In correcting manuscripts, which I do with sufficient phlegm, I find that I invariably turn out much that is good along with the bad, which it is the… - Henry David Thoreau
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In correcting manuscripts, which I do with sufficient phlegm, I find that I invariably turn out much that is good along with the bad, which it is then impossible for me to distinguish—so much for keeping bad company; but after the lapse of time, having purified the main body and thus created a distinct standard for comparison, I can review the rejected sentences and easily detect those which deserve to be readmitted.
Henry David Thoreau (12 July 1817 – 6 May 1862) was an American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian. A leading transcendentalist, Thoreau is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay Resistance to Civil Government (also known as Civil Disobedience), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.
Biography information from
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Portrait adapted from
Wikimedia Commons, B. D. Maxham (Public domain / CC0)
Also Known As
Birth Name:
David Henry Thoreau
Alternative Names:
Thoreau
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Henry D. Thoreau
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Henry Thoreau
You cannot walk too early in new-fallen snow to get the sense of purity, novelty, and unexploredness.
Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.
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Falsehoods that glare and dazzle are sloped toward us, reflecting full in our faces even the light of the sun. Wait till sunset, or go round them, and the falsity will be apparent.
