If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man’s shoulders.

—Henry David Thoreau

About Henry David Thoreau

Portrait of Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance...

More quotations from Henry David Thoreau

That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.

—Henry David Thoreau

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

—Henry David Thoreau

It is pleasant to have been to a place the way a river went.

—Henry David Thoreau

It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.

—Henry David Thoreau

When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality.

—Henry David Thoreau

More quotations tagged with “oppression”

The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

strength hearts change conscience respect nonviolence courage oppression self-respect

A liberation movement that is nonviolent sets the oppressor free as well as the oppressed.

—Barbara Deming

nonviolence violence oppression liberation oppressed

History

28 Sep 2013 Added