Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- A Note on the Texts -- Introduction: Thoreau's Garment of Art -- On Pronouncing the Name Thoreau -- A Thoreau Chronology -- Thoreau Describes Himself -- Questions -- The Thoughts and Words of Henry D. Thoreau -- Beauty -- Brute Neighbors: Animals, Birds, Fish, and Insects -- Change -- Character -- Charity and Philanthropy -- Children -- Cities -- Conservation -- Conversation and Talk -- Day and Night -- Dress and Fashion -- Education and Learning -- Expectation -- Experience -- Farmers and Farming -- Food and Diet -- Freedom and Slavery -- Friendship -- Genius -- Good and Evil -- Government and Politics -- Health and Illness -- The Heard and the Unheard -- Sound -- Silence -- Music -- The Heavens: Sun, Moon, and Stars -- Heroes and the Heroic: Courage and Fear, Right and Wrong -- Higher Law -- Human Nature -- The Mass of Men -- Individuality -- Hunting and Fishing -- Imagination -- Indians -- Institutions -- Land: Mountains, Bogs, and Meadows -- Life and Death -- From His Death-Bed -- Literary Matters -- Writing and Writers -- Poets and Poetry -- Books -- Love -- Manners -- Nature -- News, Newspapers, and the Press -- Observation -- Opinion and Advice -- Past, Present, and Future -- Possessions -- Poverty and Wealth -- Religious Concerns -- Religion and Religions -- Faith and Spirit -- God -- Science -- The Seasons -- Simplicity -- Society -- Temperament and Attitude -- Thoughts and Thinking -- Time -- Travel and Home -- Trees and Woods -- Truth and Sincerity -- Walking -- Water: Rivers, Ponds, and Oceans -- Weather: Rain, Snow, and Wind -- Wildness -- Wisdom and Ignorance -- Women -- Work and Business -- On Miscellaneous Subjects -- Alertness -- America -- Amusement -- The Animal in Us -- Architecture -- Art -- Aspiration -- Autumn Leaves -- Awakedness -- Banks -- Bathing -- Beer -- Borrowing.

Boundaries -- Castles in the Air -- Circumstantial Evidence -- Color -- Common Sense -- Compensation -- Compliments -- Conformity -- Consistency -- Criticism -- Deliberation -- Dreams -- Echoes -- Emergencies -- Enthusiasm -- Epitaphs -- Exaggeration -- Facts -- Fame -- The Family of Man -- Fate -- Fathers -- Fault -- Gardening -- Graves -- Haste -- Heaven on Earth -- History -- Humor -- Improvements -- Inspiration -- Integrity -- The Invitation -- Justness -- Leisure -- Letter Writing -- Libraries -- Life Misspent -- Lost and Found -- Majesty -- Maps -- Marriage -- Memory -- Miracles -- Misery -- Misfortune -- Mistakes -- The Mysterious and Unexplored -- Names -- New Day -- New Year -- Novelty -- Nudity -- Originality -- Patience -- Praise -- Prayer -- Prejudice -- Preparation -- Presents -- Private Property and Public Land -- Profanity -- Prophets in the Family -- Reputation -- Responsibility -- Rest -- Revenge -- Roads -- Saving Our Lives -- Senses -- Sex -- Size -- The Spur of the Moment -- Suspicion -- Transcendentalism -- Unexplored Lands -- Voting and Elections -- War -- Weeds -- Thoreau Describes His Contemporaries -- Amos Bronson Alcott -- John Brown -- Thomas Carlyle -- Thomas De Quincey and Charles Dickens -- Mary Moody Emerson -- Ralph Waldo Emerson -- Nathaniel Hawthorne -- Thomas Wentworth Higginson -- Henry James, Sr -- Horace Mann -- George Minott -- Wendell Phillips -- Daniel Webster -- Walt Whitman -- Thoreau Described by His Contemporaries -- Physical Characteristics -- Conduct and Character -- Anecdotes -- Death -- Some Final Assessments -- Appendix: Misquotations and Misattributions -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.