Follow the thoughts of essayist, poet and American Transcendentalism founder Ralph Waldo Emerson as he discovered his own belief system in the anthology "Self-Reliance and Other Essays." In "Self-Reliance," Emerson explained that standing on one's own two feet against society was essential to forming a strong union with God. Once this essay was published, it received both wild praise and hurtful backlash from different factions of America. However,...

Building on and enriching ideas set forth in "Self-Reliance", Emerson argues that true heroism is self-confidence and persistency in the face of corrosive pressures to conform to society.

The essay on "Prudence" was given as a lecture in a course on Human Culture, in the winter of 1837-8. It was published in the first series of Essays, which appeared in 1841. In it, Emerson describes Prudence as "The virtue of the senses" and admits to having little of it in himself.

In "Manners", Ralph Waldo Emerson expounds on the meaning of customs and politeness in civil society. He argues that the purpose of manners is more to facilitate the creation and proper working of society, and not to establish hierarchies.

In "Gifts" Ralph Waldo Emerson muses on the function of and expectations surrounding the giving of gifs. He touches on what gifts communicate about the nature of the giver and receiver, and how the best kind of gift is a gift of love.

Emerson's treatise on the nature of friendship. "The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.

This comprehensive collection of Emerson's work includes his Address to Harvard Divinity College, his poetry, and the famous essays 'Self-Reliance' (Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist), 'Compensation', 'The Poet', and his study of the English national character, English Traits, which earned him much admiration in England. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a philosopher and poet who developed the concept of New England Transcendentalism, a form of...

This version of Nature is an 1843 revision to the popular essay written and published in 1836. In the original essay, Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism, and suggested that reality can be understood by studying nature. Within the essay, Emerson divides nature into four usages: Commodity, Beauty, Language and Discipline. These distinctions define how humans use nature for their basic needs, their desire for delight, their communication...

American essayist, philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882) lead Transcendentalism in the early nineteenth century and greatly influenced the later New Thought movement. Summing up his work, Emerson said that his primary principle was "the infinitude of the private man", and advised to "make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." His First Series collects together the following 12 essays: History, Self-Reliance,

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"Maugre all the selfishness that chills like east winds to the world, the whole human family is bathed with an element of love like a fine ether" Ralph Waldo Emerson, known as the father of Transcendentalism, rejected the puritan picture of human depravity and instead argued that people were inherently good. In these essays, titled 'Friendship', 'Love', 'Prudence', 'Heroism', 'Character' and 'Manners', Emerson claims that human connection and an...