Avid Thoreau

8/4/2019 Avid Thoreau

1/23

avid Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817 May 6, 1862) (properly pronounced Thaw-roe)[1] wasan American author, poet, abolitionist, naturalist, taxresister,development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher,and leading transcendentalist. He is best known for hisbook Walden, a reflection upon simple living in naturalsurroundings, and his essay, Civil Disobedience, an argumentfor individual resistance to civil government in moralopposition to an unjust state.

Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry totalover 20 volumes. Among his lasting contributions werehis writings on natural history and philosophy, where heanticipated the methods and findingsofecology and environmental history, two sources of moderndayenvironmentalism. His literary style interweaves closenatural observation, personal experience, pointedrhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore; whiledisplaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and"Yankee" love of practical detail.[2] He was also deeplyinterested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile

elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the sametime he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order todiscover life's true essential needs.[2]

He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attackedthe Fugitive Slave Law while praising the writings ofWendellPhillips and defending abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau'sphilosophy ofcivil disobedience influenced the politicalthoughts and actions of such later figures as Leo

Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thoreau is sometimes cited as an individualist anarchist.[3] Though Civil Disobedience seems to call for improvingrather than abolishing government "I ask for, not at once nogovernment, butat once a better government"[4] the directionof this improvement points toward anarchism: "'That
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_criticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_livinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobediencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ReferenceA-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ReferenceA-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_slave_lawshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Phillipshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Phillipshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobediencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-resistance-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_criticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_livinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobediencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ReferenceA-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ReferenceA-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_slave_lawshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Phillipshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Phillipshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobediencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-resistance-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-0


2/23

government is best which governs not at all;' and when menare prepared for it, that will be the kind of government whichthey will have."[4] Richard Drinnon partly blames Thoreau forthe ambiguity, noting that Thoreau's "sly satire, his liking for

wide margins for his writing, and his fondness for paradoxprovided ammunition for widely divergent interpretations of'Civil Disobedience.'" He further points out that althoughThoreau writes that he only wants "at once" a bettergovernment, that does not rule out the possibility that a littlelater he might favor no government.[5]

Contents

[hide]

1 Early life and education

2 Return to Concord: 18371841

3 Civil Disobedience and the Walden years: 1845

1849

4 Later years: 18511862

5 Death

6 Beliefs

7 Influence

o 7.1 Anarchism

8 Critique

9 Works

10 See also

11 References

12 Further reading

o 12.1 Historical fiction

13 External links

o 13.1 Texts

[edit]Early life and education

He was born David Henry Thoreau[6] in Concord,Massachusetts, to John Thoreau (a pencil maker) and Cynthia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-resistance-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Early_life_and_educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Return_to_Concord:_1837.E2.80.931841http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_and_the_Walden_years:_1845.E2.80.931849http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_and_the_Walden_years:_1845.E2.80.931849http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Later_years:_1851.E2.80.931862http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Deathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Beliefshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Influencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Critiquehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Workshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Further_readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Historical_fictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-resistance-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Early_life_and_educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Return_to_Concord:_1837.E2.80.931841http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_and_the_Walden_years:_1845.E2.80.931849http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Civil_Disobedience_and_the_Walden_years:_1845.E2.80.931849http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Later_years:_1851.E2.80.931862http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Deathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Beliefshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Influencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Critiquehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Workshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Further_readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Historical_fictionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord,_Massachusetts


3/23

Dunbar. His paternal grandfather was of French origin andwas born in Jersey.[7] His maternal grandfather, Asa Dunbar,led Harvard's 1766 student "Butter Rebellion",[8] the firstrecorded student protest in the Colonies.[9] David Henry was

named after a recently deceased paternal uncle, DavidThoreau. He did not become "Henry David" until after college,although he never petitioned to make a legal name change.[10] He had two older siblings, Helen and John Jr., and ayounger sister, Sophia.[11]Thoreau's birthplace still exists onVirginia Road in Concord and is currently the focus ofpreservation efforts. The house is original, but it now standsabout 100 yards away from its first site.

Portrait of Thoreau from 1854

Amos Bronson Alcott and Thoreau's aunt each wrote that"Thoreau" is pronounced like the word "thorough", whose

standard American pronunciation rhymes with "furrow".[12] Edward Emerson wrote that the name should bepronounced "Th-row, the h sounded, and accent on the firstsyllable."[13] In appearance he was homely, with a nose that hecalled "my most prominent feature."[14] Of his face, NathanielHawthorne wrote: "[Thoreau] is as ugly as sin, long-nosed,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_rebellionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler-Minot_Farmhousehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Bronson_Alcotthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VII._Rowse.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VII._Rowse.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_rebellionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler-Minot_Farmhousehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Bronson_Alcotthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne


