"We falsely attribute to men a determined..." - Quote by Henry David Thoreau
We falsely attribute to men a determined character - putting together all their yesterdays - and averaging them - we presume we know them. Pity the man who has character to support - it is worse than a large family - he is the silent poor indeed.
More by Henry David Thoreau
“Enemies publish themselves. They declare war. The friend never declares his love.”
“There is considerable danger that a man will be crazy between dinner and supper; but it will not directly answer any good purposethat I know of, and it is just as easy to be sane.”
“It is darker in the woods, even in common nights, than most suppose.”
More on Character
“A man is but a little thing in the midst of the objects of nature, yet, by the moral quality radiating from his countenance, he may abolish all considerations of magnitude, and in his manners equal the majesty of the world.”
“Without virtue it is difficult to bear gracefully the honors of fortune.”
“Every man's friend is no man's friend.”
More on Judgment
“There is nothing more shocking than to see assertion and approval dashing ahead of cognition and perception.”
“You that would judge me, do not judge alone this book or that, come to this hallowed place where my friends' portraits hang and look thereon; Ireland's history in their lineaments trace; think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was I had such friends.”
“Success in life is the result of good judgment. Good judgment is usually the result of experience. Experience is usually the result of bad judgment.”