"Rescue the drowning and tie your shoestrings...." - Quote by Henry David Thoreau

“He is not a true man of science who does not bring some sympathy to his studies, and expect to learn something by behavior as well as by application. It is childish to rest in the discovery of mere coincidences, or of partial and extraneous laws. The study of geometry is a petty and idle exercise of the mind, if it is applied to no larger system than the starry one. Mathematics should be mixed not only with physics but with ethics; that is mixed mathematics. The fact which interests us most is the life of the naturalist. The purest science is still biographical.”

“Some simple dishes recommend themselves to our imaginations as well as palates.”

“The most stupendous scenery ceases to be sublime when it becomes distinct, or in other words limited, and the imagination is no longer encouraged to exaggerate it. The actual height and breadth of a mountain or a waterfall are always ridiculously small; they are the imagined only that content us.”

“From Alexander the Platonic, not frequently nor without necessity to say to any one, or to write in a letter, that I have no leisure; nor continually to excuse the neglect of duties required by our relation to those with whom we live, by alleging urgent occupations.”

“Wherever the truth is injured, defend it.”

“There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.”

“For a decision-the freest of my actions just happens like hiccups inside me or like a bird singing outside me.”

“It is easier to give directions than advice, and more agreeable to have the right to act, even in a limited sphere, than the privilege to talk at large.”

“Lead with action and let the feelings follow.”