4/23

queer-mouthed, and with uncouth and rustic, thoughcourteous manners, corresponding very well with such anexterior. But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeablefashion, and becomes him much better than

beauty."[15] Thoreau also wore a neck-beard for many years,which he insisted many women found attractive.[16] However, Louisa May Alcott mentioned to Ralph WaldoEmersonthat Thoreau's facial hair "will most assuredly deflectamorous advances and preserve the man's virtue inperpetuity."[16]

Thoreau studied at Harvard University between 1833 and1837. He lived in Hollis Hall and took courses in rhetoric,

classics, philosophy, mathematics, and science. A legendproposes that Thoreau refused to pay the five-dollar fee for aHarvard diploma. In fact, the master's degree he declined topurchase had no academic merit: Harvard College offered it tograduates "who proved their physical worth by being alivethree years after graduating, and their saving, earning, orinheriting quality or condition by having Five Dollars to givethe college."[17] His comment was: "Let every sheep keep its

own skin",[18]

a reference to the tradition of diplomas beingwritten onsheepskinvellum.

[edit]Return to Concord: 18371841

The traditional professions open to college graduateslaw,the church, business, medicinefailed to interest Thoreau,[19]:25 so in 1835 he took a leave of absence from Harvard,during which he taught school in Canton, Massachusetts.After he graduated in 1837, he joined the faculty of theConcord public school, but resigned after a few weeks ratherthan administercorporal punishment.[19]:25 He and his brotherJohn then opened a grammar school in Concord in 1838called Concord Academy.[19]:25 They introduced severalprogressive concepts, including nature walks and visits tolocal shops and businesses. The school ended when John
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-autogenerated1960-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_May_Alcotthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-autogenerated1960-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollis_Hallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheepskin_(material)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-sattelmeyer-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-sattelmeyer-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporal_punishmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-sattelmeyer-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar_schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-sattelmeyer-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-autogenerated1960-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_May_Alcotthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-autogenerated1960-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollis_Hallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheepskin_(material)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-sattelmeyer-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporal_punishmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-sattelmeyer-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar_schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-sattelmeyer-18


5/23

became fatally ill from tetanus in 1842[20] after cutting himselfwhile shaving. He died in his brother Henry's arms.[21]

Upon graduation Thoreau returned home to Concord, wherehe met Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson took a paternal andat times patronizing interest in Thoreau, advising the youngman and introducing him to a circle of local writers andthinkers, including Ellery Channing, Margaret Fuller, BronsonAlcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne and his son Julian Hawthorne,who was a boy at the time.

Emerson urged Thoreau to contribute essays and poems to aquarterly periodical, The Dial, and Emerson lobbied editorMargaret Fuller to publish those writings. Thoreau's first essaypublished there wasAulus Persius Flaccus, an essay on theplaywright of the same name, published in The Dialin July1840.[22] It consisted of revised passages from his journal,which he had begun keeping at Emerson's suggestion. Thefirst journal entry on October 22, 1837, reads, "'What are youdoing now?' he asked. 'Do you keep a journal?' So I make myfirst entry to-day."[23]

Thoreau was a philosopher of nature and its relation to thehuman condition. In his early years hefollowed Transcendentalism, a loose andeclectic idealist philosophy advocated by Emerson, Fuller, andAlcott. They held that an ideal spiritual state transcends, orgoes beyond, the physical and empirical, and that oneachieves that insight via personal intuition rather than religiousdoctrine. In their view, Nature is the outward sign of inwardspirit, expressing the "radical correspondence of visible things

and human thoughts," as Emerson wrote in Nature(1836).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetanushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Fullerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Hawthornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dialhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aulus_Persius_Flaccushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idealismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetanushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Fullerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Hawthornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dialhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aulus_Persius_Flaccushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idealism


6/23

1967 U.S. postage stamp honoring Thoreau

On April 18, 1841, Thoreau moved into the Emerson house.[24] There, from 18411844, he served as the children's tutor,editorial assistant, and repair man/gardener. For a few monthsin 1843, he moved to the home of William Emerson on StatenIsland,[25] and tutored the family sons while seeking contactsamong literary men and journalists in the city who might helppublish his writings, including his future literaryrepresentative Horace Greeley.[26]:68

Thoreau returned to Concord and worked in hisfamily's pencil factory, which he continued to do for most ofhis adult life. He rediscovered the process to make a goodpencil out of inferiorgraphite by using clay as the binder; thisinvention improved upon graphite found in NewHampshire and bought in 1821 by relative Charles Dunbar.(The process of mixing graphite and clay, known as the Contprocess, was patented by Nicolas-Jacques Cont in 1795).

