Page:Thoreau - His Home, Friends and Books (1902).djvu/49



HE cumulative fame of Thoreau among critics has been due to his pioneer services as naturalist, his strange literary revelations, and his unique, pervasive philosophy of living; the chief interest of the public, however, has centred about his eccentric personality and the few dramatic events of his brief life. There is no passport more sure to arouse curiosity than non-conformity, or marked courage of thought and action. A man or woman who, defying conventionality, dares to make a law of conduct unto himself, however desirous he may be to avoid publicity and live simply, has already assured himself of passing, if not permanent, attention. This interest may be cheap notoriety, it is too often won by a charlatan rather than a sincere reformer, yet the public easily confuses these two types of men, during the primal stages of revealment. Thoreau, as boy and man, had absolute sincerity and persistence to live his principles, yet from his early manhood until now he has been the victim of misinterpretation, both unconscious and