“This people must cease to hold slaves, and to make war on Mexico, though it cost them their existence as a people.”
Henry David Thoreau
Resistance to Civil Government (Primary source)
Resistance to Civil Government, commonly known as Civil Disobedience, is a foundational essay advocating for the moral responsibility to oppose unjust laws and government actions. Written after Thoreau’s imprisonment for refusing to pay a poll tax in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War, the essay argues that individuals must prioritize conscience over blind obedience to the state.
More about “Resistance to Civil Government” →
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary source“I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary source“Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men’s lives.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary source“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary sourceMore quotes by Henry David Thoreau →
“If you know that this life is all that you have, wouldn’t you make the most of it?”
— Ayn Rand Disputed“Money and good manners make the gentleman.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“You had to trust the people you worked with completely or not at all, and you had to make decisions about the trusting.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“But I have found out that though the ways in which I can make myself useful are few, yet the work open to me is endless.”
— Helen Keller Primary source