by Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. Great men are more distinguished by range and extent, than by originality. If we require the originality which consists in weaving, like a spider, their web from their own bowels; in finding clay, and making … Read the rest
Category: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Spiritual Laws
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
When the act of reflection takes place in the mind, when we look at ourselves in the light of thought, we discover that our life is embosomed in beauty. Behind us, as we go, all things … Read the rest
The American Scholar
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Mr. President and Gentlemen,
I greet you on the recommencement of our literary year. Our anniversary is one of hope, and, perhaps, not enough of labor. We do not meet for games of strength[1] or skill, … Read the rest
The Over-Soul
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
ESSAY IX The Over-Soul
There is a difference between one and another hour of life, in their authority and subsequent effect. Our faith comes in moments; our vice is habitual. Yet there is a depth in … Read the rest
The Poet
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
A moody child and wildly wise
Pursued the game with joyful eyes,
Which chose, like meteors, their way,
And rived the dark with private ray:
They overleapt the horizon’s edge,
Searched with Apollo’s privilege;
Through man, … Read the rest
Uses of Great Men
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
IT is natural to believe in great men. If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us. All mythology opens with demigods, and the … Read the rest
Manners
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essay IV Manners
Half the world, it is said, knows not how the other half live. Our Exploring Expedition saw the Feejee islanders getting their dinner off human bones; and they are said to eat their … Read the rest
Nature
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
INTRODUCTION.
OUR age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we … Read the rest
Nature (from Second Series)
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essay VI Nature
There are days which occur in this climate, at almost any season of the year, wherein the world reaches its perfection, when the air, the heavenly bodies, and the earth, make a harmony, … Read the rest
New England Reformers
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Whoever has had opportunity of acquaintance with society in New England, during the last twenty-five years, with those middle and with those leading sections that may constitute any just representation of the character and aim of … Read the rest