The Quotable Thoreau

About this book

Few writers are more quotable than Henry David Thoreau. His books, essays, journals, poems, letters, and unpublished manuscripts contain an inexhaustible treasure of epigrams and witticisms, from the famous ("The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation") to the obscure ("Who are the estranged? Two friends explaining") and the surprising ("I would exchange my immortality for a glass of small beer this hot weather"). The Quotable Thoreau, the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Thoreau quotations ever assembled, gathers more than 2,000 memorable passages from this iconoclastic American author, social reformer, environmentalist, and self-reliant thinker. Including Thoreau's thoughts on topics ranging from sex to solitude, manners to miracles, government to God, life to death, and everything in between, the book captures Thoreau's profundity as well as his humor ("If misery loves company, misery has company enough"). Drawing primarily on The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau, published by Princeton University Press, The Quotable Thoreau is thematically arranged, fully indexed, richly illustrated, and thoroughly documented. For the student of Thoreau, it will be invaluable. For those who think they know Thoreau, it will be a revelation. And for the reader seeking sheer pleasure, it will be a joy.

- Over 2,000 quotations on more than 150 subjects
- Richly illustrated with historic photographs and drawings
- Thoreau on himself and his contemporaries
- Thoreau’s contemporaries on Thoreau
- Biographical time line
- Appendix of misquotations and misattributions
- Fully indexed
- Suggestions for further reading

Contents

Preface   xiii
A Note on the Texts   xix
Introduction: Thoreau's Garment of Art   xxi
On Pronouncing the Name Thoreau   xxxvii
A Thoreau Chronology   xliii

- Thoreau Describes Himself   3
- Questions   15
- The Thoughts and Words of Henry D. Thoreau   19
- Beauty   19
- Brute Neighbors: Animals, Birds, Fish, and Insects   22
- Change   31
- Character   34
- Charity and Philanthropy   38
- Children   43
- Cities   46
- Conservation   49
- Conversation and Talk   58
- Day and Night   60
- Dress and Fashion   65
- Education and Learning   70
- Expectation   77
- Experience   80
- Farmers and Farming   83
- Food and Diet   87
- Freedom and Slavery   92
- Friendship   107
- Genius   116
- Good and Evil   119
- Government and Politics   121
- Health and Illness   127
- The Heard and the Unheard   131
- Sound   131
- Silence   135
- Music   137
- The Heavens: Sun, Moon, and Stars   141
- Heroes and the Heroic: Courage and Fear, Right and Wrong   143
- Higher Law   146
- Human Nature   148
- The Mass of Men   148
- Individuality   156
- Hunting and Fishing   158
- Imagination   163
- Indians   166
- Institutions   173
- Land: Mountains, Bogs, and Meadows   177
- Life and Death   180
- From His Death-Bed   192
- Literary Matters   193
- Writing and Writers   193
- Poets and Poetry   206
- Books   210
- Love   218
- Manners   220
- Nature   223
- News, Newspapers, and the Press   236
- Observation   241
- Opinion and Advice   246
- Past, Present, and Future   254
- Possessions   256
- Poverty and Wealth   259
- Religious Concerns   265
- Religion and Religions   265
- Faith and Spirit   268
- God   271
- Science   275
- The Seasons   278
- Simplicity   288
- Society   293
- Solitude   298
- Success   303
- Temperament and Attitude   307
- Thoughts and Thinking   316
- Time   324
- Travel and Home   327
- Trees and Woods   335
- Truth and Sincerity   342
- Walking   349
- Water: Rivers, Ponds, and Oceans   353
- Weather: Rain, Snow, and Wind   358
- Wildness   364
- Wisdom and Ignorance   369
- Women   372
- Work and Business   376
- Thoreau Describes His Contemporaries  430
- Thoreau Described by His Contemporaries   439

Appendix: Misquotations and Misattributions   465
Bibliography   471
Index   477

Customer Reviews

Biography

Jeffrey S. Cramer is curator of collections at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods, an independent research institution that holds the world's most comprehensive collection of Thoreau-related material. Cramer is the editor of The Portable Thoreau (Penguin), Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition, and I to Myself: An Annotated Selection from the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau, among other books.