¡°I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of Walking,¡± wrote the American naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) in an essay titled ¡°Walking.¡±
The first thing to understand is that it is an art ¡ª a religion, more precisely; whose real activity, ¡°sauntering,¡± is no mere synonym for walking. It derives from ¡°sainte terre¡± (holy land). ¡°They,¡± writes Thoreau, ¡°who never go to the Holy Land in their walks... are indeed mere idlers and vagabonds.¡±
No vagabond was he: ¡°I think I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least ¡ª and it is commonly more than that ¡ª sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.