by Henry David Thoreau
CHANCING to take a memorable walk by moonlight some years ago, I resolved to take more such walks, and make acquaintance with another side of Nature. I have done so.
According to Pliny, there is a … Read the rest
Category: Henry David Thoreau
On Civil Disobedience
by Henry David Thoreau
I heartily accept the motto, — “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which … Read the rest
Slavery in Massachusetts
by Henry David Thoreau
I LATELY ATTENDED a meeting of the citizens of Concord, expecting, as one among many, to speak on the subject of slavery in Massachusetts; but I was surprised and disappointed to find that what had called … Read the rest
The Battle of the Ants
by Henry David Thoreau
I was witness to events of a less peaceful character. One day when I went out to my wood-pile, or rather my pile of stumps, I observed two large ants, the one red, the other much … Read the rest
The Highland Light
by Henry David Thoreau
This light-house, known to mariners as the Cape Cod or Highland Light, is one of our “primary sea-coast lights,” and is usually the first seen by those approaching the entrance of Massachusetts Bay from Europe. It … Read the rest
The Landlord
by Henry David Thoreau
Under the one word, house, are included the school house, the alms house, the jail, the tavern, the dwelling house; and the meanest shed or cave in which men live, contains the elements of all these. … Read the rest
The Last Days of John Brown
by Henry David Thoreau
John Brown’s career for the last six weeks of his life was meteor-like, flashing through the darkness in which we live. I know of nothing so miraculous in our history.
If any person, in a lecture … Read the rest
Walking
by Henry David Thoreau
[1862.]
I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil,—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather … Read the rest
The Inward Morning
by Henry David Thoreau
Packed in my mind lie all the clothes Which outward nature wears, And in its fashion's hourly change It all things else repairs. In vain I look for change abroad, And can no difference find, Till… Read the rest
True Kindness
by Henry David Thoreau
True kindness is a pure divine affinity, Not founded upon human consanguinity. It is a spirit, not a blood relation, Superior to family and station.… Read the rest