What does Thoreau mean when he says government is at best an expedient but most governments are usually and all governments are sometimes inexpedient?

What does Thoreau mean when he says government is at best an expedient but most governments are usually and all governments are sometimes inexpedient?

What does Thoreau mean when he writes, “Government is at best an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient?”a. Thoreau means that the government does better when they are not involved in an issue. They are better when the government stays out of it.

What does Thoreau mean when he says government is best which governs least and that government is best which governs not at all?

Thoreau presents his belief that government should be limited. He believes in the motto, “[t]hat government is best which governs least,” (part 1, par. 1) meaning that the government should not have strong influence or power.

What is the meaning of the words expedient and inexpedient as used in the text?

An expedient is “a means of coming to an end”. Inexpedient means “not suitable or advisable.”

What does Thoreau mean by that government is best which governs not at all?

Civil Disobedience

What was Thoreau’s opinion of government?

Thoreau argued that the government must end its unjust actions to earn the right to collect taxes from its citizens. As long as the government commits unjust actions, he continued, conscientious individuals must choose whether to pay their taxes or to refuse to pay them and defy the government.

How is intellect a cleaver?

He is comparing time to a stream. “The intellect is a cleaver”. Your intellect can be used to discover the meaning of life. Thoreau used many metaphors to explain/describe life in the woods.

What does Thoreau mean when he says intellect is a cleaver?

When he states “The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way into the secret of things” he means that there is no need of over thinking and overanalyzing the happenings of life, for we are born with all the knowledge we need to survive.

How does Thoreau feel about intellect?

He writes, “I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born, The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way in to the secret of things.” What Thoreau titles as wisdom, I see as creativity.