“I felt as if I could spit a Mexican with a good relish…” This is an example of the Dionysian in Thoreau.  He is swept up by the martial spirit of music from the village and feels himself capable of violence […]

That’s why Thoreau says: “We are not wholly involved in Nature.” The “dancer” and “Nature” desist from the dance.  Thoreau’s double consciousness is of himself engaged in the “field of action,” as HDT, where he […]

The dichotomy, me and not-me, and the “spectator” is relatable to the Contact passage in “Ktaadn,” where Thoreau distinguishes between spirit (which he says “I am one”) and matter (which he says “has possession of […]

Also, see:  https://commons.digitalthoreau.org/docs/frederick-transcendental-ethos-a-study-of-thoreaus-social-philosophy/

Victor Cousins is discussed in “Transcendental Ethos,” page 22.

I’m unaware of anyone having pointed this out in the literature about Thoreau, but the “grooved walking stick” in this paragraph is related to the central motif of the book, “Walden” Read para 5 and 11 in […]

Compare “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains.” and paragraph 11, the […]

For the “spectator,” see Sankhya Karika by Ishvara Krishna.  Allen Hodder in his book, “Ecstatic Witness,” identifies the “Karika” as a source for this passage.  I would add that the passage is related to E […]

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