Saul's Collected Works (Volume 2)

Author: Thoreau
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1996-12-01
Features: The 19th century in America is considered by some historians as a unique period of the birth and growth of American culture, a time when the American spirit and culture truly became independent after political independence, breaking away from the European continental mother. Among this period, the transcendentalist movement, represented by figures like Emerson and Thoreau, is noteworthy. Emerson's lecture "The American Scholar" is often called "our declaration of intellectual independence." The term "transcendentalism," an imprecise and somewhat playful designation, may only reflect one characteristic of this movement in epistemological terms—its emphasis on intuition and experience. However, its significance is more profoundly embodied in its love for nature, reverence for individuality, call for action and creativity, and opposition to authority and dogma, which carry philosophical implications for life. It has had a profound impact on the American spirit and culture breaking away from the European continental mother to form its own fresh and unique identity.
Thoreau, more than a speaker and writer, was a practitioner and an action-taker. The spirit of life and nature, as well as freedom and independence, in his character had an inevitable connection with the pioneering spirit of bravery, boldness, roughness, and wildness that emerged during the development of America, especially in the West. Thoreau's life was so simple yet rich, so solitary yet fragrant. One could also say, his life was far from simple and never truly solitary. His readers will discover that his spiritual life was extremely rich and exquisite, rare in the world, and he had few associates in life but many in spirit. Mr. Thoreau was companioned by solitude. He often lived alone and believed there was no better companion than solitude. His life was very simple and tranquil.
Thoreau was born in Concord on July 12, 1817; he attended and graduated from Harvard University (1833–1837); returned to his hometown to teach for two years (1838–1840). Then he moved to the home of the great writer and thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841–1843), becoming both a disciple and an assistant, and began to try his hand at writing. By 1845, he lived alone with an axe, moved into the uninhabited woods by Walden Pond, and stayed there until returning to Concord in 1847. In 1848, he lived with Emerson again; in 1849, he completed a book titled A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Around the same time, he published a highly influential and famous essay titled On Civil Disobedience (also literally translatable as "On the Right of Civil Disobedience"), which we will discuss later. Then, Walden was published. The book received some attention, though not initially significant. Over time, its influence grew. In 1859, he supported the movement against slavery in America. When the leader of this movement, John Brown, was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging, Thoreau delivered a speech in his defense and called for action, even ringing the church bells and holding a memorial service. Afterward, he contracted tuberculosis, which could not be cured, and died in Concord in 1862 at the age of 44.