Everything that Thoreau did was interconnected to a single purpose. He knew who he was and he was persistent to fulfill that identity.
His quest, his transcendentalism reconciles all of his divergent interests and seeming paradoxes.
Thoreau’s interest in languages and words were transcendental rather than semantic or etymological.
All of Thoreau’s interests and disciplines took their unique shape in relationship with his quest.
References
Seybold, Ethel. “Proteus.” Thoreau: The Quest and the Classics, Yale University Press, 1951, pp. 1–21.