Wild Apples
1862
In this lyrical meditation, Thoreau celebrates the wild apple as a symbol of untamed nature and natural freedom. He contrasts the imperfect, often puckery wild apple with cultivated varieties, arguing that the wild fruit possesses a character that domesticated apples cannot match. Written shortly before his death, the essay weaves botanical observation with philosophical reflection, mourning the loss of wild apple trees to human cultivation while finding profound meaning in their brief, spontaneous existence. The prose pulses with sensory detail: the fragrance of apple blossoms in spring, the taste of wind-bruised fruit in autumn, the craggy beauty of ancient trees growing from stone walls. For readers who crave solitude and wildness, this slim volume offers a meditation on what we lose when we tame the earth.
Editions
X-Ray
“Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous.””
— Henry David Thoreau
“The morning wind forever blows, the poem of creation is uninterrupted;””
— Henry David Thoreau
“I want a whole continent to breathe in, and a good deal of solitude and silence, such as all Wall Street cannot buy,”
— Henry David Thoreau
“What shall we do with a man who is afraid of the woods, their solitude and darkness? What salvation is there for him? God is silent and mysterious. Some of our richest days are those in which no sun shines outwardly, but so much the more a sun shines inwardly. I love nature, I love the landscape, because it is so sincere.””
— Henry David Thoreau
“I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least,”
— Henry David Thoreau
“is desirable that a man be clad so simply that he can lay his hands on himself in the dark, and that he live in all respects so compactly and preparedly that, if an enemy take the town, he can, like the old philosopher, walk out the gate empty-handed without anxiety.””
— Henry David Thoreau
“Good writing as well as good acting will be obedience to conscience. There must not be a particle of will or whim mixed with it. If we can listen, we shall hear. By reverently listening to the inner voice, we may reinstate ourselves on the pinnacle of humanity.””
— Henry David Thoreau
“should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience. Moreover,””
— Henry David Thoreau
“I think that he should keep a caravansary on the world’s highway, where philosophers of all nations might put up, and on his sign should be printed, “Entertainment for man, but not for his beast. Enter ye that have leisure and a quiet mind, who earnestly seek the right road.””
— Henry David Thoreau
