1 82 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



pursuit of self-improvement even in the face of 

 unfriendly criticism as it goes on in our society. 

 He was a critic before a naturalist. His books, 

 such as "Walden," and "A Week on the Con- 

 cord," would be delightful studies of nature 

 even without the touch of interest they acquire 

 at the thought that the man himself is preach- 

 ing to an audience of people who consider him 

 little better than a madman. Unquestionably 

 he was a true lover of nature. 



The quality which we should call mystery in 

 a painting, and which belongs so particularly to 

 the aspect of the external world and to its in- 

 fluence upon our feelings, was one which he 

 was never weary of attempting to reproduce in 

 his books. The significance of nature's ap- 

 pearances, their unchanging strangeness to the 

 senses and the thrilling response they awaken 

 in the mind of man continued to surprise and 

 stimulate his spirits. He writes to a friend : 

 "Let me suggest a theme for you to state to 

 yourself precisely and completely what that 

 walk over the mountains amounted to for you, 

 returning to this essay again and again until 

 you are satisfied that all that was important in 

 your experience is in it. Don't suppose that 



