Thoreau's "Life without Principle" and the Art of Living and Getting a Living

Often seen as an anti-work crank, Henry David Thoreau was, in reality, an astute philosopher of work who devised a philosophy that envisioned the beneficial role work plays in the well-lived life. His essay "Life without Principle" is a jeremiad that laments the ways that materialism corrupts work, and calls upon his readers to repent and turn to a life of self-culture guided by moral and spiritual values. Salvation of work comes from a life lived with principle that makes work pleasurable for the worker, moral in its execution, and beneficial to the common good.