Henry David Thoreau Quotes
Duty is one and invariable; it requires no impossibilities, nor can it ever be disregarded with impunity; so far as it exists, it is binding, so as on no account to be neglected.
Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862, Writer, Essay, 1837
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The import is that if the two are in conflict you should sacrifice your life to do your duty.
This quotation is classic in that it illustrates a fundamental difference between a political and religious view of rights. Politically a citizen is entitled to rights with no requirement or condition of responsibility. Politically, we may desire and applaud or even reward responsible behavior, but we may not condition the rights on someone’s version of responsible use of the rights. Indeed, the real test is if people have rights who are generally thought to be irresponsible. See {633640} .
There was virtually no subject that Eleanor Roosevelt would not write about—politics, philosophy, human relations. And she would lead people to examine some of the most fundamental values that Americans held then without thinking much about them.
Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.
