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The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Belknap Press)

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If a book is ever going to whack you upside the head, this will be the one. I used to think of Emerson and Thoreau interchangeably, as if they were merely conduits of the same fluid. I had already read and enjoyed Thoreau, but Thoreau hadn't changed my life the way I hoped he might. He pointed me into the woods, which I really appreciate, but he didn't pick me up by the lapels and communicate with me. So it took me a while for me to get to Emerson. After all, I had already read Thoreau.

Man, what a shame.

Reading Emerson is like meditating on the wind that whistles through the reeds of a universal lake. He creates an existential sanctuary for the seekers among us, a place where we can strip down to our barest questions and be at peace with not knowing their answers. Emerson strokes our "need to become" like a kind father who understands the hurt but cannot make it disappear. His universal truths of the heart do as much to soothe as to educate. Emerson thought for himself at a time when it was literally dangerous to do so. He excavated his heart, mind, soul, and body for nuggets of wisdom and offered them freely to anyone brave enough to partake.

The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson is a book of vision. We could do well to wallpaper our home with Emerson's quotes and use them as stepping stones in our own life's journey. Emerson has instituted a category of human aspiration that I will call existential, transcendental individualism. His is a rebellious spirit. Not rebellious in the sense that a teenager is rebellious, being unconsciously contrary to any matter of public opinion, but rebellious in a more directed fashion. Emerson looked out and saw a societal charade that seemed to hinder our human potential. Emerson rebelled against the fear and dogma that have always run the masses in favor of a more honest religion, one that allows the spirit of God to "enter by a private door into every individual" (p. 194). Emerson awoke in me a latent skill for independent thinking, a method of dialog that encourages me to question and think even as I find God in every moment. I received from this book everything I had hoped to receive from Thoreau... the Bible... and my endless quest for direction through literature. I discovered that if ever I was going to be an "-ist," I would be an existentialist.

Quotes.Yes, we need quotes. Here is a handful of the countless passages that I underlined in my own copy of the book. I will not introduce these quotes because Emerson can write for himself. Man, can he write for himself...

A mind might ponder its thought for ages, and not gain so much self-knowledge as the passion of love shall teach it in a day.

No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. To be great is to be misunderstood.

It is only as a man puts off all foreign support, and stands alone, that I see him to be strong and to prevail.

No man had ever a defect that was not somewhere made useful to him.

The fact that I am here certainly shows me that the soul had need of an organ here. Shall I not assume the post?

To stand in true relations with men in a false age is worth a fit of insanity, is it not?

We must be our own, before we can be another's.

The essence of greatness is the perception that virtue is enough.

That which we are, we shall teach, not voluntarily, but involuntarily.

God enters by a private door into every individual.

The angels are so enamored of the language that is spoken in heaven that they will not distort their lips with the hissing and unmusical dialects of men, but speak their own, whether there any who understand it or not.

Emerson was rebuked by clergymen who felt threatened by his air of self-reliance. A once-ordained Unitarian minister, Emerson left his pastorate due to doctrinal disputes. This Emerson fellow was actually applying himself to the principles on which the Church convened, not merely going through the motions with the rest of them. Such a man was dangerous. Just as Jesus was dangerous. A man like Emerson might upset the political order,perhaps even ruin the whole tithe racquet. Today Emerson is sometimes rebuked by those who are offended by his "sexist language." Emerson wrote at a time when it was common to use the universal masculine "he," "his," and "him." And again his wisdom is lost on those who cannot see past their political hang-ups. If we can get beyond our egos, however, we'll see that Emerson has as much to offer the literate community as any scholar, pastor,or messiah in history. And he doesn't hide his message in the space between the lines of a story; he shares his message with the same open, honest spirit that bleeds from every page of this book.

This is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I know that many people don't like to read essays of any kind, but all I can say is that Ralph Waldo Emerson is simply different! Nobody has the gift to write essays and analyze life like him.

