Henry David Thoreau: Sell Servants
on Saturday, July 18, 2020Henry David Thoreau Money Quote saying we lack the drive and belief in ourselves, so instead live as slaves to work. Henry David Thoreau said:
“Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants” — Henry David Thoreau
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In this quote, Henry David Thoreau is criticizing how many people passively accept their circumstances in life and act merely as “servants” to the routines of commerce. When he refers to a “want of enterprise and faith”, he means a lack of initiative, ambition and self-determination.
Thoreau seems to believe that if people had more courage to explore new opportunities through “enterprise” and conviction in their own abilities through “faith”, they would not be so content to just “buy and sell” in service of others without advancing their own conditions.
The quote suggests Thoreau viewed passive participation in the economic system of his day, without efforts to achieve greater independence or fulfillment, as a wasted life spent in subservience rather than pursuing one’s potential.
Birthday: July 12, 1817 – Death: May 6, 1862