"-even these forms of penance are hardly more incredible and astonishing than the scenes which I daily witness. The twelve labors of Hercules were trifling in comparison with those my neighbors have undertaken; for they were only twelve, and had an end; but I could never see that these men slew or captured any monster or finished any labor. They have no friend Iolas to burn with a hot iron the root of the hydra's head, but as soon as one head is crushed, two spring up."
~ Henry David Thoreau
"Economy"
Walden
I really enjoy the reference to mythology and I feel that this reference is especially helpful in getting Thoreau's point across. In this passage he is comparing the trials of his neighbor to the twelve labors of Hercules. He says that even though his neighbors may be battling labors harder than those of Hercules, they have nothing to show for it. No monster to show off as their prize and nothing to show for their work. Their labors are never ending while Hercules was done after twelve.
"I trust that nothing can make life a burden to me. The gentle rain which waters my beans and keeps me in the house to-day is not drear and melancholy, but good for me too. Though it prevents my hoeing them, it is of far more worthy than my hoeing. If it should continue so long as to cause the seeds to rot in the ground and destroy the potatoes in the low lands, it would still be good for the grass on the uplands, and, being good for the grass, it would be good for me."
~Henry David Thoreau
"Solitude"
Walden
I really enjoyed this passage. Thoreau manages to see the brighter side of the rain, even though it keeps him locked up inside of his house he knows that in the long run it is going to help him out by helping his beans grow. Or if it rains too much and kills his beans, it is still good for his surrounding environment and for him that is still good. While most people would focus on their loss of food, Thoreau does not see it as a burden or doesn't allow himself to see it as a burden.
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