I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man: wine is not so noble a liquor; and think of dashing the hopes of a morningwith a cup of warm coffee, or of an evening with a dish of tea! Ah, how low I fall when I am tempted by them! Even music may be intoxicating. Such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome, and will destroy England and America.
Henry David ThoreauWe cannot but pity the boy who has never fired a gun; he is no more humane, while his education has been sadly neglected.
Henry David ThoreauThe greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well? You may say the wisest thing you can, old man, - you who have lived seventy years, not without honor of a kind, - I hear an irresistible voice which invites me away from all that.
Henry David ThoreauBooks are to be distinguished by the grandeur of their topics even more than by the manner in which they are treated.
Henry David Thoreau