Henry David Thoreau, the naturalist, philosopher, and author of such classics as ‘Walden’ and ‘Civil Disobedience,’  contributed a number of writings to The Atlantic in its early years. Shortly after his death from tuberculosis, in May 1862, the magazine published “Walking,” one of his most famous essays, which extolled the virtues of immersing oneself in nature and lamented the encroachment of private ownership upon the wilderness.

Writes Thoreau: “I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.”  Full essay via http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1862/06/walking/304674/