His words and ideas are so powerful and deep that we soon realize that they didn't come only from a brilliant mind, but also from a warm-hearted soul!

That's exactly what this book is about: Its sentences break through your brain and penetrate right into your soul! Emerson's optimistic view on human beings and life can only reinforce our courage in mankind and, especially, in ourselves!

What else can I say? His speech is direct, he defends all the good values, tell us to have confidence in ourselves and show us that passing through life with dignity is a matter of choice and courage, and that it simply doesn't change with time. It was like this a thousand years ago, it will probably follow the same rules a thousand years f! ! rom now.

This is the book I grab to comfort my spirit when I'm having difficult times... :) It is a guide that make us believe that anything is possible when we really want it! " Self-Reliance ", one of the essays inside this book, is a masterpiece in its own and I believe it should be studied in every high school, instead some of the crap we are usually obliged to read!

This book can shape your spirit and your mind. It is also possibly THE BEST self-help book you could ever own and, yet, a great literary work.

I would rate this book as ageless and I'm sure the future generations will be still interested in it, in the same way we are in those ancient Greek and Roman texts.

This is precious culture and food for your soul as a bargain! Do not waste more time. READ IT!!!

Self Reliance more than anything I have ever read had a positive effect on my life. These essays teach you to "trust yourself" and live your life the way you most want to. I can' describe in words how wonderful and important Ralph Waldo Emerson can be; however the reading will challange you.

If ever there was a man fit to work a suicide hotline, it is Ralph Waldo Emerson. If ever an author is to have a positive effect on one's life, this man is certainly the foremost candidate. Emerson's essays radiate optimism and preach self-confidence; his works contain some of the best lessons one could ever hope to learn and, at the same time, are some of the greatest pieces of literature ever written. Like Tombstone's Doc Holiday, every sentence Emerson offers is quotable. Make no mistake, though, Emerson's words are of a completely different brand than those echoing quotes that decorate hollow speeches; an Emerson quote has meat. In every sentence one can find his complete philosophy, much like, as he writes in The Over-Soul, "One blood rolls uninterruptedly, an endless circulation through all." One's memory of Emerson's entire teachings can be refreshed in a single phrase, but one can never see the genius in his writing without having grasped it in the first place. That is precisely why I would consider offering a Cliff's Notes-type summary of any of Emerson's works one of the gravest literary crimes. Apart from the impossibility of the task, any so-called shortcut would rob the reader of those self-revelations - which are the essence of the Emerson experience - that can only be reached by trudging alone through the depths of the material. The reading is challenging. Each sentence takes on a different meaning upon re-examinations, be they consecutive or periodic. In the first reading, one may be struck by a certain passage's theme or imagery. Upon reading over it seconds later, one may discover a subtle metaphor, and a third reading my suggest another, even-deeper meaning, all of which may be replaced by the impressions of a fourth glance some two or three weeks later. The material is timeless, accommodating the evolving individual as well as the ever-changing human race. We must be careful, though, not to be lulled into the cult-mentality of using Emerson's writings as an instruction manual for our own lives. To do so would be to undermine his entire message. The fruit of the Emerson experience is gaining the self-trust, or Self-Reliance, necessary to follow our own hearts, make our own decisions, and say, with confidence, "Hey, I know what I'm doing."

Although he was considered during his lifetime to be a profoundly radical thinker, Emerson, the Transcendentalist chief, after his death, was soon reinterpreted as a bland Bostonian Brahmin, a mystic anarchist who was only brave on paper. It cannot be denied that his philosophy of a joyful and affirmationist acceptance of life, and of nature, his anti-slavery activities, his attacks on the state and on the sensualism of bourgeois society, could have easily provided the formula for a complete overthrow of the moral order of his time. His libertarian thrust, his serene integrity, his indefatiguable optimism and common sense, however, will continue to find admirers, notwithstanding the fact that political identifications have changed and emphases have shifted, or otherwise one can simply enjoy the polished beauty of his prose style. Though by no means a deep thinker, Emerson's brilliantly epigrammatic, allusive, declamatory, pithy style provides instances where the reader may extrapolate a number of meanings from even the shortest utterances, and it is due to this quality, perhaps, that the Emerson enigma came into being, enabling him to appeal to such numerous and diverse temperaments. His best essays include "The Over-Soul", "Compensation", "Self-Reliance" and "Manners", in which he preaches, in the rhetorical manner reminiscent of his background as a Unitarian minister, his ideals of contenment, joy, independence and self-confidence -- tonics of the soul.

