When I was a kid I respected authority, then as a teenager I gave none; in middle age I expected it; now in old age I live by the word.
Science is our century’s art.
Boldness is a crucial element of genius.
A mugwump is a person educated beyond his intellect.
Oh, the ignorance of us upon whom Providence did not sufficiently smile to permit us to be born in New England.
Be moderate in everything, including moderation.
Nature will castigate those who don’t masticate.
Fear is an acid which is pumped into one’s atmosphere. It causes mental, moral and spiritual asphyxiation, and sometimes death; death to energy and all growth.
If we are wise, we never leave school.
Optimism can be prescribed and applied as a medicine, and is a remedy in proportion to its purity and the wisdom displayed in its use.
The man who goes afoot, prepared to camp anywhere and in any weather, is the most independent fellow on earth.
It is one of the blessings of wilderness life that it shows us how few things we need in order to be perfectly happy.
The man with the knapsack is never lost. No matter whither he may stray, his food and shelter are right with him, and home is wherever he may choose to stop.
In the school of the woods, there is no graduation day.
A man can stand almost any hardship by day, and be none the worse for it, provided he gets a comfortable nights rest; but without sound sleep he will soon go to pieces, no matter how gritty he may be.
You may loan your last dollar to a friend; but never loan him your axe, unless you are certain that he knows how to use it.
Knicks and dull edges are abominations, so use knives and hatchets for nothing but they were made for.
To equip a pedestrian with shelter, bedding, utensils, food, and other necessities, in a pack so light and small that he can carry it without overstrain, is really a fine art.
This, however, is sure: nothing is really lost. Any influence for good, no matter how ephemeral, makes its mark: it helps to leaven the loaf of evil: it leaves a loophole, albeit a small one, for a future escape from bondage.
Inspiration springs more readily from knowledge than from ignorance.