Emerson, Fuller and Thoreau

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Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

• Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose original profession and calling was as a Unitarian minister, left the ministry to pursue a career in writing and public speaking.

• Emerson became one of America's best known and best loved 19th century figures.

• The Sage of Concord and the intellectual center of the American Renaissance, Ralph Waldo Emerson, as preacher, philosopher, and poet, embodied the finest spirit and highest ideals of his age.

• A thinker of bold originality, his essays and lectures offer models of clarity, style, and thought, which made him a formidable presence in 19th century American life.

• Born on May 3, 1803, in Boston, Waldo, as he preferred to be called, received a classical education at Boston Latin School and at Harvard College.

• Following in his father's footsteps, Emerson was ordained a Unitarian minister in 1829, but he experienced a religious crisis after the death from tuberculosis of his first wife, the beautiful and romantic Ellen Tucker, to whom he had been married only eighteen months.

• Resigning from the Second Church and journeying to England in 1832, he became friends with Carlyle, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, and began to formulate his Transcendental faith.

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THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE & TRANSCENDENTALISM

• "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men."

• With this fiery challenge Ralph Waldo Emerson concluded his 1837 Harvard Phi Beta Kappa Address, THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR.

• As his words were received with great enthusiasm, Emerson argued not only for a new American culture, freed from European bondage, but also for a rebirth of an intellectual and artistic life that was inextricably bound up with the life of the spirit.

• Before long, Emerson and his circle of writers, reformers, and artists would christen those ideals which governed the spirit "Transcendentalism."

• The term Transcendentalism was derived from the philosopher Kant, who called "all knowledge transcendental which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects.“

• The roots of the American philosophy ran deep into German and English Romanticism.

• In his 1841 address delivered at Boston's Masonic Temple , which was later reprinted in THE DIAL, Emerson attempted to define the philosophy in simple terms as "What is popularly called Transcendentalism among us, is Idealism; Idealism as it appears in 1842."

• In reality it was far more complex collection of beliefs:– that the spark of divinity lies within man;– that everything in the world is a microcosm of existence;– that the individual soul is identical to the world soul, or Over-Soul, as Emerson called

it.

• This belief in the Inner Light led to an emphasis on the authority of the Self– to Walt Whitman's I ,– to the Emersonian doctrine of Self-Reliance,– to Thoreau's civil disobedience,– and to the Utopian communities at Brook Farm and Fruitlands.

• By meditation, by communing with nature, through work and art, man could transcend his senses and attain an understanding of beauty and goodness and truth.

• Transcendentalism dominated the thinking of the American Renaissance, and its resonances reverberated through American life well into the 20th century.

• In one way or another our most creative minds were drawn into its thrall, attracted not only to its practicable messages of confident self-identity, spiritual progress and social justice, but also by its aesthetics, which celebrated, in landscape and mindscape, the immense grandeur of the American soul.

• Emerson believed in:– individualism, non-conformity, and the need for harmony between

man and nature. – He was a proponent of abolition, and spoke out about the cruel

treatment of Native Americans. – Influenced by the Eastern philosophy of unity and a divine whole,

emphasizing God Immanent, to be found in everyone and everything, Emerson sowed the seeds of the American Transcendentalist movement.

– He realized the importance of the spiritual inner self over the material external self through studying Kantianism, Confucianism, Neo-Platonism, Romanticism, and dialectical metaphysics and reading the works of Saint Augustine, Sir Francis Bacon, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Shakespeare among many others.

• During his lifetime and since Emerson has had a profound influence on some of the 19th and 20th century's most prominent figures in the arts, religion, education, and politics.

Self-Reliance

• "Self-Reliance" is an essay that urges readers to trust their own intuition and common sense rather than automatically following popular opinion and conforming to the will of the majority.

• "Self-Reliance" was published in 1841 in a collection entitled Essays.

Themes

• Trust Your Own Inner Voice – Emerson urges his readers to retain the outspokenness of a small child

who freely speaks his mind because he has not yet been corrupted by adults who tell him to do otherwise.

– He also urges readers to avoid envying or imitating others viewed as models of perfection; instead, he says, readers should take pride in their own individuality and never be afraid to express their own original ideas. In addition, he says, they should refuse to conform to the ways of the popular culture and its shallow ideals; rather they should live up to their own ideals, even if doing so reaps them criticism and denunciation.

• Avoid Consistency as an End in Itself – Being consistent is not always wise.– An idea or regimen to which you stubbornly cling can become

outmoded tomorrow

Point of View

• .......Emerson uses first-, second-, and third-person point of view. In the opening paragraph of the essay, he first writes in the first person, telling readers about an experience of his. Then, after only three sentences, he switches to second person, as if he is advising a listener sitting across the table from him. Later, in the paragraph, he switches to third person as he presents an exhortation about humankind in general. Following is the first part of the essay, in which Emerson uses all three points of view–first person in black, second person in red, and third person in blue:

• I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may. The sentiment they instil [Emerson's spelling of instill] is of more value than any thought they may contain. To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,—that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost,—and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment. Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plato, and Milton is, that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men but what they thought. A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his.

