“When our life ceases to be inward and private, conversation degenerates into mere gossip. We rarely meet a man who can tell us any news which he has not read in a newspaper, or been told by his neighbor; and, for the most part, the only difference between us and our fellow is, that he has seen the newspaper, or been out to tea, and we have not. In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post-office.”

—  Henry David Thoreau, book Life Without Principle

Life Without Principle (1863)

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Henry David Thoreau photo
Henry David Thoreau385
1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitio… 1817–1862

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