Henry David Thoreau Quotations: READING, WRITING & WRITERS
The book exists for us perchance which will explain our miracles and reveal new ones. The at present unutterable things we may find somewhere uttered. These same questions that disturb and puzzle and confound us have in their turn occurred to all the wise men; not one has been omitted; and each has answered them, according to his ability, by his words and his life.—Walden
The forcible writer does not go far for his themes—his ideas are not far-fetched.—Journal, 29 January 1852
The forcible writer stands bodily behind his words with his experience. He does not make books out of books, but he has been there in person.—Journal, 3 February 1852
The heroic books, even if printed in the character of our mother tongue, will always be in a language dead to degenerate times; and we must laboriously seek the meaning of each word and line, conjecturing a larger sense than common use permits out of what wisdom and valor and generosity we have.—Walden
The language of poetry is infantile. It cannot talk.—Journal, 23 February 1842
The Library is a wilderness of books.—Journal, 16 March 1852
The mass of men are very unpoetic yet that Adam that names things is always a poet.—Journal, 30 July 1853
The morning wind forever blows, the poem of creation is uninterrupted; but few are the ears that hear it.—Walden
The news we hear, for the most part, is not news to our genius. It is the stalest repetition.—"Life without Principle"
