"Books of natural history make the most..." - Quote by Henry David Thoreau
Books of natural history make the most cheerful winter reading. I read in Audubon with a thrill of delight, when the snow covers the ground, of the magnolia, and the Florida keys, and their warm sea breezes; of the fence-rail, and the cotton-tree, and the migrations of the rice-bird; of the breaking up of winter in Labrador, and the melting of the snow on the forks of the Missouri; and owe an accession of health to these reminiscences of luxuriant nature.
More by Henry David Thoreau
“What is the value of any political freedom, but as a means to moral freedom?”
“The Indian...stands free and unconstrained in Nature, is her inhabitant and not her guest, and wears her easily and gracefully. But the civilized man has the habits of the house. His house is a prison.”
“It is surprising how many great men and women a small house will contain.”
More on Books
“I'm sure most parents read to their children to explain what certain things mean. So books are a good way to convey a message to anybody. Everybody reads.”
“Most of the classical citations you shall hear or read in the current journals or speeches were not drawn from the originals, but from previous quotations in English books.”
“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.”
More on Nature
“Birds... scream at the top of their lungs in horrified hellish rage every morning at daybreak to warn us all of the truth. They know the truth. Screaming bloody murder all over the world in our ears, but sadly we don't speak bird.”
“A natural action is accomplished in the briefest manner.”
“Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.”