--Homer and Ossian
even can never revive in London or Boston. And yet behold how these
cities are refreshed by the mere tradition or the imperfectly
transmitted fragrance and flavour of these wild fruits. If one could
listen but for an instant to the chant of the Indian muse, we should
understand why he will not exchange his savageness for civilization.
Nations are not whimsical. Steel and blankets are strong
temptations, but the Indian does well to continue Indian."

These are no empty generalizations, but the comments of a man who has
observed closely and sympathetically. All of Thoreau's references to
Indian life merit the closest attention. For, as I have said, they help
to explain the man himself. He had a sufficient touch of wildness to be
able to detach himself from the civilized man's point of view. Hence the
life of the woods came so naturally to him. The luxuries, the
excitements, that mean so much to some, Thoreau passed by indifferently.
There is much talk to-day of "the simple life," and the phrase has become
tainted with affectation. Often it means nothing more than a passing fad
on the part of overfed society people who are anxious for a new
sensation. A fad with a moral flavour about it will always commend
itself to a certain section. Certainly it is quite innocuous, but, on
the other hand, it is quite superficial. There is no real intention of
living a simple life any more than there is any deep resolve on the part
of the man who takes the Waters annually to abstain in the future from
over-eating. But with Thoreau the simple life was a vital reality. He
was not devoid of American self-consciousness, and perhaps he pats
himself on the back for his healthy tastes more often than we should
like. But of his fundamental sincerity there can be no question.

He saw even more clearly than Emerson the futility and debilitating
effect of extravagance and luxury--especially American luxury. And his
whole life was an indignant protest.

Yet it is a mistake to think (as some do) that he favoured a kind of
Rousseau-like "Return to Nature," without any regard to the conventions
of civilization. "It is not," he states emphatically, "for a man to put
himself in opposition to society, but to maintain himself in whatever
attitude he finds himself through obedience to the laws of his own being,
which will never be one of opposition to a just government. I left the
woods for a