The mass never comes up to the standard of its best member, but on the contrary degrades itself to a level with the lowest.

Life consists with Wildness. The most alive is the wildest. Not yet subdued to man, its presence refreshes him. One who pressed forward incessantly and never rested from his labors, who grew fast and made infinite demands on life, would always find himself in a new country or wilderness, and surrounded by the raw material of life. He would be climbing over the prostrate stems of primitive forest trees.

The poet uses the results of science and philosophy, and generalizes their widest deductions.

Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.

Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself.

I am a happy camper so I guess I’m doing something right. Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.

The most primitive places left with us are the swamps, where the spruce still grows shaggy with usnea.