Category Archives: Literature

Quote: Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Thomas Wentworth Higginson, (born December 22, 1823, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.—died May 9, 1911, Cambridge), American reformer who was dedicated to the abolition movement before the American Civil War. During the Civil War Higginson accepted command of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, later the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, the first black regiment in the U.S. armed forces. After 1864 he wrote a series ofContinue reading “Quote: Thomas Wentworth Higginson”

Quote: Henry David Thoreau

“I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits unless Ispend four hours a day at least — and it is commonly morethan that — sauntering through the woods and over the hillsand fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements. […]the walking of which I speak has nothing in it akin to takingexercise, asContinue reading “Quote: Henry David Thoreau”

A Survey By Way Of Preface

The train, the car, the buggy, the bicycle are excellent means of getting from place to place; none of them gives him leisure to note what lies between. That is peculiarly the walker’s gain. It is then that he gathers the harvest of the quiet eye, and he sees not only the widespread landscape, but also the details of Nature’s plan.

Quote: Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote speaks directly to the sacrament of ad Communionem for the the Order. “There are two companions, with one or other of whom it is desirable to go out on a tramp. One is an artist, that is, who has an eye for beauty. If you use a good and skilful companion, you shallContinue reading “Quote: Ralph Waldo Emerson”

Quote: J. Brooks Atkinson

“Walking companions, like heroes, are difficult to pluck out of the crowd of acquaintances. Good dispositions, ready wit, friendly conversation serve well enough by the fireside but they prove insufficient in the field. For there you need transcendentalists — nothing less; you need poets, sages, humorists and natural philosophers.” — J. Brooks Atkinson, “A NoteContinue reading “Quote: J. Brooks Atkinson”

Quote: Stephen Graham, “ The Gentle Art of Tramping”

“On the road the weak and strong points of character are revealed. There are those who complain, making each mile seem like three; there are those who have untapped reserves of cheerfulness, who sing their companions through the tired hours.” Stephen Graham Stephen Graham World Traveller

Quote: Soren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard, from a letter to his favorite niece, Henriette Lund, in 1847 “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that oneContinue reading “Quote: Soren Kierkegaard”

If You Know Bourke You Know Australia

I WAS in Bourke, New South Wales – the outback, that most powerful of Australian words – the edge of the world, where the unknown begins. I was having a break from writing Cold Light and I had my backpack and gear with me, intending to do a trek in that hard country, maybe to look at a geological oddity called Mount Gunderbooka, about sixty kilometres south-west of the dwindling township of Bourke. The mountain name carried within it the word ‘book’.