---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By avarice and selfishness, and a…"
description: "\"By avarice and selfishness, and a groveling habit, from which none of us is free, of regarding the soil as property, or the means of acquiring property..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/henry-david-thoreau-20_avarice_by-avarice-and-selfishness-and-a-groveli_440080.jpg"
---

#  By avarice and selfishness, and a groveling habit, from…

![“By avarice and selfishness, and a groveling habit, from which none of us is free, of regarding the soil as property, or the means of acquiring property chiefly, the landscape is deformed, husbandry is degraded with us, and the farmer leads the meanest of lives. He knows Nature but as a robber.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/henry-david-thoreau-20_avarice_by-avarice-and-selfishness-and-a-groveli_440080.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/henry-david-thoreau-20_avarice_by-avarice-and-selfishness-and-a-groveli_440080.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/henry-david-thoreau-20_avarice_by-avarice-and-selfishness-and-a-groveli_440080.jpg)

> “By avarice and selfishness, and a groveling habit, from which none of us is free, of regarding the soil as property, or the means of acquiring property chiefly, the landscape is deformed, husbandry is degraded with us, and the farmer leads the meanest of lives. He knows Nature but as a robber.”

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Treating nature as property degrades land and humanity, reducing people to mere exploiters.

**In simple terms:** Seeing nature as property harms both land and people.

Key Takeaway

Respect nature as a shared trust.

Themes

environment ethics property agriculture

Mood

reflective concerned

Type

philosophical environmental

When to use this quote

- farming
- urban development
- policy making

Key Concepts

sustainability stewardship social justice

Questions to Reflect On

- What responsibilities do we have toward the earth?
- How can societies shift from ownership to stewardship?

A Different Perspective

Changing deep-rooted ownership mindsets is difficult.

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[Avarice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avarice/) [Farmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farmers/) [Farming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farming/) [Farming and farmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farming-and-farmers/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Robbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robbers/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/)

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