If I could create my ideal afterlife or heaven, I would wish to be forever cradled in the gentle arms and soothing prose of Emerson. Who needs prozac or any psychiatry for that matter when we have access to such beautiful writing?

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist (someone who espouses a philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical), and a Christian minister, who was also steeped in the rich philosophical tradition of the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita. His essays are classic literature at its finest, with a rhythm and cadence that are, even in prose, poetic and musical. The beauty of this prose, in my opinion, is unparalleled.

What Emerson has to say is every bit as important as how he says it. He was a genius with "rough edges" who challenged society to question many of its unexamined assumptions. He did get into trouble for this, and was forced to resign as minister of his church, but Emerson refused to compromise on truth. A rugged individualism and stalwart non-conformity were the cornerstones of his personal philosophy. Emerson was well ahead of his time (1803-1882) and remains so to this day.

Emerson was a far more prominent voice in America than many people today might realize. If you decide to read Emerson, you may very well find yourself repeatedly saying, "so that's who said that." Many profound and moving quotes are attributed to him. His essays, "The Over-Soul" and "Self-Reliance" are justifiably considered among some of the best writing by an American author.

Emerson's voice will certainly not be to everyone's liking, and that is as true today as it was in his time. Because of the style of his prose and the nature of what he wrote about, there will be many who read him and who simply put him aside. On the other hand, don't be surprised if reading Emerson sends shock waves through your central nervous system. For those who really get hooked on Emerson, as I did 32 years ago, he will remain a lifetime companion offering a wealth of insight into the eternal verities of the soul and man's quest for the divine. For my money, there is no finer essayist or "philosopher" than Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Though it's only a few dollars, the Kindle version of this must-have book does not include a table of contents! Unless you want to read the 1000 page book from cover to cover, avoid this version.

There is a tendency for moderns to credit Ralph Waldo Emerson not only as the leading Transcendentalist of his day but also as its sole originator. Such an opinion is an oversimplification which even in Emerson's day was hotly debated. Emerson was certainly one of the movement's luminaries but he was ably assisted by a myriad of lesser known contemporaries, including William Ellery Channing, a leading Unitarian preacher; Amos Bronson Alcott, a controversial author whose books alienated the orthodox Trinitarian church; Margaret Fuller, who became editor of the Dial, the primary if short-lived official journal of the Transcendentalists; and later Henry David Thoreau, whose own contributions to Transcendentalism eventually surpassed those of Emerson.

Transcendentalism did not appear one day from nowhere fully formed. It was an offshoot of Unitarianism, which itself evolved rather unwillingly from Trinitarianism. When Jonathan Edwards preached his fire and brimstone sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God in 1741, he had been trying for years to revive the "man is depraved" basis of Calvinism. Trinitarians, like Edwards, believed that God was manifested in three parts: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Those in the pulpits who had been told endlessly that God was both nasty and unforgiving eventually tired of such hectoring and turned to a simpler creed, Unitarianism that holds that God is complete in only one incarnation, thus denying the need for the tri-part division of the Trinitarians. However, as soon as Unitarianism became established as the successor to the Trinitarian sect, it immediately ran afoul of a mixture of competing faiths and spiritual movements, most of which originated in England and Europe.

