Today’s quote comes from Henry David Thoreau (June 12 1817 – May 6, 1862); an American author, poet, philosopher and lifelong abolitionist from Massachusetts. Thoreau is probably best known for his book Walden, a reflection about simple living in natural surroundings, written at his home he built for himself on Waldon Pond (on property owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson), and his essay Resistance to Civil Government (also known as Civil Disobedience), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.

Since its publication in 1849, “Civil Disobedience” has inspired protest movements around the world with its non-violent approach to political and social resistance, and influenced civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi among many others.

While sometimes referred to as an anarchist, Thoreau was also known for his terrible beard, beliefs in Transcendentalism, his naturalist writings and he was considered by many as the father of environmentalism.

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