Perfect love is rare indeed – for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety微妙；敏锐；精明 of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar学者 and the fortitude of the certain笃定者.
– Leo Buscaglia
What does Thoreau‘s quote mean: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them."
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.”
At the most basic level this quote is just an observation, like much of Walden, about what he sees around him distilled into an idea concrete enough to actually discuss. This observation amounts to, most people don’t do what they want, they do what they must. The people Thoreau sees around him don’t say, “Ah, farming, it’s my passion, what I’ve always wanted to do”. Instead they accept what they were told to do, not necessarily explicitly, and live their lives accordingly.
His next point is another observation that when you lead a life based on resignation, everything becomes work. Even your play becomes about survival, which isn’t really play at all when you think about it.
For a modern example consider a consultant who has to travel for work. On the surface it may seem nice, travelling to scenic places like Florida or Hawaii, drinking at nice bars and eating at nice places.
But it’s work.
When they’re drinking at a bar it’s to make a deal. When they’re lounging around the pool it’s with a client. Their relaxation has become something the company sells, their good image and personable employees. It sounds nice because the closest thing we equate it with is vacation but it’s not, it’s work.
I don’t think there’s necessarily a value judgment here. Obviously desperation has a negative connotation which he has chosen deliberately, but I’m not sure there’s another word that paints the concept of having to do something in a positive light. It’s also important to note that Thoreau explicitly states that he isn’t speaking to everyone. He is speaking to “the mass of men who are discontented, and idly complaining of the hardness of their lot or of the times, when they might improve them.”
In a nutshell that’s what Walden is about, how we inherit all of these things. Ideas are given to us like a hand-me-downs and most people have a hard time saying no to free things. We’re told that this is what life is, you do what your dad did, live like the church teaches, and say what the politicians tell you, and if you follow it exactly that’s a good life. Thoreau says you may not know it but you have a choice. He says if you’re unhappy do something, change your work, change your thoughts, change your life. There are plenty of ways to live, here’s what I did. If you’re unhappy with your life, live a different way.
