Bronson Alcott's Fruitlands

Front Cover
Houghton Mifflin, 1915 - Fruitlands (Harvard, Mass.) - 185 pages

From inside the book

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page xiii - We have no title-deeds to house or lands ; Owners and occupants of earlier dates From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates.
Page 110 - It was Father's and my birthday. We had some nice presents. We played in the snow before school. Mother read "Rosamond" when we sewed. Father asked us in the eve what fault troubled us most. I said my bad temper. I told mother I liked to have her write in my book. She said she would put in more, and she wrote this to help me: — DEAR LOUY, — Your handwriting improves very fast.
Page 69 - I will not prejudge them successful. They look well in July. We will see them in December.
Page 105 - Father asked us what was God's noblest work. Anna said men, but I said babies. Men are often bad; babies never are. We had a long talk, and I felt better after it, and cleared up. We had bread and fruit for dinner. I read and walked and played till supper-time. We sung in the evening. As I went to bed the moon came up very brightly and looked at me. I felt sad because I have been cross to-day, and did not mind Mother. I cried, and then I felt better, and said that piece from Mrs. Sigourney, "I must...
Page 156 - Cakes of maple sugar, dried peas and beans, barley and hominy, meal of all sorts, potatoes, and dried fruit. No milk, butter, cheese, tea, or meat, appeared. Even salt was considered a useless luxury and spice entirely forbidden by these lovers of Spartan simplicity. A ten years...
Page 155 - Timon had so faithfully carried out his idea of "being, not doing," that she had found his "divine growth" both an expensive and unsatisfactory process. Here her husband struck into the conversation, his face shining with the light and joy of the splendid dreams and high ideals hovering before him. "In these steps of reform, we do not rely so much on scientific reasoning or physiological skill as on the spirit's dictates. The greater part of man's duty consists in leaving alone much that he now does....
Page 38 - Alcott attaches great importance to diet and government of the body; still more to race and complexion. He is an idealist, and we should say Platonist, if it were not doing injustice to give any name implying secondariness to the highly original habit of his salient and intuitive mind. He has singular gifts for awakening contemplation and aspiration in simple and in cultivated persons.
Page xiii - ALL houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors.
Page 156 - Shall I subjugate cattle ? Shall I claim property in any created thing ? Shall I trade ? Shall I adopt a form of religion ? Shall I interest myself in politics ? To how many of these questions, — could we ask them deeply enough — and could they be heard as having relation to our eternal welfare — would the response be
Page 172 - Yes, we have. I sold all we could spare, and have enough to take us away from this snowbank." "Where can we go?" "I have engaged four rooms at our good neighbor, Lovejoy's. There we can live cheaply till spring. Then for new plans and a home of our own, please God.

Bibliographic information