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Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862) was a renowned American author, philosopher, and naturalist. He’s best known for his book “Walden,” advocating simple living in nature and civil disobedience as a means of protest against unjust government actions.
Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument in favor of citizen disobedience against an unjust state.
Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes. Among his lasting contributions are his writings on natural history and philosophy, in which he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern-day environmentalism. His literary style interweaves close observation of nature, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and attention to practical detail. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs.
Thoreau was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the fugitive slave law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending the abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience later influenced the political thoughts and actions of notable figures such as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Thoreau is sometimes referred to retrospectively as an anarchist, but may perhaps be more properly regarded as a proto-anarchist. In his seminal essay, "Civil Disobedience", Thoreau wrote as follows:
Credit: Wikipedia - Henry_David_Thoreau"I heartily accept the motto,—'That government is best which governs least;' and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe,—'That government is best which governs not at all;' and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.... But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government."
One says to me, “I wonder that you do not lay up money; you love to travel; you might take the cars and go to Fitchburg to-day and see the country.” But I am wiser than that. I have learned that the swiftest traveller is he that goes afoot. I say to my friend, Suppose … Continue reading Grading the Whole Surface of the Planet Henry David Thoreau
Be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought. Every man is the lord of a realm beside which the earthly empire of the Czar is but a petty state, a hummock left by the ice. Yet some can be patriotic who have no … Continue reading Be a Columbus of the Mind Henry David Thoreau
AustraliaAustriaBrazilCanadaChinaCzech RepublicEgyptFranceGermanyGlobalIndiaItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandSaudia ArabiaSingaporeSpainTurkeyUAEUnited KingdomUnited States As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission when you purchase a book via this site. Books: Henry David ThoreauAiming Above Morality Henry David ThoreauGrading the Whole Surface of the Planet Henry David ThoreauMen Will Believe What They See. Let Them See Henry David ThoreauStart Hacking at … Continue reading Walden, or Life in the Woods Henry David Thoreau (1854)
Gurteen Knowledge Blog August 3, 2021, 14:58Henry David Thoreau has had an enormous influence on me ever since I lived in Carlisle, Massachusetts, a few miles up the road from Concord and Walden Pond, where he wrote his book Walden. This quotation below from Walden has always strongly resonated with me. There are a thousand hacking … Continue reading Start Hacking at the Branches of Evil Making an impact
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root, and it may be that he who bestows the largest amount of time and money on the needy is doing the most by his mode of life to produce that misery which he strives in vain to … Continue reading There Are a Thousand Hacking at the Branches of Evil Henry David Thoreau (1854)
If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see. Credit: Henry David Thoreau Books: Henry David ThoreauAiming Above Morality Henry David ThoreauGrading the Whole Surface of the Planet Henry David ThoreauMen Will Believe What They See. … Continue reading Men Will Believe What They See. Let Them See Henry David Thoreau
Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for somethhing. Credit: Henry David Thoreau Source: WaldenBooks: Henry David ThoreauAiming Above Morality Henry David ThoreauGrading the Whole Surface of the Planet Henry David ThoreauMen Will Believe What They See. Let Them See Henry David ThoreauStart Hacking at the Branches of Evil Making an impactThere Are … Continue reading Aiming Above Morality Henry David Thoreau
Gurteen Knowledge Blog October 2, 2023, 12:58I love the work of Henry David Thoreau, particularly his book Walden. When, in the early 90s, I lived in Carlisle, Massachusetts, a few miles up the road from Concord, I often visited Walden Pond. It was and still is one of my favorite places in the world, and I took … Continue reading Hacking at the Branches of Evil Henry David Thoreau
