A man receives only what he is ready to receive... The phenomenon or fact that cannot in any wise be linked with the rest of what he has observed, he does not observe.

More from Henry David Thoreau

• Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.
• Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.
• Any fool can make a rule And every fool will mind it.
• Any fool can make a rule And every fool will mind it. Journals, entry for Feb. 3, 1860
• As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. "Economy"
• Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.