His other source had been Tantiusques, an Indian operatedmine in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Later, Thoreau convertedthe factory to produce plumbago (graphite), which was usedto inktypesetting machines.[27]

Once back in Concord, Thoreau went through a restlessperiod. In April 1844 he and his friend Edward Hoar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Greeleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-25http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas-Jacques_Cont%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantiusqueshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturbridge,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typesettinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-26http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thoreau1967stamp.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thoreau1967stamp.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Greeleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-25http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas-Jacques_Cont%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantiusqueshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturbridge,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typesettinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-26


7/23

accidentally set a fire that consumed 300 acres (1.2 km2) ofWalden Woods.[28] He spoke often of finding a farm to buy orlease, which he felt would give him a means to supporthimself while also providing enough solitude to write his first

book.[citation needed]

[edit]Civil Disobedience and the Walden years: 18451849

Henry David Thoreau

Core works and topics[show]

Related topics[show]

vde

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential

facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came todie, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so

dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to

live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as

to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive lifeinto a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then

to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world;

or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of

it in my next excursion. Henry David Thoreau,Walden, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For"[29]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-27http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Thoreauvianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Thoreauvianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Thoreauvianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Thoreauvianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Thoreauviana&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-28http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-28http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Appletons%27_Thoreau_Henry_David_signature.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_David_Thoreau.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-27http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Thoreauvianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Thoreauvianahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Thoreauviana&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-28


8/23

Thoreau needed to concentrate and get himself working moreon his writing. In March 1845, Ellery Channing told Thoreau,"Go out upon that, build yourself a hut, & there begin thegrand process of devouring yourself alive. I see no other

alternative, no other hope for you."[30] Two months later,Thoreau embarked on a two-year experiment in simpleliving on July 4, 1845, when he moved to a small, self-builthouse on land owned by Emerson in a second-growthforest around the shores ofWalden Pond. The house was in"a pretty pasture and woodlot" of 14 acres (57,000 m2) thatEmerson had bought,[31]1.5 miles (2.4 km) from his familyhome.[32]

On July 24 or July 25, 1846, Thoreau ran into the local taxcollector, Sam Staples, who asked him to pay six years ofdelinquent poll taxes. Thoreau refused because of hisopposition to the Mexican-American Warand slavery, and hespent a night in jail because of this refusal. (The next dayThoreau was freed, against his wishes, when his aunt paid histaxes.[33]) The experience had a strong impact on Thoreau. InJanuary and February 1848, he delivered lectures on "The

Rights and Duties of the Individual in relation toGovernment"[34] explaining his tax resistance at the ConcordLyceum. Bronson Alcott attended the lecture, writing in his

journal on January 26:

Heard Thoreau's lecture before the Lyceum on therelation of the individual to the State an admirablestatement of the rights of the individual to self-government, and an attentive audience. His

allusions to the Mexican War, to Mr. Hoar'sexpulsion from Carolina, his own imprisonment inConcord Jail for refusal to pay his tax, Mr. Hoar'spayment of mine when taken to prison for a similarrefusal, were all pertinent, well considered, and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_livinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_livinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Pondhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-30http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-31http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_collectorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_collectorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poll_taxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-32http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-33http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_Lyceumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_Lyceumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_livinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_livinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Pondhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-30http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-31http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_collectorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_collectorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poll_taxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-32http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-33http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_Lyceumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_Lyceumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War


9/23

reasoned. I took great pleasure in this deed ofThoreau's.

Bronson Alcott, Journals (1938)[35]

Thoreau revised the lecture into an essayentitled Resistance to Civil Government(also knownas Civil Disobedience). In May 1849 it was publishedby Elizabeth Peabody in theAesthetic Papers. Thoreauhad taken up a version ofPercy Shelley's principle in thepolitical poemThe Mask of Anarchy(1819), that Shelleybegins with the powerful images of the unjust forms ofauthority of his time and then imagines the stirrings of aradically new form of social action.[36]

At Walden Pond, he completed a first draft ofA Week onthe Concord and Merrimack Rivers, an elegy to hisbrother, John, that described their 1839 trip to the WhiteMountains. Thoreau did not find a publisher for this bookand instead printed 1,000 copies at his own expense,though fewer than 300 were sold.[24]:234 Thoreau self-published on the advice of Emerson, using Emerson's ownpublisher, Munroe, who did little to publicize the book.

In August 1846, Thoreau briefly left Walden to make a tripto Mount Katahdin in Maine, a journey later recorded in"Ktaadn," the first part ofThe Maine Woods.

