H. D. Thoreau, 24 de Janeiro de 1856

A journal is a record of experiences and growth, not a preserve of thngs well done or said. I am occasionally reminded of a statement which I made in conversation and immediately forgotten, which would read much better than what I put in my journal. It is a ripe, dry fruit of long-past experience which falls from me easily, without giving pain or pleasure. The charm of the journal must consist in a certain greenness, though fresh, and not in maturity. Here I cannot afford to be remembering what I said or did, my scurf cast off, but what I am and aspire to be.