Curtis White, "The spirit of disobedience: an invitation to resistance," Harper's Magazine, April 1, 2006
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Thoreau's famous retreat to Walden Pond is thus in a continuum with his sense of the duty of disobedience. ... He understood this exile as the need to create a society—even if a society of one on the banks of a tiny Massachusetts pond—that he could willingly join.
— Curtis White on Autonomy
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Thoreau's famous retreat to Walden Pond is thus in a continuum with his sense of the duty of disobedience. ... He understood this exile as the need to create a society—even if a society of one on the banks of a tiny Massachusetts pond—that he could willingly join." in the context of "Curtis White, "The spirit of disobedience: an invitation to resistance," Harper's Magazine, April 1, 2006" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Autonomy" (W)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Curtis White
Curtis White is an American essayist and author. He serves as professor of English at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and as President of the Board of Directors of the Center for Book Culture.
About Curtis White
Curtis White is an American essayist and author. He serves as professor of English at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and as President of the Board of Directors of the Center for Book Culture.
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