ftboreau 



'T^HERE are two of the many essays on Thoreau 

 J_ that are probably more read than all the oth- 

 ers put together, and because of their authorship 

 Emerson and Lowell have greater weight in 

 the minds of readers than would any expression of 

 opinion from any other source as to Thoreau as a 

 man of letters or as a naturalist. But the world is 

 not always wise in bowing down to greatness, for 

 greatness is very sure, in the long run, to overesti- 

 mate itself. Neither Emerson nor Lowell was 

 fitted to the task he undertook, though he doubt- 

 less thought he was. It is true that Emerson's ar- 

 ticle prefacing Thoreau's " Excursions " is a bio- 

 graphical sketch merely, but in it are phrases that 

 are open to criticism. As an instance, take Emer- 

 son's estimate of Thoreau's ambition, or what he 

 calls a lack of it. Now, so great is the influence 

 carried with every word of Emerson that probably 

 not one reader in a hundred but regrets that Tho- 

 reau preferred to be " captain of a huckleberry 

 party " to leader of a political one, and that he held 

 215 