Thoreau left Walden Pond on September 6, 1847.[24]:244 AtEmerson's request, he immediately moved back into theEmerson house to help Lidian manage the householdwhile her husband was on an extended trip to Europe.[37]

Over several years, he worked to pay off his debts andalso continuously revised his manuscript for what, in 1854,he would publish as Walden, or Life in the Woods,recounting the two years, two months, and two days hehad spent at Walden Pond. The book compresses thattime into a single calendar year, using the passage of four
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronson_Alcotthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-34http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Peabodyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Shelleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mask_of_Anarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mountains_(New_Hampshire)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mountains_(New_Hampshire)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Katahdinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronson_Alcotthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-34http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Peabodyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Shelleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mask_of_Anarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mountains_(New_Hampshire)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mountains_(New_Hampshire)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Katahdinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden


10/23

seasons to symbolize human development.Part memoirand part spiritual quest, Walden at first wonfew admirers, but later critics have regarded it as a classicAmerican work that explores natural simplicity, harmony,

and beauty as models for just social and culturalconditions.

American poet Robert Frost wrote of Thoreau, "In onebook ... he surpasses everything we have had inAmerica."[38]

John Updike wrote in 2004,

A century and a half after its publication, Walden has become such a totem of

the back-to-nature, preservationist, anti-business, civil-disobedience mindset,and Thoreau so vivid a protester, so perfect a crank and hermit saint, that the

book risks being as revered and unread as the Bible.[39]

Thoreau moved out of Emerson's house in July 1848 andstayed at a home on Belknap Street nearby. In 1850, heand his family moved into a home at 255 Main Street; hestayed there until his death.[40]

[edit]Later years: 18511862
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frosthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Updikehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoreau-Alcott_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-39http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_David_Thoreau_1861.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_David_Thoreau_1861.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frosthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Updikehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoreau-Alcott_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-39http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=4


11/23

Henry David Thoreau, taken August 1861

In 1851, Thoreau became increasingly fascinatedwith natural history and travel/expedition narratives. He

read avidly on botany and often wrote observations on thistopic into his journal. He admired William Bartram,and Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. He keptdetailed observations on Concord's nature lore, recordingeverything from how the fruit ripened over time to thefluctuating depths of Walden Pond and the days certainbirds migrated. The point of this task was to "anticipate"the seasons of nature, in his words.[41][42]

He became a land surveyor and continued to writeincreasingly detailed natural history observations about the26 square miles (67 km2) township in his journal, a two-million word document he kept for 24 years. He also kept aseries of notebooks, and these observations became thesource for Thoreau's late natural history writings, suchasAutumnal Tints, The Succession of Trees, and Wild

Apples, an essay lamenting the destruction of indigenousand wild apple species.

Until the 1970s, literary critics[who?] dismissed Thoreau's latepursuits as amateur science and philosophy. With the riseofenvironmental history and ecocriticism, several newreadings[who?] of this matter began to emerge, showingThoreau to be both a philosopher and an analyst ofecological patterns in fields and woodlots. For instance, hislate essay, "The Succession of Forest Trees," shows thathe used experimentation and analysis to explain howforests regenerate after fire or human destruction, throughdispersal by seed-bearing winds or animals.

He traveled to Quebec once, Cape Cod four times, andMaine three times; these landscapes inspired his"excursion" books,A Yankee in Canada, Cape Cod,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bartramhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Beaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-40http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebechttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Codhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bartramhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Beaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-40http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-41http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebechttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod


12/23

and The Maine Woods, in which travel itineraries frame histhoughts about geography, history and philosophy. Othertravels took him southwest to Philadelphia and New YorkCity in 1854, and west across the Great Lakes region in

1861, visiting NiagaraFalls, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and MackinacIsland.[43] Although provincial in his physical travels, he wasextraordinarily well-read and vicariously a world traveler.He obsessively devoured all the first-hand travel accountsavailable in his day, at a time when the last unmappedregions of the earth were being explored. He readMagellan and Cook, the arctic explorers Franklin,

Mackenzie and Parry, Darwin's account of his voyage onthe Beagle, Livingstone and Burton on Africa, Lewis andClark; and hundreds of lesser-known works by explorersand literate travelers.[44] Astonishing amounts of globalreading fed his endless curiosity about the peoples,cultures, religions and natural history of the world, and leftits traces as commentaries in his voluminous journals. Heprocessed everything he read, in the local laboratory of hisConcord experience. Among his famous aphorisms is hisadvice to "live at home like a traveler."[45]

AfterJohn Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, many prominentvoices in the abolitionist movement distanced themselvesfrom Brown, ordamned him with faint praise. Thoreau wasdisgusted by this, and he composed a speech A Plea forCaptain John Brown which was uncompromising in itsdefense of Brown and his actions. Thoreau's speech

proved persuasive: first the abolitionist movement beganto accept Brown as a martyr, and by the time ofthe American Civil Warentire armies of the Northwere literally singing Brown's praises. As a contemporarybiographer of John Brown put it: "If, as AlfredKazin suggests, without John Brown there would have
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_region_(North_America)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Fallshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Fallshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit,_Michiganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicagohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul,_Minnesotahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-42http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-43http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-44http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown's_raid_on_Harpers_Ferryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_with_faint_praisehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plea_for_Captain_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plea_for_Captain_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown's_Bodyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Kazinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Kazinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_region_(North_America)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Fallshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Fallshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit,_Michiganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicagohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul,_Minnesotahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-42http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-43http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-44http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown's_raid_on_Harpers_Ferryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_with_faint_praisehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plea_for_Captain_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plea_for_Captain_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown's_Bodyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Kazinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Kazin


