Inspirational Quotes
Words to motivate, inspire, and guide you.
Henry David Thoreau Quotes
LibertyObedienceResistanceControlIndividuality Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.
DeathEqualityHumility I have thought there was some advantage even in death, by which we mingle with the herd of common men.
AltruismPersonal BeliefsIndividuality As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may seem, am satisfied that it does not agree with my constitution.
LeisureTime ManagementMindfulnessBalanceNature A broad margin of leisure is as beautiful in a man's life as in a book. Haste makes waste, no less in life than in housekeeping. Keep the time, observe the hours of the universe, not of the cars.
MarriageGood NatureGood Sense There is more of good nature than of good sense at the bottom of most marriages.
OpennessPerspectiveSpiritualityUnderstanding God reigns when we take a liberal view, when a liberal view is presented to us.
AppreciationFocus A man's interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.
PerfectionismOverthinkingMental StrainBalanceHabit I have the habit of attention to such excess, that my senses get no rest - but suffer from a constant strain.
ListeningRespectValidationCommunication The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.
FriendshipPerspectiveUnderstandingSelflessness There is danger that we lose sight of what our friend is absolutely, while considering what she is to us alone.
DivinityConnectionMindfulnessSpiritualityBalance Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.
NecessityLuxuryAbundanceContrast They can do without architecture who have no olives nor wines in the cellar.
NatureDeterminationMortalityResolution Nature puts no question and answers none which we mortals ask. She has long ago taken her resolution.
AwarenessHopeOptimismPerseveranceInner Strength We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.
InnocenceWisdomReverence Is the babe young? When I behold it, it seems more venerable than the oldest man.
InnocenceSelf-DiscoveryEmpathy Through our own recovered innocence we discern the innocence of our neighbors.
UnityBalance The fibers of all things have their tension and are strained like the strings of an instrument.
GrowthSelf-DiscoveryPurposeReflectionPersonal Development I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live and could not spare any more time for that one.
SolitudeInner PeaceSelf-Reflection I have a great deal of company in the house, especially in the morning when nobody calls.
Quality of LifeInfluenceDaily LivingArt To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.
MotivationPurposeIntegrityWork EthicValue To have done anything just for money is to have been truly idle.
ObservationPatienceCuriosityDedicationNature I often visited a particular plant four or five miles distant, half a dozen times within a fortnight, that I might know exactly when it opened.
UncleanlinessSlothWork EthicMoral StandardsDiscipline An unclean person is universally a slothful one.
CuriosityBeautyKnowledgeWonderExploration Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.
IdealismWisdomKnowledgeSocietyPracticality There never was and is not likely soon to be a nation of philosophers, nor am I certain it is desirable that there should be.
NatureConnection to NatureMeaningful Pursuits There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance.
UnderstandingPerceptionLimitationInsight We shall see but a little way if we require to understand what we see.
HumilityHumorSelf-ExpressionMotivationHumanity If I seem to boast more than is becoming, my excuse is that I brag for humanity rather than for myself.
InterconnectionSymbiosisCo-evolutionGrowthNature It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man.
FriendshipKnowledgeLight and Darkness True friendship can afford true knowledge. It does not depend on darkness and ignorance.
Youthful AmbitionCreative VisionRealismLife Stages The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.
DreamAmbitionActionRealization If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
CreativityObservationGeniusArtistryRules The Artist is he who detects and applies the law from observation of the works of Genius, whether of man or Nature. The Artisan is he who merely applies the rules which others have detected.
SuccessPerspectiveIndividuality The life which men praise and regard as successful is but one kind. Why should we exaggerate any one kind at the expense of the others?
FashionTrendsConformityGenerations Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.
IntegrityEvidenceInfluenceBeliefTrust If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. Men will believe what they see.
ExplorationFreedomNaturePerspective I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.