Rules to live by

  extremely independent and stubborn, hard to get along with  devoted to the art of living fully in nature  Emerson was his friend and mentor  Went to Harvard  Students’ uniforms were black robes. He wore green.

 Briefly worked in a pencil factory and as a teacher after college, but quit both  Proposed to a woman who turned him down FAIL

For two years he lived on 27 cents a week (=$12/week now) in a shack he built by himself on the shores of Walden Pond

 While he was there, he wrote Walden- known as the “supreme work of Transcendentalist literature.”

 While he lived at Walden, when he looked toward town (2 miles away), Thoreau saw his fellow citizen “so caught up in making a living that they became one-dimensional.”

 Thoreau did not agree with the Mexican War b/c it was in favor of slavery  So he didn’t pay his taxes b/c he knew the taxes would go to support the war  So he went to jail gladly  He also helped fugitive escaped slaves escape to Canada.

 After Walden, he lived with Emerson for a while, then moved back in with his parents  Supported himself with taking odd jobs around town  Died of tuberculosis  Very clam about death.

Look inside yourself for divine guidance in learning to understand the nature of God. God NatureMan Oversoul

Live life close to nature, for there a person can most successfully contemplate his reason for being

Devote yourself to the search for the meaning of life and not to the acquisition of material things

A person should be both physically and intellectually active throughout life

Have the courage to follow the dictates of your own conscience, and be prepared to face the consequences  Example: Thoreau was a teacher, and when his headmaster tried to make him punish a kid with a whipping, Thoreau said “no” and quit.

Give time priority to personal growth rather than working for money  Find a job you love to do, not just to make $

Have the courage to practice some sort of non- violent law-breaking if you believe the law to be in violation of your principles. Be willing to take the consequences that the government might invoke.

Live today for today, since yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come  now is the only true reality  accept only those traditions which appear to be true to you and reject the rest

Be yourself by exercising the self-discipline necessary to live by the first eight principles #9