THE LIFE WORTH LIVING. 179 



fetish of his scheme, and did what he wanted 

 squarely. The frugality he exercised and his 

 asceticism are not the notable points of this 

 notable experiment. The remarkable part of 

 it is his recognition of the position of money; 

 he had perceived and was acting on a truth of 

 universal application. A certain amount of 

 money, varying with the number and extent of 

 our desires, is a necessity to each one of us in 

 the present order of society ; but beyond that 

 amount, money is a commodity to be bought or 

 not to be bought, a luxury in which we may in- 

 dulge or stint ourselves like any other. And 

 there are many luxuries that we may legiti- 

 mately prefer to money, such as a grateful con- 

 science, a country life, or the woman of our in- 

 clination. Trite, flat, and obvious as this 

 conclusion may appear, we have only to look 

 around us to see how scantily it has been 

 recognized ; and after a little reflection perhaps 

 we may decide to spend a trifle less for money 

 and indulge ourselves a trifle more in freedom. 

 Says Thoreau : " To have done any thing by 

 which you earned money merely, is to be idle 

 and worse." There are in his letters two pas- 

 sages relating to firewood which illustrate 



