Nature Study 



SOME PROMINENT NAMES 273 



Thoreaii's life and writings, taken together, form a The Life of 

 strong protest against the modern vice of over-atteu- Emphasized 

 tiou to the mere externals of life. Says his biographer, 

 Henry Salt: "He shows us that it is possible for 

 men to-day to live as the Stoics strove to live, in ac- 

 cordance with Nature, with absolute serenity and self- 

 possession ; to follow out one's own ideal in spite of every 

 obstacle, with unfaltering devotion ; and so to simj)lify 

 one's life, and clarify one's senses, as to master many of 

 the secrets of that book of Nature which to most men 

 remains unintelligible and unread." 



It was Thoreau's distinction to be the pioneer among 

 Americans in the natui*e study that is the favourite pur- a Pioneer in 

 suit of so many to-day. He was the apostle of the simple 

 life, and lived as he preached. He tells us of his house- 

 keeping methods at Walden : "When my floor was 

 dirty I rose early, and setting all my furniture out of 

 doors on the grass, bed and bedstead making but one 

 budget, dashed water on the floor, and sprinkled white 

 sand from the pond on it, and then with a broom scrubbed 

 it clean and white ; and by the time the villagers had 

 broken their fast, the morning sun had dried my house 

 sufficiently to allow me to move in again, and my medi- 

 tations were almost uninterrupted. It was pleasant to see 

 my whole household effects upon the grass, making a 

 little pile like a gipsy's pack, and my three-legged table, 

 from which I did not remove the books and pen and ink, 

 standing amidst the pines and hickories." 



If Thoreau seemed unsympathetic to certain classes of 

 people, he loved children and animals, and was at home 

 with them and they with him. He proved his theory 

 " that to maintain oneself on this earth is not a hardship 

 but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely." Here is 

 a characteristic description of himself by Thoreau : "Am 

 not married. I don't know whether mine is a profession, 

 or a trade, or what not. It is not learned, and in every 

 instance has been practiced before being studied. The 



