Walden Society and Class Quotes Page 3
(Essay.Paragraph)
| Quote #7 Instead of noblemen, let us have noble villages of men. (Reading.11) |
Thoreau offers his own version of an ideal society: a village devoted entirely to learning.
| Quote #8 These cellar dents, like deserted fox burrows, old holes, are all that is left where once were the stir and bustle of human life, and "fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute," in some form and dialect or other were by turns discussed. (Former Inhabitants.12) |
Seeing these remnants of past human residences, Thoreau wonders what is really permanent and eternal in human life. Why spend so much effort gaining wealth and building a huge house if it's all going to disappear one day? As they say, you can't take it with you.
| Quote #9 Nay, be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought […] Explore thyself. (Conclusion.2) |
Instead of exploring for new lands to exploit and colonize, Thoreau directs his readers to explore themselves.
