“Yet, for my part, I was never usually squeamish; I could sometimes eat a fried rat with a good relish, if it were necessary. I am glad to have drunk water so long, for the same reason that I prefer the natural sky to an opium-eater’s heaven. I would fain keep sober always; and there are infinite degrees of drunkenness. I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man; wine is not so noble a liquor; and think of dashing the hopes of a morning with a cup of warm coffee, or of an evening with a dish of tea! Ah, how low I fail when I am tempted by them! Even music may be intoxicating. Such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome, and will destroy England and America. Of all ebriosity, who does not prefer to be intoxicated by the air he breathes?”

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About Henry David Thoreau

American transcendentalist writer and naturalist of the mid-19th century, Thoreau is best known for his philosophical essays and his two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond. His work bridges practical observation of nature with deep reflection on individualism, civil disobedience, and the importance of living deliberately.

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