13/23

been no Civil War, we would add that without the ConcordTranscendentalists, John Brown would have had littlecultural impact."[46]

[edit]Death

Thoreau contracted tuberculosis in 1835 and suffered fromit sporadically afterwards. In 1859, following a late nightexcursion to count the rings of tree stumps during a rainstorm, he became ill with bronchitis. His health declinedover three years with brief periods of remission, until heeventually became bedridden. Recognizing the terminalnature of his disease, Thoreau spent his last years revising

and editing his unpublished works, particularly The MaineWoods and Excursions, and petitioning publishers to printrevised editions ofA Weekand Walden. He also wroteletters and journal entries until he became too weak tocontinue. His friends were alarmed at his diminishedappearance and were fascinated by his tranquilacceptance of death. When his aunt Louisa asked him inhis last weeks if he had made his peace with God,Thoreau responded: "I did not know we had everquarreled."[47]

Aware he was dying, Thoreau's last words were "Nowcomes good sailing", followed by two lone words, "moose"and "Indian".[48] He died on May 6, 1862 at age 44.Bronson Alcott planned the service and read selectionsfrom Thoreau's works, and Channing presented a hymn.[49]Emerson wrote the eulogy spoken at his funeral.[50] Originally buried in the Dunbar family plot, he andmembers of his immediate family were eventually movedto Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (N42 27' 53.7" W71 20' 33")in Concord, Massachusetts.

Thoreau's friend Ellery Channing published his firstbiography, Thoreau the Poet-Naturalist, in 1873, and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-45http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronchitishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-46http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-47http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-48http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulogyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-49http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepy_Hollow_Cemetery,_Concordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-45http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronchitishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-46http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-47http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-48http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulogyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-49http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepy_Hollow_Cemetery,_Concordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing_(poet)


14/23

Channing and another friend Harrison Blake edited somepoems, essays, and journal entries for posthumouspublication in the 1890s. Thoreau's journals, which heoften mined for his published works but which remained

largely unpublished at his death, were first published in1906 and helped to build his modern reputation. A new,expanded edition of the journals is underway, published byPrinceton University Press. Today, Thoreau isregarded[who?]as one of the foremost American writers, bothfor the modern clarity of his prose style and the prescienceof his views on nature and politics. His memory is honoredby the international Thoreau Society.

Thoreau family graves at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Replica of Thoreau's cabin

Site of Thoreau's cabin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoreau_Societyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cabinsite_02.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thoreau_House_Replica.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thoreau-gravesite.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_wordshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoreau_Society


15/23

Site of Thoreau's cabin

[edit]Beliefs

Thoreau memorial at Library Way, New York City

"Most of the luxuries and many of the so-calledcomforts of life are not only not indispensable, butpositive hindrances to the elevation of mankind." Thoreau[51]

Thoreau was an early advocate of recreational hikingand canoeing, of conserving natural resources on privateland, and of preserving wilderness as public land. Thoreauwas also one of the first American supportersofDarwin's theory of evolution. He was not astrict vegetarian, though he said he preferred thatdiet[52] and advocated it as a means of self-improvement.He wrote inWalden: "The practical objection to animal food

in my case was its uncleanness; and besides, when I hadcaught and cleaned and cooked and eaten my fish, theyseemed not to have fed me essentially. It was insignificantand unnecessary, and cost more than it came to. A littlebread or a few potatoes would have done as well, with lesstrouble and filth."[53]
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoeinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_evolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-51http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever241-52http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_David_Thoreau_quote_-_Library_Way_-_NY_City.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_David_Thoreau_quote_-_Library_Way_-_NY_City.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cabinsite.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoeinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_evolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-51http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever241-52


