In this third section, Emerson comments on the scholar’s need for action, for physical labor. He rejects the notion that the scholar should not engage in practical action. Action, while secondary to thought, is still necessary: “Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential.” Furthermore, not to act […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The American Scholar Paragraphs 21-30 – The Influence of ActionSummary and Analysis of The American Scholar Paragraphs 10-20 – The Influence of the Past
Emerson devotes much of his discussion to the second influence on the mind, past learning — or, as he expresses it, the influence of books. In the first three paragraphs of this section, he emphasizes that books contain the learning of the past; however, he also says that these books […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The American Scholar Paragraphs 10-20 – The Influence of the PastSummary and Analysis of The American Scholar Paragraphs 8-9 – The Influence of Nature
In these two paragraphs comprising the first section on how a scholar should be educated, Emerson envisions nature as a teacher that instructs individuals who observe the natural world to see — eventually — how similar their minds and nature are. The first similarity he discusses concerns the notion of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The American Scholar Paragraphs 8-9 – The Influence of NatureSummary and Analysis of The American Scholar Paragraphs 1-7 – Man Thinking
Emerson opens “The American Scholar” with greetings to the college president and members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College. Pointing out the differences between this gathering and the athletic and dramatic contests of ancient Greece, the poetry contests of the Middle Ages, and the scientific academies of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The American Scholar Paragraphs 1-7 – Man ThinkingSummary and Analysis of The American Scholar About The American Scholar
Originally titled “An Oration Delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at Cambridge, [Massachusetts,] August 31, 1837,” Emerson delivered what is now referred to as “The American Scholar” essay as a speech to Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa Society, an honorary society of male college students with unusually high grade point […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of The American Scholar About The American ScholarSummary and Analysis of Nature Glossary
sepulchres Vaults for burial. hieroglyphic A picture or symbol representing a sound or a word; widely used by the ancient Egyptians. maugre In spite of. slough The skin of a snake, especially the outer layer that is periodically cast off. connate Tnborn; innate. Eolus In Greek mythology, the god of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of Nature GlossarySummary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 8 – Prospects
The essay’s final chapter opens with reflections on how to study nature. According to Emerson, intuition is more preferable in trying to understand nature than are the calculated measurements of science and geology. Empirical science, based on detailed observation, studies individual objects, but it fails to place them back into […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 8 – ProspectsSummary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 7 – Spirit
Attempting to penetrate the mystery of nature’s vital unity, Emerson’s language and concepts concerning a universal spirituality suggest mystical truths beyond the reach of ordinary understanding. Whenever we try to define what this spirit is that permeates nature, our comprehension fails us, but we still feel that nature has spiritual […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 7 – SpiritSummary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 6 – Idealism
Emerson now tackles the difficult question of subjective truth and the impossibility of verifying the truth of external reality. It is not possible to prove absolutely that what our senses perceive is real. The average person — Emerson uses the carpenter as one example of such a person — doesn’t […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 6 – IdealismSummary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 5 – Discipline
By claiming that people can come to know nature “by degrees,” Emerson now distinguishes which faculties people use in this process. He names these faculties Understanding and Reason, and he attempts to show the relationship between them. Everything in nature offers lessons that we can learn. Understanding requires our perceiving […]
Read more Summary and Analysis of Nature Chapter 5 – Discipline