A Friend is one who incessantly pays us the compliment of expecting… — Henry David Thoreau · Smartyfair

A Friend is one who incessantly pays us the compliment of expecting from us all the virtues, and who can appreciate them in us.

Henry David Thoreau1817–1862 · writer · 1800s USAHenry David Thoreau was an American writer who spent two years living simply in a small cabin near Walden Pond, writing about nature, independence, and living deliberately.175 quotes

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How sure this is: 95% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, “Wednesday”; Complete sentence checked in Thoreau’s own text; retains its capitalized Friend and “expecting from us all the virtues,” rather than Stevenson’s reordered quotation. Public-domain text.
Work: A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, “Wednesday”
Sources checked: gutenberg.orgChecked using manual, 20 October 2026A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, “Wednesday”; Complete sentence checked in Thoreau’s own text; retains its capitalized Friend and “expecting from us all the virtues,” rather than Stevenson’s reordered quotation. Public-domain text.

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In wildness is the preservation of the world.

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Henry David Thoreau

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