ABSTRACT
Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) and his masterpiece, Walden, are both ingrained in our lives. Thoreau was neither a prolific writer nor a bestselling author; even his masterpiece was far from being a literary success. Walden is the testimony of a life seeking the unity of idea and action, of values and deeds. The reason why the authors consider this book a pioneering classic within the already vast canon of environmental literature is related to the fact that, for Thoreau, as well for Emerson, there is no truly ontological barrier between humankind and nature. They are both modalities of thought. For Thoreau, humans are the creatures that are able to find themselves while looking for nature; or the beings that, when in silent meditation, achieve the clear notion that trees, birds, sunlight, running water, the shifting seasons, nature as a whole is a core element of our own identity.
