Life of Henry David Thoreau

"The lesson he had taught himself, and which he tried to teach others, was summed up in the one word 'Simplify'. That meant simplify the outward circumstances of your life, simplify your needs, simplify your ambitions; learn to delight in the simple pleasures which the world of Nature affords. It meant also, scorn public opinion, refuse to accept the common definitions of success, refuse to be moved by the judgment of others. And unlike most who advocate such attitudes, he put them into practice."

J.W. Krutch, on the life of Henry David Thoreau