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This points to a human restlessness that goes beyond tasks and productivity. Thoreau can be read as saying people are not satisfied by merely having something to occupy them, they want a role, a purpose, a way of being. It fits a moment when someone feels busy but unfulfilled, and realizes they want meaning, not just activity.
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Originally said in English.
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About Henry David Thoreau
American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher
Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. He is closely associated with the transcendentalist movement and is best known for Walden and for his essay "Civil Disobedience". Walden reflects on simple living in natural surroundings. "Civil Disobedience" argues that citizens may resist an unjust state. Thoreau's writing often returns to independence, conscience, and a close attention to nature.
More from Henry David Thoreau (404 quotes) →Other sayings from Henry David Thoreau
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- “For if the truth were known, Love cannot speak, But only thinks and does; Though surely out 'twill leak Witho…”Henry David Thoreau
- “Simplify, simplify.”Henry David Thoreau
Desire: more sayings
- “We must not only cease our present desire for the growth of the state, but we must desire its decrease, its w…”Leo Tolstoy
- “Discipline is the thing that makes you do what you might not want to, but you do it anyway because it's what…”Kyle Vidrine
- “You cannot underestimate Zidane's achievement of winning the Champions League three times in a row - it must…”Eniola Aluko
Explore Motivation
- “Always take a picture for everywhere you go; if you don't, then all you just lost was the precious memories a…”Inspiracreatiflife
- “Trees live in symbiosis with hyphae (fungus/mold roots). A tea spoon of dirt contains kilometers of these roo…”Peter Wohlleben
- “He was following the Earth through its days, drifting with the rhythms of its myriad pulses, seeping through…”Douglas Adams
READ THE SOURCE
Books by Henry David Thoreau
Walden
On living deliberately.