Style

• .......Among the most notable characteristics of Emerson’s writing style are these: – (1) thorough development of his thesis through examples,

repetition, and reinforcement; – (2) coinage of memorable statements of principle, or aphorisms;– (3) frequent references (allusions) (to historical and literary

figures, such as Socrates, Galileo, Copernicus, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Franklin, Dante, and Scipio (ancient Roman general who defeated Hannibal), who embody qualities Emerson discusses;

– (4) frequent use of figurative language to make a point, such as “An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man” (metaphor) and “They who made England, Italy, or Greece venerable in the imagination did so by sticking fast where they were, like an axis of the earth” (simile).

Promotion of American Creativity • Because Emerson eschewed imitation (as noted under

Theme), he urged Americans to avoid mimicking art and ideas from abroad. He writes: – Our houses are built with foreign taste; our shelves are

garnished with foreign ornaments; our opinions, our tastes, our faculties, lean, and follow the Past and the Distant....Why need we copy the Doric or the Gothic model? Beauty, convenience, grandeur of thought, and quaint expression are as near to us as to any, and if the American artist will study with hope and love the precise thing to be done by him, considering the climate, the soil, the length of the day, the wants of the people, the habit and form of the government, he will create a house in which all these will find themselves fitted, and taste and sentiment will be satisfied also.

Emerson and Transcendentalism

• .......Emerson believed every human being has inborn knowledge that enables him to recognize and understand moral truth without benefit of knowledge obtained through the physical senses.– Using this inborn knowledge, a gift of God, an individual can make a moral decision without

relying on information gained through everyday living, education, and experimentation. – One may liken this inborn knowledge to conscience or intuition.

• .......Emerson and others who believed that this inborn knowledge served as a moral guiding force were known as transcendentalists—that is, they believed that this inner knowledge was a higher, transcendent form of knowledge than that which came through the senses.– Because Emerson and his fellow transcendentalists trusted their own inner light as a moral

guiding force, they were possessed of a fierce spirit of self-reliance. – They were individualists; they liked to make decisions for themselves. – If the government adopted a policy or a law that offended their consciences, they generally

reacted strongly. •

.......Transcendentalism, as Emerson’s moral philosophy was called, did not originate with him or his fellow transcendentalists in New England but with the German philosopher Emanuel Kant. – He used the German word for transcendental to refer to intuitive or innate knowledge—

knowledge that is a priori rather than a posteriori.

Summary of the Essay

• .......A man should believe in himself. When he has an original thought, he should embrace it and make it known to others rather than reject it simply because it is his own and therefore unworthy. "Else, to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another." .......It is better to exercise the power within yourself than to envy and imitate others. When you are young, you are bold and independent; you assert yourself. You listen to the voice within and express yourself without bias and fear. But as you grow older, you surrender your liberty to society. You want to be like others, act like others. And so you suppress yourself. .......However, if you want to be a man, you must be a nonconformist. Unfortunately, though, we let others have too much influence over us. These may be men of vanity and malice who take up philanthropic or noble causes–a bigot, for example, who says he supports abolition but keeps black people at a distance. He loves from afar. .......Many men think virtue is the exception rather than the rule. They perform acts of charity as if they were paying a fine or doing a penance."I do not wish to expiate, but to live. My life is for itself and not for a spectacle. I much prefer that it should be of a lower strain, so it be genuine and equal, than that it should be glittering and unsteady." .......I do not need or want the approval of other men. What I believe I should do is what concerns me, not what other people think I should do. Of course, it is not easy to follow your own inner voice, for there are always those who will try to make you conform to the public will. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great "man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." .......Conformity turns your life into a lie because in living according to the will of others you are not being true to yourself. To conform, to please others, you put on a false face, smiling when in the presence of people with whom you feel uncomfortable or pretending to be interested in dull conversation. .......Consistency can also a problem. If you strive to be consistent in all things, you live according to a pattern—a pattern you are afraid to break out of because you are afraid that people will look down on you. Bosh! "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall." What if what you said today is not consistent with what you said yesterday? Why, then, people will misunderstand you. But is that so bad? Socrates and Jesus were misunderstood. So were Galileo and Newton and other wise men. .......I wish we could do away with consistency and conformity. Men who listen to themselves rather than to the common herd are true men. And it is true men who leave their mark on history. .......If all men became self-reliant, then all of their activities and institutions would be better: religion, education, the way they live, the way they think.

Notable Quotations From "Self-Reliance"

• Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. • Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. • What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. • A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little

statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.

• Travelling is a fool's paradise. • Insist on yourself; never imitate. • Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the

other. • The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. • An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man. • Discontent is the want of self-reliance: it is infirmity of will. • Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but

the triumph of principles.

Cont. • Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. • Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. • What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. • A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little

statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.

• Travelling is a fool's paradise. • Insist on yourself; never imitate. • Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the

other. • The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. • An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man. • Discontent is the want of self-reliance: it is infirmity of will. • Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you

peace but the triumph of principles.

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