Self-Reliance and Other Essays

Faulkner’s quip is often held to refer to the American South; a land where the sense of history and tradition run so deep that we are still solving the problems of the 1870s.But it might also be said of Emerson. He was dismissive of the rote education of his day, which emphasized learning dead languages, along with the dates and biographies of notable persons. What he wanted instead was a living absorption of history.Confident that every man has the capacity to be a Caesar within him, the reader of the Commentaries should feel immersed in the courage, temperance and leadership of the Roman general. Similarly, we might read the life of Antony to understand moral purity or Washington to learn the virtues of a modern Cincinnatus.In the penultimate essay Emerson goes so far as to say that Aristotle, Charlemagne and the Buddha are not dead but live on by our continual participation in their spirit.And, while our materialist age may be dismissive of Transcendentalism, even Einstein was moved by the fact that the laws of physics are true whether time runs forward or backward to utter,“People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”Who of us can really answer the child’s question of where the past goes? Is Emerson actually irrational in holding on to the continual influence, the persistence of the living past on our present? Questions to ponder as one reads arguably the most elegant stylist of nineteenth century America.I’ve only touched upon the many insights Emerson offers in these essays. My one regret is that I didn’t read them when I was younger. Highly recommended.

His thinking helps stretch my mind. As I reread his words in this edition, I was again inspired. One of my favorite of his essays, Over soul, was not included. But I was glad to reread TBE ones chosen.

As an avid reader of history, poetry, philosophy and our founding prinicples; I found this book an excellent read.Although I agree that Emerson may trt to make every individual see their own specific capabilites, inner strengths and power and their own worth; he did so under the premise that God and faith and moral truth were always there (and required) to attain such independence and I never got the impression that he ever turned away from faith or Divine inspiration as the foundation for "living well" and living life to its fullest.He correctly addressed his displeasure with the entrenched trappings of those so engrossed in symbolism and dogma that many a religious figure and religious organization had wandered away from the light and the truth of what being moral and "holly" (for lack of a better term)really are.He warned of putting too much trust and faith in those with fancy words, programs or gimmick when talking about truth, because we often find, they may seem to be wise, but they just take us for a ride in the clouds of hope and we are generally let down when we find out that they are as lost as anyone else on how we can truly find the path back to or closer to our creator.Throughout this book I found just one inconsistency, one undelying war going on in his words. It was the Ying and Yang battle going on beneath the surface for me as i read this work, there seemed to be two opposing/fighting viewpoints).The one warned us of false intellectuals and false philosophies and false leaders and how they pretend to know the way to salvation, forgiveness and ascension...yet in the second he gave poets way too much credit for being near godlike in their understanding of the universe.Now I agree that poets see things in many cases with clearer eyes (or that special inner eye) for I have dabbled in poetry myself and found if very rewarding in the expressions of self from a seemingly higher plane; but I certainly do not give that godlike status that Eerson seems to ascribe to them.However there is so much profound wisdom in this book, and Emerson deserves great credit for his powers of thought and his ability to make us think, that even I could not leave it for long without wanting to come back and finish it.His words will certainly cause me to ponder the wisdom of his remarks for the rest of my days. An essential read for the critical mind.

Have not read this yet

Great book. The many different essays were a delight to read. Reading literature from earlier times gives us insight of where we've been and where we're going

Recommend

It is not that I didn’t understand the essays. For me it was boring. It seemed to me that all of the essays could have rolled into three or four with the same word count equal to one. It was well written and provides a good look into one’s vocabulary.

I needed a palette cleanser & wanted to read something meaningful, but classic. The transcendentalist came to mind! If you are into any form of self discovery, nature, and looking within, this sub genre is so fun to read & research.