Importance Of Life

Submitted By Raji-Sundaresan
Words: 970
Pages: 4

Name:_______Raji Sundaresan____________________
Herriges E319
Walden Notable Quotes

1. “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”
Instead of love, money, or fame, I value the truth. Honesty is life.
2. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.” I didn’t go into the woods because I didn’t have a life. It was because I went to go figure out the meaning of life. When I died, I figured out the meaning of the life, how life is so dear. At that time, I wanted to live life in the simplest terms.
3. “Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.” Great books, however, are one of the inheritances that men should not discard. While most of what men inherit from previous generations — conventions, property, and money — is antithetical to spiritual growth, "books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations." Through this, we can see the value of literature that Thoreau places.
4. “I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.” Sometimes, loneliness overwhelms us. In that sense, it becomes our best friend because it will always be there with us. However, that has to be accepted. Sometimes, a person needs that privacy and solitude.
5. “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” Take every moment as it comes because some things are precious. Embrace every moment. In this case, embrace Nature as well. This is due to the reference given to aspects of nature such as the air, the fruit, and the influence of the earth.
6. “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” I think that internal measurements of happiness are the truest ones. And this was as close to Stoicism that Thoreau got. In the life of the individual man, virtue is the sole good; such things as health, happiness, possessions, are of no account. Since virtue resides in the will, everything really good or bad in a man's life depends only upon himself. He may become poor, but what of it? He can still be virtuous. A tyrant may put him in prison, but he can still persevere in living in harmony with Nature. He may be sentenced to death, but he can die nobly, like Socrates. Therefore every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from mundane desires
7. “I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.” He says you should be careful about becoming involved in anything that calls for an outward change (new clothes) and not for an inner change of character (new wearer of clothes).

8. ““Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”
Whatever we have around us, this is it. This world is heaven......he's talking about how glorious it is just to be alive and have this beautiful planet as our home.

9. “My greatest skill in life has been to