16/23

Thoreau neither rejected civilization nor fully embracedwilderness. Instead he sought a middle ground,the pastoral realm that integrates both nature and culture.His philosophy required that he be a didactic arbitration

between the wilderness he based so much on and thespreading mass of North American humanity. He decriedthe latter endlessly but felt the teachers need to be closeto those who needed to hear what he wanted to tell them.He was in many ways a 'visible saint', a point of contactwith the wilds, even if the land he lived on had been givento him by Emerson and was far from cut-off. The wildnesshe enjoyed was the nearby swamp or forest, and he

preferred "partially cultivated country." His idea of being"far in the recesses of the wilderness" of Maine was to"travel the logger's path and the Indian trail," but he alsohiked on pristine untouched land. In the essay "HenryDavid Thoreau, Philosopher"Roderick Nash writes:"Thoreau left Concord in 1846 for the first of three trips tonorthern Maine. His expectations were high because hehoped to find genuine, primeval America. But contact withreal wilderness in Maine affected him far differently thanhad the idea of wilderness in Concord. Instead of comingout of the woods with a deepened appreciation of thewilds, Thoreau felt a greater respect for civilization andrealized the necessity of balance."[54] On alcohol, Thoreauwrote: "I would fain keep sober always... I believe thatwater is the only drink for a wise man; wine is not so noblea liquor... Of all ebriosity, who does not prefer to beintoxicated by the air he breathes?"[53]

[edit]Influence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderick_Nashhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-53http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever241-52http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderick_Nashhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-53http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-Cheever241-52http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=7


17/23

Abustof Thoreau from theHall of Fame for Great Americansat the Bronx Community College

"Thoreau's careful observations and devastatingconclusions have rippled into time, becoming strongeras the weaknesses Thoreau noted have becomemore pronounced ... Events that seem to becompletely unrelated to his stay at Walden Pond havebeen influenced by it, including the national parksystem, the British labor movement, thecreation of

India, the civil rights movement, the hippie revolution,the environmental movement, and the wildernessmovement. Today, Thoreau's words are quoted withfeeling by liberals, socialists, anarchists, libertarians,and conservatives alike." Ken Kifer[55]

Thoreau's writings influenced many public figures. Politicalleaders and reformers like Mahatma Gandhi,

President John F. Kennedy, civil rights activist MartinLuther King, Jr., Supreme Court Justice William O.Douglas, and Russian authorLeo Tolstoy all spoke ofbeing strongly affected by Thoreau's work,particularly Civil Disobedience. So did many artists andauthors includingEdward Abbey, Willa Cather, Marcel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_(sculpture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_(sculpture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_(sculpture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_of_Fame_for_Great_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_of_Fame_for_Great_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_of_Fame_for_Great_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronx_Community_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILD_Foundationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILD_Foundationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-54http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_O._Douglashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_O._Douglashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_(citizen)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Abbeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willa_Catherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Prousthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ThoreauBust.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ThoreauBust.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bust_(sculpture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_of_Fame_for_Great_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronx_Community_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_rights_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILD_Foundationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WILD_Foundationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-54http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_O._Douglashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_O._Douglashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_(citizen)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Abbeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willa_Catherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Proust


18/23

Proust, William Butler Yeats, Sinclair Lewis, ErnestHemingway, Upton Sinclair,[56]E. B. White, LewisMumford, [57]Frank Lloyd Wright, AlexanderPosey[58] and Gustav Stickley.[59] Thoreau also influenced

naturalists like John Burroughs, John Muir, E. O.Wilson, Edwin Way Teale, Joseph Wood Krutch, B. F.Skinner, David BrowerandLoren Eiseley,whom Publisher's Weeklycalled "the modernThoreau."[60] English writerHenry Stephens Salt wrote abiography of Thoreau in 1890, which popularizedThoreau's ideas in Britain:George Bernard Shaw, EdwardCarpenterand Robert Blatchford were among those who

became Thoreau enthusiasts as a result of Salt'sadvocacy.[61]

Mahatma Gandhi first read Walden in 1906 while workingas a civil rights activist in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hefirst read Civil Disobedience "while he sat in a SouthAfrican prison for the crime of nonviolently protestingdiscrimination against the Indian population intheTransvaal. The essay galvanized Gandhi, who wrote

and published a synopsis of Thoreau's argument, callingits 'incisive logic . . . unanswerable' and referring toThoreau as 'one of the greatest and most moral menAmerica has produced.'"[62] He told AmericanreporterWebb Miller, "[Thoreau's] ideas influenced megreatly. I adopted some of them and recommended thestudy of Thoreau to all of my friends who were helping mein the cause of Indian Independence. Why I actually took

the name of my movement from Thoreau's essay 'On theDuty of Civil Disobedience,' written about 80 years ago."[63]

Martin Luther King, Jr. noted in his autobiography that hisfirst encounter with the idea of non-violent resistance wasreading "On Civil Disobedience" in 1944 while
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Prousthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeatshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingwayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingwayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclairhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-55http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._Whitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Mumfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Mumfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-56http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wrighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Poseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Poseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Poseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-57http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-57http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Stickleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-58http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burroughshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Way_Tealehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wood_Krutchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinnerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinnerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Browerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Eiseleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-59http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stephens_Salthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Carpenterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Carpenterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blatchfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-60http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvaalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-61http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webb_Miller_(journalist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-62http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Prousthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeatshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingwayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingwayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclairhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-55http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._Whitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Mumfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Mumfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-56http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wrighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Poseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Poseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-57http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Stickleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-58http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burroughshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._O._Wilsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Way_Tealehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wood_Krutchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinnerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinnerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Browerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Eiseleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-59http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stephens_Salthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Carpenterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Carpenterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blatchfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-60http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvaalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-61http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webb_Miller_(journalist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-62


