But man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little have been tried. - Henry David Thoreau
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But man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little have been tried.
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
Wikiquote·
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
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at.
We may well be ashamed to tell what things we have read or heard in our day. I do not know why my news should be so trivial, — considering what one's dreams and expectations are, why the developments should be so paltry. The news we hear, for the most part, is not news to our genius. It is the stalest repetition.
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