1893 Essays Ralph Waldo Emerson Transcendentalist Self Reliance Nature Spiritual

Description: Essays By Ralph Waldo Emerson Published by R. H. Woodward & Company Baltimore , Maryland 1893 The title-page is undated; the only copyright date stated is 1893. Hardcover. Decorated cloth binding. 4.25" x 5.75" Essays - 208 pages. Second Series - 134 pages. 342 pages in total. 130+ years old. Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States . Transcendentalism is a group of ideas in literature and philosophy that developed in the 1830s and 1840s as a protest against the general state of culture and society. Among the transcendentalists' core beliefs was the belief in an ideal spirituality that "transcends" the physical and empirical and is realized only through the individual's intuition, rather than through the doctrines of established religions. The major figures in the movement were Emily Dickinson , Ralph Waldo Emerson , Henry David Thoreau , Margaret Fuller , and Amos Bronson Alcott . ------ In Emerson's famous essay, " Self-Reliance ," the writer instructs his listener to examine his relationship with Nature and God, and to trust his own judgment above all others. It contains the most thorough statement of one of his recurrent themes: the need for each person to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his or her own instincts and ideas. Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature. In "Nature ", Emerson lays out and attempts to solve an abstract problem: that humans do not fully accept nature's beauty. He writes that people are distracted by the demands of the world, whereas nature gives but humans fail to reciprocate. In his essay " Compensation ," Emerson addresses the topic of karma or cause and effect. He contends that everywhere in nature there is dualism. Dualism is present within us because it balances life instead of having excess to destroy. Opposites like action/reaction, day/night, up/down, even/odd and spirit/matter are used to balance the universe. We must all use moderation in life, instead of excess which can cause defects in our lives. If there is excess it needs to be moderated for proper balance. In " Experience ," Emerson speaks out against the effort to over-intellectualize life. A wise and happy life, Emerson believes, requires a different attitude. ------- Very Good Condition. Light binding wear; very good condition. ( see the photos ) The hinges are tight. No markings. No writing. The pages are clean and in nice condition. ------- The Contents : I. Self-Reliance II. Compensation III. Spiritual Laws IV. Love V. Friendship VI. Prudence VII. Heroism Second Series I. Experience II. Character III. Manners IV. Gifts V. Nature ---------- Carefully packed for shipment to the buyer. -------------- Biographical Information: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American Poet, Essayist, and Philosopher Emerson was born in 1803 in Boston , Massachusetts . After studying at Harvard and teaching for a brief time, Emerson entered the ministry. He was appointed to the Old Second Church in his native city, but soon became an unwilling preacher. Unable in conscience to administer the sacrament of the Lord's Supper after the death of his nineteen-year-old wife of tuberculosis, Emerson resigned his pastorate in 1831. The following year, he sailed for Europe, visiting Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Carlyle, the Scottish-born English writer, was famous for his explosive attacks on hypocrisy and materialism, his distrust of democracy, and his highly romantic belief in the power of the individual. Emerson's friendship with Carlyle was both lasting and significant; the insights of the British thinker helped Emerson formulate his own philosophy. On his return to New England, Emerson became known for challenging traditional thought. In 1835, he married his second wife, Lydia Jackson, and settled in Concord, Massachusetts. Known in the local literary circle as "The Sage of Concord," Emerson became the chief spokesman for Transcendentalism - the American philosophic and literary movement. Centered in New England during the 19th century, Transcendentalism was a reaction against scientific rationalism. Emerson's first book, Nature (1836), is perhaps the best expression of his Transcendentalism, the belief that everything in our world - even a drop of dew - is a microcosm of the universe. His concept of the Over-Soul - a Supreme Mind that every man and woman share - allowed Transcendentalists to disregard external authority and to rely instead on direct experience. "Trust thyself," Emerson's motto, became the code of Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau and W. E. Channing. From 1842 to 1844, Emerson edited the Transcendentalist journal, The Dial. Emerson wrote a poetic prose, ordering his essays by recurring themes and images. Among Emerson's most well known works are Essays, First and Second Series (1841, 1844). The First Series includes Emerson's famous essay, "Self-Reliance," in which the writer instructs his listener to examine his relationship with Nature and God, and to trust his own judgment above all others. Emerson's other volumes include Poems (1847), Representative Men, The Conduct of Life (1860), and English Traits (1865). His best-known addresses are The American Scholar (1837) and The Divinity School Address, which he delivered before the graduates of the Harvard Divinity School, shocking Boston's conservative clergymen with his descriptions of the divinity of man and the humanity of Jesus. Emerson's philosophy is characterized by its reliance on intuition as the only way to comprehend reality, and his concepts owe much to the works of Plotinus, Swedenborg, and Bohme. A believer in the "divine sufficiency of the individual," Emerson was a steady optimist. His refusal to grant the existence of evil caused Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry James, Sr., among others, to doubt his judgment. In spite of their skepticism, Emerson's beliefs are of central importance in the history of American culture. Ralph Waldo Emerson died of pneumonia in 1882.

Price: 35 USD

Location: Coventry, Rhode Island

End Time: 2024-11-07T14:15:22.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.13 USD