19/23

attending Morehouse College. He wrote in hisautobiography that it was

Here, in this courageous New Englander's refusal topay his taxes and his choice of jail rather than supporta war that would spread slavery's territory intoMexico, I made my first contact with the theory ofnonviolent resistance. Fascinated by the idea ofrefusing to cooperate with an evil system, I was sodeeply moved that I reread the work several times.

I became convinced that noncooperation with evil isas much a moral obligation as is cooperation withgood. No other person has been more eloquent andpassionate in getting this idea across than HenryDavid Thoreau. As a result of his writings andpersonal witness, we are the heirs of a legacy ofcreative protest. The teachings of Thoreau came alivein our civil rights movement; indeed, they are morealive than ever before. Whether expressed in a sit-inat lunch counters, a freedom ride into Mississippi, apeaceful protest in Albany, Georgia, a bus boycott in

Montgomery, Alabama, these are outgrowths ofThoreau's insistence that evil must be resisted andthat no moral man can patiently adjust to injustice.[64]

American psychologist B. F. Skinner wrote that he carrieda copy of Thoreau's Walden with him in his youth.[65] and,in 1945, wrote Walden Two, a fictional utopia about 1,000members of a community living together inspired by the lifeof Thoreau.[66] Thoreau and his

fellowTranscendentalists from Concord were a majorinspiration of the composerCharles Ives. The 4thmovement of the Concord Sonata for piano (with a part forflute, Thoreau's instrument) is a character picture and healso set Thoreau's words.[67]

[edit]Anarchism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morehouse_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-63http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-64http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Twohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-65http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalistshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Iveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_Sonatahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-66http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morehouse_Collegehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-63http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-64http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Twohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-65http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalistshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord,_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Iveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_Sonatahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-66http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=8


20/23

Anarchism started to have an ecological point-of-view inthe writings of Thoreau. John Zerzan included Thoreau'stext "Excursions" (1863) in his edited compilation of worksin the anarcho-primitivist tradition titledAgainst civilization:

Readings and reflections.[68] Anarchist andfeministEmmaGoldman also appreciated Thoreau and referred to him as"the greatest American anarchist."[69]

Thoreau was an important influence on late 19thcentury anarchistnaturism, the combination of anarchistand naturist philosophies.[70][71]Mainly it had importancewithin individualist anarchist circles[72][73] in Spain,[70][71][72] France,[72][74] and Portugal.[75]

[edit]Critique

Thoreau's ideas were not universally applauded by someof his contemporaries in literary circles.

Scottish authorRobert Louis Stevenson judged Thoreau'sendorsement of living alone in natural simplicity, apart frommodern society, to be a mark ofeffeminacy:

...Thoreau's content and ecstasy in living was, wemay say, like a plant that he had watered and tendedwith womanish solicitude; for there is apt to besomething unmanly, something almost dastardly, in alife that does not move with dash and freedom, andthat fears the bracing contact of the world. In oneword, Thoreau was a skulker. He did not wish virtueto go out of him among his fellow-men, but slunk intoa corner to hoard it for himself. He left all for the sake

of certain virtuous self-indulgences.[76]

Nathaniel Hawthorne was particularly critical of Thoreau.He wrote that Thoreau, "has repudiated all regular modesof getting a living, and seems inclined to lead a sort ofIndian life among civilized men- an Indian life, I mean, asrespects the absence of any systematic effort for a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Zerzanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-67http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feministhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-68http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-naturismolibertario-69http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ortega-70http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-spanishind-71http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-aujourdhui-72http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-naturismolibertario-69http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ortega-70http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-spanishind-71http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-spanishind-71http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-france-73http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-portugal-74http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevensonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effeminacyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-75http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_anarchismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Zerzanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-67http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feministhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-68http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-naturismolibertario-69http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ortega-70http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-spanishind-71http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-aujourdhui-72http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-naturismolibertario-69http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-ortega-70http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-spanishind-71http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-spanishind-71http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-france-73http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-portugal-74http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevensonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effeminacyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-75http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne


21/23

livelihood".[77] He would later criticize his writing ability bysaying, "There is one chance in a thousand that he mightwrite a most excellent and readable book," but if he did itwould be "a book of simple observation of nature,

somewhat in the vein ofWhite's History of Selborne".[78]

