Walden or, Life in the Woods (5).

Henry David Thoreau. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc. 1854 (1985).

Why read it? The desire to live close to nature without dependence on material goods. Describes the changing seasons. Offers interesting reflections on modern life.

Quotes and Ideas.

“…books…are as dull as their readers.” p. 408.

“How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.” p. 408.

“I did not read books the first summer; I hoed beans.” p. 411.

“…three-o’clock-in-the-morning courage, which Bonaparte thought was the rarest.” p. 417.

“…all things, good and bad, go by us like a torrent.” p. 429.

“However intense my experience, I am conscious of the presence and criticism of a part of me, which, as it were, is not a part of me, but spectator, sharing no experience, but taking note of it.” p. 429.

“We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.” p. 430.

“We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are.” p. 430.

“…let me have a draught of undiluted morning air….” p. 432.

“If we are merely loquacious and loud talkers, then we can afford to stand very near together, cheek by jowl, and feel each other’s breath; but if we speak reservedly and thoughtfully, we want to be farther apart, that all animal heat and moisture may have a chance to evaporate.” p. 435.

“He interested me because he was so quiet and solitary and so happy withal; a well of good humor and contentment.” p. 438.

“In physical endurance and contentment, he was cousin to the pine and the rock.” p. 4339.

To be continued.