“Which is the best man to deal with,-he who knows nothing about a subject, and, what is extremely rare, knows that he knows nothing, or he who really knows something about it, but thinks that he knows all?”

American transcendentalist writer and naturalist of the mid-19th century, Thoreau is best known for his philosophical essays and his two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond. His work bridges practical observation of nature with deep reflection on individualism, civil disobedience, and the importance of living deliberately.