"The greatest compliment that was ever paid..." - Quote by Henry David Thoreau
The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.
More by Henry David Thoreau
“Commonly men will only be brave as their fathers were brave, or timid.”
“I was never molested by any person but those who represented the State. I had no lock nor bolt but for the desk which held my papers, not even a nail to put over my latch or windows. I never fastened my door night or day, though I was to be absent several days; not even when the next fall I spent a fortnight in the woods of Maine. And yet my house was more respected than if it had been surrounded by a file of soldiers.”
“Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.”
More on Respect
“Regarding mutual tolerance: It is negative in one sense, but positive in another. It absolutely forbids us to be forward in pronouncing on the meaninglessness of forms of existence other than our own; and it commands us to tolerate, respect, and indulge those whom we see harmlessly interested and happy in their own ways, however unintelligible these may be to us. Hands off.”
“Men so noble, However faulty, yet should find respect For what they have been: 'tis a cruelty To load a falling man.”
“If the aristocrat is only valid in fashionable circles, and not with truckmen, he will never be a leader in fashion; and if the man of the people cannot speak on equal terms with the gentleman, so that the gentleman shall perceive that he is already really of his own order, he is not to be feared.”
More on Listening
“We love to hear some men speak, though we hear not what they say; the very air they breathe is rich and perfumed, and the sound of their voices falls on the ear like the rustling of leaves or the crackling of the fire. They stand many deep.”
“You have only one way to convince others, listen to them.”
“If you show people how much you care and ask questions in a non threatening way, you'll be amazed by how much they'll tell you.”