Perfect sincerity and transparency make a great part of beauty, as in dewdrops, lakes, and diamonds.
Henry David ThoreauI have myself to respect, but to myself I am not amiable; but my friend is my amiableness personified.
Henry David ThoreauI have seen some who did not know when to turn aside their eyes in meeting yours. A truly confident and magnanimous spirit is wiser than to contend for the mastery in such encounters. Serpents alone conquer by the steadiness of their gaze. My friend looks me in the face and sees me, that is all.
Henry David ThoreauI came to love my rows, my beans, though so many more than I wanted. They attached me to the earth, and so I got strength like Antaeus.
Henry David ThoreauWhether he sleeps or wakes,--whether he runs or walks,--whether he uses a microscope or a telescope, or his naked eye,--a man never discovers anything, never overtakes anything, or leaves anything behind, but himself. Whatever he says or does, he merely reports himself. If he is in love, he loves; if he is in heaven, he enjoys; if he is in hell, he suffers. It is his condition that determines his locality.
Henry David Thoreau