--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we call wildness is a civilization…" description: "\"What we call wildness is a civilization other than our own.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/henry-david-thoreau-20_civilization_what-we-call-wildness-is-a-civilization_1836328.jpg" --- # What we call wildness is a civilization other than our own. ![“What we call wildness is a civilization other than our own.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/henry-david-thoreau-20_civilization_what-we-call-wildness-is-a-civilization_1836328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/henry-david-thoreau-20_civilization_what-we-call-wildness-is-a-civilization_1836328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/henry-david-thoreau-20_civilization_what-we-call-wildness-is-a-civilization_1836328.jpg) > “What we call wildness is a civilization other than our own.” [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. He suggests that what we label as “wildness” is simply a different form of civilization, challenging the notion of nature versus culture. **In simple terms:** Wildness is another kind of civilization. Key Takeaway Recognize diverse ways of living. Themes nature culture civilization environment Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban gardening - alternative communities - eco‑tourism - indigenous practices - sustainable living Key Concepts anthropology ecology relativism Questions to Reflect On - How do we respect different cultures? - What defines a civilization? A Different Perspective It can romanticize non‑Western societies without critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Wildness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildness/) ## Related quotes > [Real freedom lies in wildness, not civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/real-freedom-lies-in-wildness-not-civilization/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/real-freedom-lies-in-wildness-not-in-civilization/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [I long for wildness, a nature which I cannot put my foot through, woods where the wood thrush forever sings, where the hours are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-long-for-wildness-a-nature-which-i-cannot-put-my-foot-through-woods/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have lately been surveying the Walden woods so extensively and minutely that I now see it mapped in my minds eye - as,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-lately-been-surveying-the-walden-woods-so-extensively-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The West of which I speak is but another name for the Wild; and what I have been preparing to say is, that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-west-of-which-i-speak-is-but-another-name-for-the-wild-and-what-i/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There is in my nature, methinks, a singular yearning toward all wildness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-is-in-my-nature-methinks-a-singular-yearning-toward-all-wildness/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In short, all good things are wild and free. There is something in a strain of music, whether produced by an instrument or by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-short-all-good-things-are-wild-and-free-there-is-something-in-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We need the tonic of wildness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-need-the-tonic-of-wildness/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In wildness is the preservation of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-wildness-is-the-preservation-of-the-world/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It is in vain to dream of a wildness distant from ourselves. There is none such. It is the bog in our brains and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-in-vain-to-dream-of-a-wildness-distant-from-ourselves-there-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Whatever has not come under the sway of man is wild. In this sense original and independent men are wild - not tamed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/whatever-has-not-come-under-the-sway-of-man-is-wild-in-this-sense/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The wildest dreams of wild men, even, are not the less true, though they may not recommend themselves to the sense which is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-wildest-dreams-of-wild-men-even-are-not-the-less-true-though-they/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute Freedom and Wildness, as contrasted with a Freedom and Culture merely civil, - to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-wish-to-speak-a-word-for-nature-for-absolute-freedom-and-wildness/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As I came home through the woods with my string of fish, trailing my pole, it being now quite dark, I caught a glimpse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-i-came-home-through-the-woods-with-my-string-of-fish-trailing-my/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every wild apple shrub excites our expectation thus, somewhat as every wild child. 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