- "Now is the time for chestnuts. A stone cast against the trees shakes them down in showers upon one's head and shoulders. But I cannot excuse myself for using the stone. It is not innocent, it is not just, so to maltreat the tree that feeds us. I sympathize with the tree, yet I heaved a big stone against the trunks like a robber,- not too good to commit murder. I trust that I shall never do it again. It is worse than boorish, it is criminal, to inflict an unnecessary injury on the tree that feeds or shadows us. Old trees are our parents, and our parents' parents, perchance. If you would learn the secrets of Nature, you must practice more humanity than others. I was affected as if I had cast a rock at a sentient being,- which a duller sense than my own, it is true, but yet a distant relation"
From this exert we can say that Thoreau feels guilt for inflicting pain on the tree, which he personifies by giving it human characteristics such as feelings. We can also tell that for him Nature is like family when he mentions that "old trees are our parents, and our parents' parents." By this quote we can also conclude that Nature has been with us for centuries. Therefore, he feels like a criminal to inflict such pain on a living thing that feeds and shadows him. I also like the fact that he mentions that people would practice more humanity toward others if they knew the secrets of nature. Unlike humans, Nature does not hold back bad feelings or thoughts of revenge toward the human race- although the human race maltreats Nature. On the contrary, Nature still produces food to feed them and still shadows them from the sun.
