"The world is enigmatical, every thing said and every thing known and done, and must not be taken literally, but genially. ... "Emerson's moral doctrines could not sustain Thoreau for long," Worster concludes, "for they were aspiring branches that had no roots to support them. They were ideas that were not soiled enough." (4) Worster's figure of difference, complete with Thoreauvian pun--the spiritual airiness of Emerson's imagination can't compare to the fecal matter of Thoreau's ecological ideas--maps a path in the ecocritical reading of Thoreau by way of Emerson tha...

• Word Count: 9971
• Approx Pages: 40
• Grade Level: Undergraduate