"I have heard a good many pretend..." - Quote by Henry David Thoreau
I have heard a good many pretend that they are going to die; or that they have died, for aught that I know. Nonsense! I'll defy them to do it. They have n't got life enough in them.... Only half a dozen or so have died since the world began.
More by Henry David Thoreau
“October is the month for painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight.”
“Let us not play at kittly-benders. There is a solid bottom everywhere.”
“To the man who cherishes a secret in his breast, there is a still greater secret unexplored. Our most indifferent acts may be a matter for secrecy, but whatever we do with the utmost truthfulness and integrity, by virtue of its pureness, must be transparent as light.”
More on Life
“For life: it is rather a determination not to be overwhelmed. For work: the truth can only be recalled, never invented.”
“Our thoughts are epochs in our lives; all else is but as a journal of the winds that blow while we are here.”
“I have seen some whose consciences, owing undoubtedly to former indulgence, had grown to be as irritable as spoilt children, and at length gave them no peace. They did not know when to swallow their cud, and their lives of course yielded no milk.”
More on Death
“I know that after my death a pile of rubbish will be heaped on my grave, but the wind of History will sooner or later sweep it away without mercy.”
“Why are the people starving?-Because their grain is being eaten up by the taxesThat's why they're starvingWhy are people rebellious?-Because those above them meddle in their livesThat's why they're rebelliousWhy do people regard death so lightly?-Because they are so involved with their own livingThat's why they regard death so lightlyIn the end,The treasure of life is missed by those who hold onand gained by those who let go”
“When I die, and people realize that I will not be resurrected in three days, they will forget me. That is the way it should be.”