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Summary: Ralph Waldo Emersom: an appreciation
Review: 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.
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Summary: Inspite of it is super old,yet wonderful
Review: I can hundred percent sure Emerson's essays will be venerable as Shakespare's works someday,he changed my predujice of English,which I thought English has no quality as French or Russian,those had depth of thinking that English cannot instead of.Now I recently contacted Emerson's poetics ,also fall in love with those lyric prose,they really touched my heart,those are not kind of verbose,oppositely with philosophy of his unique stance.Nothing can prove its well inspirations,except read it.So,just start your reading right now.
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Summary: The very best book I've ever read.
Review: 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.
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Summary: Emerson ... Words on learning to live, not words to live by.
Review: 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."
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Summary: Food for the Soul
Review: 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?
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Summary: Food for the Soul
Review: 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?
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Summary: Way beyond great
Review: 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!!!
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