If you’re interested in reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, feel free to review my book notes before you get started. I’ve collected 19 of the best direct quotes from the book including:
P.7 – “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”
P. 286 – “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
I’ve also annotated 30 key passages from the book that highlight his ideas, the philosophy of Transcendentalism, and key moments at Walden Pond. These passages have been grouped according to themes which include: books, finances, quality of life, time, nature, and work.
My notes are posted at Book Notes: Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Until tomorrow, read slowly – take notes – apply the ideas.
-Eddy
“Any man more right than his neighbors, constitutes a majority of one already.”
This is the quote I like most. It’s one of those life paradoxes. Many people doing the wrong thing (however that’s defined) tends to lead to its being seen as the right thing. In truth, and usually in the light of hindsight, the wrongness of it is confirmed by the size is the crowd it attracts. Part of what HDT wanted to learn was how to rely on his own judgement. The genius of his exercise is that he tested his judgement with experience. That’s what makes Walden work for me.