I was awakened at midnight by some heavy, low-flying bird, probably a loon, flapping by close over my head, along the shore. So, turning the other side of my half-clad body to the fire, I sought slumber again.

Cold and hunger seem more friendly to my nature than those methods which men have adopted and advise to ward them off.

If I ever see more clearly at one time than at another, the medium through which I see is clearer.

To him whom contemplates a trait of natural beauty, no harm nor despair can come. The doctrines of despair, spiritual or political servitude, were never taught by those who shared the serenity of Nature. For each phase of Nature, though not invisible, is yet not too distinct or obtrusive. It is there to be found when we look for it, but not too demanding of our attention.

It is darker in the woods, even in common nights, than most suppose.

A man might well pray that he may not taboo or curse any portion of nature by being buried in it.

Every blade in the field - Every leaf in the forest - lays down its life in its season as beautifully as it was taken up.