My 7 favourite Henry David Thoreau quotes

Blazing Reader,

COVID Disobedience, the current novella I've been writing (and rewriting...) is partially set in 1846 and includes Henry David Thoreau as a main character. Incorporating his written words into the dialogue and story has been a fun challenge.

In the process, I've collected my top seven favourite sayings of America's wittiest 19th-century philosopher:

7. "Never look back unless you are planning to go that way."

6. "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

5. "Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground."

4. "Life isn't about finding yourself; it's about creating yourself. So live the life you imagined."

3. "The only people who ever get anyplace interesting are the people who get lost."

2. "Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you."

1. "Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing."

And I believe I'll get back to writing that novella.

John C.A. Manley

PS For more about the novella, check out my previous post: Henry David Thoreau and "COVID Disobedience"

PPS And regarding the wisdom of getting lost (quote #3), check my post from last Monday: Photos of me getting lost in The Hague (until I was saved by an Afghanistan refugee)

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.