Poet John Greenleaf Whittierdetested what he deemed tobe the message ofWalden, decreeing that Thoreauwanted man to "lower himself to the level ofa woodchuck and walk on four legs." He went further tocastigate the work as "very wicked and heathenish",remarking "I prefer walking on two legs."[79]

In response to such criticisms, English novelist GeorgeEliot, writing for the Westminster Review, characterizedsuch critics as uninspired and narrow-minded:

Peoplevery wise in their own eyeswho wouldhave every man's life ordered according to aparticular pattern, and who are intolerant of everyexistence the utility of which is not palpable to them,may pooh-pooh Mr. Thoreau and this episode in hishistory, as unpractical and dreamy.[80]

[edit]Works

Bird eggs found by Thoreau and given to the Boston Society of Natural History. Those in the nest

are ofyellow warbler, the other two ofred-tailed hawk

Aulus Persius Flaccus (1840)[81]

The Service (1840)[82]

A Walk to Wachusett (1842)[83]

Paradise (to be) Regained(1843)[84]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-76http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selbornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-77http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Greenleaf_Whittierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodchuckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-78http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eliothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eliothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-79http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Society_of_Natural_Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Society_of_Natural_Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_warblerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_warblerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_warblerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-80http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-81http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_to_Wachusetthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_to_Wachusetthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-82http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_(to_be)_Regainedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-83http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eggs_BSNH_1930.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eggs_BSNH_1930.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-76http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selbornehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-77http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Greenleaf_Whittierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodchuckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-78http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eliothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eliothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-79http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Society_of_Natural_Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_warblerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-80http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-81http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_to_Wachusetthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-82http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_(to_be)_Regainedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-83


22/23

The Landlord(1843)[85]

Sir Walter Raleigh (1844)

Herald of Freedom (1844)[86]

Wendell Phillips Before the Concord Lyceum (1845)[87]

Reform and the Reformers (184648)

Thomas Carlyle and His Works (1847)[88]

A Week on the Concord and MerrimackRivers (1849)[89]

Resistance to Civil Government, orCivilDisobedience (1849)[90]

An Excursion to Canada (1853)[91]

Slavery in Massachusetts (1854)[92]

Walden (1854)[93]

A Plea for Captain John Brown (1859)[94]

Remarks After the Hanging of John Brown (1859)[95]

The Last Days of John Brown (1860)[96]

Walking(1861)[97]

Autumnal Tints (1862)[98]

Wild Apples: The History of the Apple Tree (1862)

[99]

Excursions (1863)[100]

Life Without Principle (1863)[101]

Night and Moonlight(1863)[102]

The Highland Light(1864)

The Maine Woods (1864)[103][104]

Cape Cod(1865)[105]

Letters to Various Persons (1865)[106]

A Yankee in Canada, with Anti-Slavery and ReformPapers (1866)[107]

Early Spring in Massachusetts (1881)

Summer(1884)[108]

Winter(1888)[109]

Autumn (1892)[110]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-84http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Walter_Raleigh_(essay)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herald_of_Freedom_(essay)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-85http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Phillips_Before_the_Concord_Lyceumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-86http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_and_the_Reformershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle_and_His_Workshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-87http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-88http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-89http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-90http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-91http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-92http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plea_for_Captain_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-93http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remarks_After_the_Hanging_of_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-94http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Days_of_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-95http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-96http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-97http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-98http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-99http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Without_Principlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-100http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-101http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-102http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-103http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-104http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-105http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-106http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-107http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-108http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-109http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-84http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Walter_Raleigh_(essay)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herald_of_Freedom_(essay)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-85http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Phillips_Before_the_Concord_Lyceumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-86http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_and_the_Reformershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle_and_His_Workshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-87http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Week_on_the_Concord_and_Merrimack_Rivershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-88http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Disobedience_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-89http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-90http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Massachusettshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-91http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-92http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plea_for_Captain_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-93http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remarks_After_the_Hanging_of_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-94http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Days_of_John_Brownhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-95http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_(Thoreau)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-96http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-97http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-98http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-99http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Without_Principlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-100http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-101http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-102http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-103http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-104http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-105http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-106http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-107http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-108http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-109


23/23

Miscellanies (1894)[111]

Familiar Letters of Henry David Thoreau(1894)[112]

Poems of Nature (1895)

Some Unpublished Letters of Henry D. and Sophia

E. Thoreau(1898) The First and Last Journeys of Thoreau(1905)[113][114]

Journal of Henry David Thoreau(1906)[115]

The Correspondence of Henry DavidThoreauedited by Walter Harding and Carl Bode(Washington Square: New York University Press, 1958)[116]

[edit]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-110http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-111http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-112http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-113http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-114http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-115http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-110http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-111http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-112http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-113http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-114http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#cite_note-115http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_David_Thoreau&action=edit&section=11

Avid Thoreau

Documents

Transcript of Avid Thoreau