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Essays. Philosophy. Nonfiction. HTML: One of the most famous non-fiction American books, Walden by Henry David Thoreau is the history of Thoreau's visit to Ralph Waldo Emerson's woodland retreat near Walden Pond. Thoreau, stirred by the philosophy of the transcendentalists, used the sojourn as an experiment in self reliance and minimalism�?� "so as 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 to die, discover that I had not lived." Walden stresses the significance of self-reliance, solitude, meditation, and nature in rising above the the life of quiet desperation lived by most people. that, he argues, is the lot of most people. Part autobiography, part manifesto Walden is a moving treatise on the importance distancing oneself from the consumerism of modern Western society and embracing nature in its place.… (more)
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Whenever I pick up
In many ways, it's a sort of long prose-poem that gets us to experience the life of the earth and the change
Thoreau taught me that 'every journey begins with a single step.' There is more to this lovely work but that is the part that most
I went into Walden thoroughly expecting to abhor it. In fact, I did for the first chapter or so. I found Thoreau to be narrow sighted and judgemental. He claimed not to begrudge anyone their own choice of living style, but spent over two hours telling everyone why their way
The book is a mixed bag of literary gems, pontification, wise advice and tedious daily chores. I kept stumbling across so many famous quotes that I didn’t realize originated in this text. I also grew tired of his exhausting catalogue of his daily labors.
Thoreau was around 30 when he wrote the book and there are bits that are insufferably cocky. I’m younger than he was then, but I can still understand that older generations have wisdom to offer us. At one point he goes on a rant about the fact that just because people have lived longer than him doesn’t make them expert in life and they shouldn’t be trying to give him advice. I wonder if Thoreau ever re-read those words when he was older and regretted his hubris.
Yet there were also lessons that resonated with me 150 years after they were originally written. The main one was the importance he placed on giving yourself time to reflect in solitude. We need to take breaks from society (especially from social media) to put our lives in perspective and make sure we have our priorities straight. That’s even more important today than it was then. Thoreau talks about us filling our lives to the brim and leaving no room for reflection; imagine what he would say if he heard about facebook and twitter and the nonstop stream of television that fills our every waking hour!
BOTTOM LINE: There are parts of this book I just loved to pieces, and those were absolutely 5 star sections for me. But there are also a lot of bits that talk in detail about what he did each day (fishing, gardening, etc.) and those parts really dragged. It’s definitely worth reading for all of the gems you stumble upon, but don’t expect a quick, light read.
“It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.”
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”
“A written word is the choicest of relics. It is something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself. It may be translated into every language, and not only be read but actually breathed from all human lips; -- not be represented on canvas or in marble only, but be carved out of the breath of life itself.”
“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 life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.”
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.”
However, now I can tick Walden off my list of books that I have always meant to read.
I was struck by how preachy the book was- reading now as a man in his 50s, Walden struck
Much of the book rambles on about the wonders of nature, including many references to specific animals and plants about which I know little and have little interest. For those interested in such things, it might be a better read.
Thoreau has to be one of the most complex and most insightful authors I have ever read. Compared to most of us in today's
It was one of the most challenging reads of my life, but one book I am so glad to have read. Thoreau had a lot of wisdom for someone of his time. What threw me off at times were his references to things like ancient history when he discusses his narrative of whatever he happens to be talking about at that time, which seems kind of random at times. It can be fairly easy to get lost at times, but keep in mind, this was written in the mid 1800's. Sometimes, it felt like reading this book was a lengthy homework assignment. Even still, it was a pleasure to have read this masterpiece. I suggest giving this a read if you have the patience for a deep and enlightening read.
I am reading this at Scout Camp in the Sierra Mountains. We are in Emigrant Gap in California, at an elevation of 5,389 feet, and Chubb Lake is standing in for Walden Pond. And it’s 2022, not 1845. It was a bit dry, but extremely
“The evil that men do lives after them.”
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
“Birds do not sing in caves…”
“But lo! men have become the tools of their tools.”
“There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted.”
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root…”
“Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.”
“How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book!”
“…but nothing can deter a poet, for he is actuated by love.”
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”
“Enjoy the land, but own it not.”
“We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty. We loiter in winter while it is already spring.”
“Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
“We can never have enough of nature.”
“…if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
“The faultfinder will find faults even in paradise.”
“Patriotism is a maggot in their heads.”
“For my part, I could easily do without the post office.” - (this is a particular favorite of mine, as I am a USPS letter carrier!)