Short summary
Key points
Ensure that you are warm enough
As a result of his observations, the author noticed that while animals required only shelter and food, human beings needed fuel and clothing on top of that to feel secure. He made a reasonable conclusion that only after a person had satisfied the needs mentioned above would they effectively take care of other issues in life.
In Thoreau's philosophy, fuel meant fire, which people used to cook food and heat their shelters. Fire and the clothes they created kept them warm. For animals, food is the only fuel, and it keeps them warm, keeps them alive. In the same way animals strive to sustain their inner “fire” by eating, people do the same by wearing clothes and heating their food and houses. As such, putting all the puzzle pieces together, we realize that our primary need lies in keeping ourselves warm from the inside and outside.
Having this need met, people get the opportunity to develop their inner world. That's what philosophers do. They observe the external, analyze it, try to become better, and convey their knowledge through the text. Thoreau wondered why people stagnate once they obtain a certain amount of wealth. He compared the material world to the soil and a human being to the seed. Soil provides all necessary elements for the seed to grow, but why doesn't the seed rise over the ground?