Walden and "Civil Disobedience"

" 'the villagers, who scarcely know where it lies, instead of going to the pond to bathe or drink, are thinking to bring its water, which should be as sacred as the Ganges at least, to the village in a pipe, or wash their dishes with it!' " p.XIV

(R) Thoreau seems to have been one of few that saw what was wrong with this picture. He learned to acknowledge and appreciate the importance of nature, and see it for its undisturbed beauty, which caused him to realize what the villagers planned on doing would result in more damage than improvement. He saw it blasphemous to treat something so pure and sacred with no regards for its delineative qualities.