Cover of Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems

Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems

A new, wide-ranging selection of Ralph Waldo Emerson's most influential writings, this edition captures the essence of American Transcendentalism and illustrates the breadth of one of America's greatest philosophers and poets.

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The writings featured here show Emerson as a protester against social conformity, a lover of nature, an activist for the rights of women and slaves, and a poet of great sensitivity. As explored in this volume, Emersonian thought is a unique blend of belief in individual freedom and in humility before the power of nature. "I become a transparent eyeball," Emerson wrote in Nature, "I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God." Written over a century ago, this passage is a striking example of the passion and originality of Emerson's ideas, which continue to serve as a spiritual center and an ideological base for modern thought.

From the Paperback edition.

Audience
adult
Length
long · 416 pages

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