Thoreau writes in his journal:
A. Bronson Alcott writes to his wife Abigail:
Life is full of compensations, so say the philosophers, and to make good the saying, comes the last of them, and I think, if not the wisest, very wise, certainly, and entertaining, Thoreau, to pass the afternoon and drink tea with Anna and myself, without you. And spend an hour after, talking delightfully.
(The Letters of A. Bronson Alcott, 301)
Alcott also writes in his journal:
Comes Thoreau and sups with us. We discuss thought and style. I think his more primitive than that of any of our American writers—in solidity, in organic robust quality unsurpassed, as if Nature had built them out for herself and breathed into them free and full, seasoning every member, articulating every sense with her salubrities and soul of soundness. He is rightly named Thorough, Through, the pervading Thor, the sturdy sensibility and force in things.
(The Journals of Bronson Alcott, 315)
