Contemporary Notices
and Reviews of
Walden; or, Life in
the Woods
_______
George
Eliot
Westminster Review
(January 1856): pp. 302-3
.
. . in a volume called "Walden; or, Life in the Woods"—published
last year, but quite interesting enough to make it worth while for us to
break our rule by a retrospective notice—we have a bit of pure American
life (not the "go a-head" species, but its opposite pole),
animated by that energetic, yet calm spirit of innovation, that practical
as well as theoretic independence of formulæ, which is peculiar to some
of the finer American minds. The writer tells us how he chose, for some
years, to be a stoic of the woods; how he built his house; how he earned
the necessaries of his simple life by cultivating a bit of ground. He
tells us his system of diet, his studies, his reflections, and his
observations of natural phenomena. These last are not only made by a keen
eye, but have their interest enhanced by passing through the medium of a
deep poetic sensibility; and, indeed, we feel throughout the book the
presence of a refined as well as a hardy mind. People—very wise in their
own eyes— who would have every man's life ordered according to a
particular pattern, and who are intolerant of every existence the utility
of which is not palpable to them, may pooh-pooh Mr. Thoreau and this episode
in his history, as unpractical and dreamy. Instead of contesting their
opinion ourselves, we will let Mr. Thoreau speak for himself. There is
plenty of sturdy sense mingled with is unworldliness.
[excerpts from "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For" and
"Economy"]
We can only afford one more extract, which, to our minds, has great
beauty.
[excerpts from "Sounds"]
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