It would cost him less time to supply his wants than another. With his hardy habits and few wants, his skill in woodcraft, and his powerful arithmetic, he was very competent to live in any part of the world. Never idle or self-indulgent, he preferred, when he wanted money, earning it by some piece of manual labor agreeable to him, as building a boat or a fence, planting, grafting, surveying, or other short work, to any long engagements. If he slighted and defied the opinions of others, it was only that he was more intent to reconcile his practice with his own belief. He declined to give up his large ambition of knowledge and action for any narrow craft or profession, aiming at a much more comprehensive calling, the art of living well. âWhy should I? I would not do again what I have done once.â He resumed his endless walks and miscellaneous studies, making every day some new acquaintance with nature, though as yet never speaking of zoology or botany, since, though very studious of natural facts, he was incurious of technical and textual science.Īt this time, a strong, healthy youth, fresh from college, whilst all his companions were choosing their profession, or eager to begin some lucrative employment, it was inevitable that his thoughts should be exercised on the same question, and it required rare decision to refuse all the accustomed paths, and keep his solitary freedom at the cost of disappointing the natural expectations of his family and friends: all the more difficult that he had a perfect probity, was exact in securing his own independence, and in holding every man to the like duty. But he replied, that he should never make another pencil. His friends congratulated him that he had now opened his way to fortune. After completing his experiments, he exhibited his work to chemists and artists in Boston, and having obtained their certificates to its excellence and to its equality with the best London manufacture, he returned home contented. His father was a manufacturer of lead-pencils, and Henry applied himself for a time to this craft, believing he could make a better pencil than was then in use. After leaving the university, he joined his brother in teaching a private school, which he soon renounced. An iconoclast in literature, he seldom thanked colleges for their service to him, holding them in small esteem, whilst yet his debt to them was important. He was graduated at Harvard College in 1837, but without any literary distinction. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, on the 12th of July, 1817. His character exhibited occasional traits drawn from this blood in singular combination with a very strong Saxon genius. Henry David Thoreau was the last male descendant of a French ancestor who came to this country from the Isle of Guernsey. You can download this and other ebooks carefully produced for true book lovers at. Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven project that produces ebook editions of public domain literature using modern typography, technology, and editorial standards, and distributes them free of cost. For full license information, see the Uncopyright at the end of this ebook. The creators of, and contributors to, this ebook dedicate their contributions to the worldwide public domain via the terms in the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. They may still be copyrighted in other countries, so users located outside of the United States must check their local laws before using this ebook. The source text and artwork in this ebook are believed to be in the United States public domain that is, they are believed to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. This particular ebook is based on transcriptions from various sources and on digital scans from various sources. This ebook is the product of many hours of hard work by volunteers for Standard Ebooks, and builds on the hard work of other literature lovers made possible by the public domain. V: The Scenery of Quebec and the River St.Wendell Phillips Before the Concord Lyceum.III: Not How Many, but Where the Enemy Are.
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