It’s amazing to discover how a man in the 1800s had such a clear and consistent vision of society, much of it conceived in a small cabin in the woods. The ideas revealed in the writings of Henry David Thoreau have much to teach us today: the relationship of humans and nature, the role of the state, a view of God, community and conservation … I have compiled some links for more reading. There’s great stuff there. Here’s a quote I wish the forest industry folks in PEI could grasp:
“If a man walk in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut them down!”
From Life Without Principle
