The journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step.
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64 (400 BCE)
Theme
Presence quotes
18 verified quotes
He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty.
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33 (400 BCE)
There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting.
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 46 (400 BCE)
All the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.
Pensées, Pensée 139 (1670)
These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them.
Essays: First Series, Self-Reliance (1841)
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
Essays: First Series, Self-Reliance (1841)
To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom.
Essays: Second Series, Experience (1844)
Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.
Walden, Chapter 2, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (1854)
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)
I love a broad margin to my life.
Walden, Chapter 4, Sounds (1854)
The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour.
Walden, Chapter 2, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (1854)
I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
Leaves of Grass, Song of Myself, 1 (1855)
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
Gitanjali, 69 (1912)
If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.
Stray Birds, 6 (1916)
Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.
Stray Birds, 82 (1916)
Your daily life is your temple and your religion.
The Prophet, On Religion (1923)
Work is love made visible.
The Prophet, On Work (1923)