he result. All the parts incessantly work into each other's hands for the profit of man. The wind sows the seed; the sun evaporates the sea; the wind blows the vapor to the field; the ice, on the other side of the planet, condenses rain on this; the rain feeds the plant; the plant feeds the animal; and thus the endless circulation's of the divine charity nourish man. (www.jjnet.com/emerson/commodity.htm)Emerson emphasizes that true wisdom and power are not contained in material possessions, but it is that which is free, accessible, and immortal that leads to divinity. Nature is God's playground, His work of art, His place of refuge, His pervading image of perfection that he shares with His creation, humanity. He offers it to us as a gift, a sanctuary, and surely no gift should be abused or neglected. In Nature, Emerson attempts to delineate a way of life that leads to success. Devoid, perhaps, of monetary value is true wealth is derived from the roots; the roots of nature's soil, the roots of God, and the roots of the individual. No amount of money could ever surpass the richness of the trees, the sun, or even the rocks, because it is those elements of which have been touched by God.Henry David Thoreau posits very similar convictions in his literary masterpiece Walden. He emphasizes the importance of individuality and a complete rejection of conformity. J. Lyndon Shanley comments that "...he kept repeating in public and in private, by act and by word, that he was his own man and nobody else's. You might say his life and writings were one long declaration of independence" (Spiller 26). His journey into the woods is based entirely on finding the "good life" and doing so alone since he felt that one must struggle to find his own path through life. Thoreau, like Emerson, found true beauty in nature and sought immersion in what he saw as perfection similar to that within himself. "Assuming that natural facts properly perceived and ...
