I feel like this week's readings (up to "the ponds") were just very technical. We get a side of Thoreau that is more focused on his surroundings. These chapters we read were very philosophical and like always, he rambles in between. He still focuses on the ideas he had in the past chapters but adds to it, metaphors and illustrations. I recall a quote that seems to relate to these chapters and involves us to ponder on his philosophical ideas. In "Sounds", He asks the readers, "What is a course of history, or philosophy, or poetry, no matter how well selected, or the best society, or the most admirable routine of life, compared with the discipline of looking always at what is to be seen? Will you be a reader, a student merely, or a seer? Read your fate, see what is before you, and walk into futurity" (79). One thing that I noticed is that he talks about his realizations and opinions on the titles (each chapter). Some chapters are shorter than others but all are very technical.
Three chapters that stood out to me while reading was, "Reading", "Sounds" and "Solitude". In Reading, he expresses the need to persuade and deliberately tell people to read well. He points out the benefits of reading and compares them to ancient Egyptian or Hindu philosophers, to "raising the veil from the statue of divinity" (71). He talks about the spiritual enrichment of reading as well. Thoreau urges people to strive to read but instead, most people focus on reading other things like the bible or classical reading (mocks it). He strongly believes that books are the way great human beings " explain our miracles and reveal new ones" (74) and if you read well, spiritual enrichment will take place. It is obvious to me that he loves reading in the woods and wants others to enjoy it too but with readings he thinks are acceptable. Thoreau praises the ability to read the ancient classes in the original Greek and Latin. He even says that Homer hasn't published a book in English (a book translated gives shows no justice to his writing).
In "Sounds", Thoreau adds to the required characteristics of a good reader. He thinks they should also be a seer and a listener, open to nature. Nature is Thoreau's spiritual example, inspiring him in simplicity and its peace, isolating it from civilization. I find it hypocritical that after preaching about what a good reader is, he spends most of his time at Walden, sitting and analyzing his surroundings instead of reading. Thoreau's relationship with the railroad was weird, I thought he was gonna complain about it but instead, he commemorates the men who work on it and its daily whistle reminds him of the hard work these men did. On the other hand, because he's Thoreau, he criticizes their priorities. This chapter shows Thoreau's interest in his surroundings and the pleasure he takes from the emersed and simplicity of nature.
After reading these chapters, going off the chapter "Reading", It made me wonder what I could have missed in translated books because it's not in the original language. Could it be that years of using translated books such as classical novels, textbooks, and more have affected our way of life and learning? Wouldn't it be better if we all learned the languages of these original writings instead of accommodating ourselves by buying the English version?
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