On this day, 200 years ago, the poet and philosopher Henry David was born. #Thoreau, father of contemporary environmentalism and naturalism. One of his most sublime works was titled "Civil disobedience". It was a lecture written by the author himself that below we will literally describe some of the most remarkable quotes, word for word, because there is no waste whatsoever. But first, we are going to review some important information about his life and work.
Life and work
Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord and passed away on May 6, 1862 at the age of 44. Versatile where they exist, he ranged from pencil maker to naturalist to lecturer and surveyor. Thoreau today is considered the founding father of American literature. Born into a humble family, he was a restless person and always eager to investigate and discover new educational fields that could bring something new to his knowledge. He studied at Harvard College, a college that years later would become the prestigious American university that it is today.
Among his most outstanding works are:
- "The service" (1840)
- "A Walk to Wachusett" (1842)
- «Paradise (to be) Recovered» (1843)
- "The Lanlord" (1843)
- "Sir Walter Raleigh" (1844)
- "Herald of Liberty" (1844)
- "Thomas Carlyle and his Work" (1847)
- "A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers" (1849)
- "Civil disobedience" (1849)
- «An Excursion to Canada» (1853)
- "Slavery in Massachusetts" (1854)
- "Walden" (1854)
- "The Last Days of John Brown" (1860)
- "To walk" (1861)
- "Autumnal Tints" (1862)
- "Wild Apples: The History of the Apple Tree" (1862)
- «Excursions» (1863)
- "A Life without Principles" (1863)
- "Night and Moonlight" (1863)
- "The Highland Light" (1864)
- "The Maine Woods" (1864)
- Cape Cod (1865)
- "Early Spring in Massachusetts" (1881)
- "summer" (1884)
- "Winter" (1889)
- "Autumn" (1892)
- "Miscellaneous" (1894)
Much of his work was influenced by the following movements, concepts, and people:
- The Independence of India.
- Civil rights movement.
- British labor movement.
- Environmental movement.
- Hippie movement.
However, today, the words of this author are spoken by both Marxists and conservatives, by liberals and socialists,… Next, we will see what words that "Civil Disobedience" was about.
Civil disobedience
If you want to read this civil disobedience you can do it in the following link. It is one of the most enriching readings you can do today.
If, on the other hand, you want to enjoy some of his most outstanding events, here are some of them:
- No matter how small the beginning may seem: what is done well, well done remains forever.
- I know of no fact more exhilarating than man's unquestionable ability to elevate his life through conscious effort. It is certainly something to be able to paint a particular picture, to sculpt a statue or, finally, to make some objects beautiful; however, it is far more glorious to sculpt or paint the atmosphere, the medium through which we look at ourselves, which is morally feasible. Influencing the quality of the day, that is the highest of the arts. Every man has the task of making his life worthy, even in its details, of the contemplation of its highest and most critical hour.
- How much more effectively and eloquently can he combat injustice who has suffered it, even to a small extent, in his own flesh.
- Live free and do not compromise. There is little difference between seclusion on a farm or in a prison.
- The Harivansa says: "A house without birds is like unseasoned meat." My home was not like that because, suddenly, I had become a neighbor to the birds, not because I had imprisoned one, but because I was caged near them.
- It costs me less in every sense to incur the penalty of disobedience to the State, than it would cost me to obey. I would feel like I was worth less in this case.
- The best a man can do for his culture when he is rich is to carry out those projects that he dreamed of when he was poor.
- The squirrel that you kill as a joke really dies.
- There are unjust laws: should we be content to abide by them, work to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or should we break them from the start?
- Any man who is more right than his neighbors already constitutes a majority of one.
- Under a government that unjustly imprisons anyone, the home of an honest man is jail.
- The best government is one that does not rule at all, and when men are ready for it, this will be the kind of government that everyone will have..
- The government itself, which is only the means chosen by the people to carry out its will, is equally subject to abuse and corruption before the people come to act through it..
- Should the citizen renounce his conscience, even for a moment or in the least degree in favor of the legislator? So why does man have a conscience? I think that we must first be men and then subjects. It is not desirable to cultivate as much respect for the law as for what is right. It has been said with enough truth that a corporation has no conscience, but a corporation of conscious men is a corporation with a conscience. The law never made men one iota more just; Furthermore, thanks to his respect for her, even the most generous are turned into agents of injustice day by day. A common and natural result of improper respect for the law is that you can see a line of soldiers: colonel, captain, corporal, soldiers, dynamiters and all, marching in admirable order across mountains and valleys towards wars, against their will, yes , against his own common sense and conscience, which makes this, indeed, an arduous march of beating hearts. They have no doubt that they are carrying out a detestable occupation, all having peaceful inclinations. "
And here is a video for those who prefer the audiobook about this magnificent conference.