It would be no reproach to a philosopher, that he knew the future better than the past, or even than the present. It is better worth knowing.
Henry David ThoreauHow sweet it would be to treat men and things, for an hour, for just what they are!
Henry David ThoreauBut 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 ThoreauThe stars are the jewels of the night, and perchance surpass anything which day has to show. A companion with whom I was sailing one very windy but bright moonlight night, when the stars were few and faint, thought that a man could get along with them,-though he was considerably reduced in his circumstances,-that they were a kind of bread and cheese that never failed.
Henry David Thoreau