Though the Unitarians based their faith on the concept of the oneness of God, they still retained the Puritan tendency to grasp the Mysteries of the Universe through man's rational understanding and sensory impressions. Overseas in Europe, a growing tide of thought emerged which rejected man's rationalism as the only key to unveiling these arcane Mysteries. This tide was an amalgam of the various strands of the Enlightenment. From Germany came the philosophy of Kant, whose definitions of "understanding" and "reason" were instrumental in nudging the future Transcendentalists into accepting the notion that truth transcends the sphere of man's physical senses. From England, came the Romanticism of Wordsworth and Coleridge, both of whom acknowledged that man's intuition rather than his cold logic were quite sufficient to apprehend nature. And from Sweden came the theories of Swedenborg, who demonstrated that the universe was based on a spiritual foundation that permitted man to discern the mystical essences of nature as readily as his physical senses could register their material correspondences.

There were quite a few young pastors like Emerson who had been trained in the new Unitarian faith who now faced the unpleasant prospect of continuing to preach a religion whose central tenets were becoming increasingly difficult to justify or abandoning it for something else. Much of their collective discontent was based on the Unitarian insistence on the primacy of sensory impressions as the most efficient conduit between man and his apprehension of the external universe. This focus on the need of man to utilize his senses to apprehend a chaotic universe was the basis of the theories of John Locke, who suggested that there was no abstract or spiritual essence for man to contemplate since that essence was beyond the scope of his physical senses. According to Locke, the tabula rasa, the blank slate of the mind, could only be filled in by what was there right in front of man and if man could not physically connect himself to an essence, then that essence was held not to exist. Thus for Romanticism and later for Transcendentalism to work, man somehow had to acknowledge that there was indeed a way to bridge the Lockean chasm between that which was provably "real" and that which was arguably "unreal." The first generation of Unitarians solved this dilemma by drawing a clear distinction between the physical "real" and the assumed "unreal." This "real" they called the understanding. It was understood" that man's perception of the universe was based on his receiving sensory impressions directly from the world around him. If man could touch, hear, smell, taste, or see an object, then that object was proven to exist in reality. That which was "unreal" could be discerned only by what they called reason. It was reasonable to assume that somewhere beyond the level of man's physical senses lay a higher, more ethereal world of the unreal that could be apprehended only via man's intuition and observance of truth beyond sense.

By the time that Emerson had renounced his Unitarian beliefs, American style Transcendentalism had already begun to take recognizable shape. What we today call Transcendentalism is a cobbled fabric of like minded individuals, all of whom shared common beliefs. The ability of man to reason a higher form of existence had for too long been overshadowed by his understanding, however false, that reality was limited to the provable here and now. In order to reach this spiritual phase of existence, man had to trust that it was there to be found and that he could use his intuition to find it. As a corollary to trusting oneself in all things it followed that the accepted and revealed dogma of the church had to be rejected. All of the long-established rites of the church were to be discouraged and ultimately discarded. Further, the bible as the Revealed Word of God, had to be similarly discounted as a barrier between Man Thinking and the sought after higher realm of spiritual existence. There would be no need, then, for the church to explain miracles since the ordinary man could perceive them unaided. Indeed, a Transcendentalist would see nature in its entirety as replete with an infinity of miracles, any one of which could render insignificant church-sanctioned miracles. The major figures of orthodox theology--Christ and his apostles--were now to be reduced to human status, untouched by divinity. Ultimately, what began in Europe and culminated in New England as a generalized mixture of philosophy, religion, and the arts morphed into the transcendental literature that became known as the hallmark of Emerson and Thoreau.

You don't have to be a 19th Century New England transcendentalist to appreciate Ralph Waldo Emerson. He didn't prefer that designation either, though credited as the movement's founder. This book was instrumental in steering one 15-year-old to a lifelong appreciation and constant pusuit of classic literature and whatever we can call a distinctively American philosophy. Ummm... that was me, 1978.

Open up Emerson's Essays to any page, and put your finger on any single sentence. You'll have an entire sermon at your fingertip which you can apply--or merely ponder.

--Tom Field