Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.
Henry David Thoreau Walden, Chapter 2, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (1854)
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From Walden, written from Thoreau's two years at Walden Pond, 1845 to 1847, published in 1854.
- Why
- Thoreau is describing what he went to the woods to learn about living.
What it means
Thoreau treats time as something to dip into rather than be swept along by. He fishes in it, sees how shallow it is, and looks past it.
The image turns hurry into attention.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
Read the source
Walden, 1854
Your turn
What does this bring up for you?
Saved to this device only. Nothing is sent to a server.
Continue transfers only this reflection. Review your account before saving. Your original browser copy stays here.
Read next
Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already.
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (1849)
We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.
Walden, Chapter 2, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (1854)
I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls.
Walden, Chapter 5, Solitude (1854)