to-do-is-have-a-great-positive-attitude-and-a-great-work/) [David Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-robinson/) > [“The entrepreneurs are only about my age, probably younger, but they don't seem so. Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## 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 Boston quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [“Mom, I live in the South End, not South Boston. They are entirely different neighborhoods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-swanson-goodreads-author/mom-i-live-in-the-south-end-not-south-boston-they-are-entirely/) Peter Swanson (Goodreads Author > [I think there are four or five interesting pockets where a lot of cool technology companies are getting started. Chicago is one of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lefkofsky/i-think-there-are-four-or-five-interesting-pockets-where-a-lot-of/) [Eric Lefkofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-lefkofsky/) > [I love cooking but I still always go and sneak a little bit of sides from Boston Market, and it's so good. They're so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-walsh/i-love-cooking-but-i-still-always-go-and-sneak-a-little-bit-of-sides/) [Kate Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-walsh/) > [Boston is one of my favorite places to wrestle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rikishi/boston-is-one-of-my-favorite-places-to-wrestle/) [Rikishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rikishi/) > [I ain't got no problem in Boston, I especially like the attention. I know that I'm one of the top guys in this game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-ramirez/i-ain-t-got-no-problem-in-boston-i-especially-like-the-attention-i/) [Manny Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-ramirez/) > [I lived to play basketball. Growing up as a kid, Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics were my favorite team. The way they played,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/i-lived-to-play-basketball-growing-up-as-a-kid-bill-russell-and-the/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [The success of Boston's economy is intertwined with the health and well-being of every neighborhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wu/the-success-of-boston-s-economy-is-intertwined-with-the-health-and/) [Michelle Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wu/) > [2004 was a great year for Boston! The Patriots won the Super Bowl! Boston hosted its first national political convention! And - the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-menino/2004-was-a-great-year-for-boston-the-patriots-won-the-super-bowl/) [Thomas Menino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-menino/) > [ It was when Boston invited us to do a parade one November, and I was the only \[Star Wars\] cast member skeptical of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ratzenberger/it-was-when-boston-invited-us-to-do-a-parade-one-november-and-i-was/) [John Ratzenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ratzenberger/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Boston's justice system is in serious need of reform. Many of its policies and practices are antiquated, expensive, and don't really even make Boston…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/boston-s-justice-system-is-in-serious-need-of-reform-many-of-its/) [Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/) > [I grew up outside of Boston in a town called Manchester by the Sea, and we spent our summers in Nantucket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-faxon/i-grew-up-outside-of-boston-in-a-town-called-manchester-by-the-sea/) [Nat Faxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-faxon/) > [Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture, ... When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/priests-like-all-of-us-are-affected-by-culture-when-the-culture-is/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) [Browse all 787 Boston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boston/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You must not count much upon what I can do or learn in New York… Everything there disappoints me but the crowd; rather, I was disappointed with the rest before I came. I have no eyes for their churches, and what else they find to brag of. Though I know but little about Boston, yet what attracts me, in a quiet way, seems much meaner and more pretending than there,--libraries, pictures, and faces in the street. You don't know where any respectability inhabits.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can-do-or-learn-in-new-york/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boston" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can-do-or-learn-in-new-york/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/henry-david-thoreau-20_boston_you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can_996762.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/henry-david-thoreau-20_boston_you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can_996762.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/henry-david-thoreau-20_boston_you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can_996762.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You must not count much upon what I can do or learn in New York… Everything there disappoints me but the…” — Henry David Thoreau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You must not count much upon...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can-do-or-learn-in-new-york/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/you-must-not-count-much-upon-what-i-can-do-or-learn-in-new-york/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```