Here are two paragraphs taken from the essay “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark.
What pretty oracles nature yields us on this text, in the face and behaviour of children, babes, and even brutes! That divided and rebel mind, that distrust of a sentiment because our arithmetic has computed the strength and means opposed to our purpose, these have not. Their mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered, and when we look in their faces, we are disconcerted. Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it, so that one babe commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it. So God has armed youth and puberty and manhood no less with its own piquancy and charm, and made it enviable and gracious and its claims not to be put by, if it will stand by itself. Do not think the youth has no force, because he cannot speak to you and me. Hark! in the next room his voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic. It seems he knows how to speak to his contemporaries. Bashful or bold, then, he will know how to make us seniors very unnecessary."
What pretty oracles nature yields us on this text, in the face and behaviour of children, babes, and even brutes! That divided and rebel mind, that distrust of a sentiment because our arithmetic has computed the strength and means opposed to our purpose, these have not. Their mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered, and when we look in their faces, we are disconcerted. Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it, so that one babe commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it. So God has armed youth and puberty and manhood no less with its own piquancy and charm, and made it enviable and gracious and its claims not to be put by, if it will stand by itself. Do not think the youth has no force, because he cannot speak to you and me. Hark! in the next room his voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic. It seems he knows how to speak to his contemporaries. Bashful or bold, then, he will know how to make us seniors very unnecessary."
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson- Texts. Accessed January 12, 2015. http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a big creator and supporter of Transcendentalism. In the essay, Self Reliance, Emerson speaks of his beliefs based around Transcendentalism. He believes that it is a great way to live your life and the only way people should be living their lives. His purpose for publishing this essay was to have people read his ideas and put them to use in their own lives. This is a great trustworthy source as I have read the exact same one in my English class.
The essay gives mainly Emerson's opinions and views on Transcendentalism. He talks nothing of the event effecting other people at the time. This essay teaches us what Emerson believes is the basis of Transcendentalism, Self Reliance. Emerson talks about how to be happy and to be with God and nature people must rely on themselves and not others. People must be independent and come up with their own ideas and ways of life. Emerson speaks about how society has become very conformed so no one is an individual creating new ideas. He also talks about how the young seem to have the right idea in the beginning. The children speak out without much thought and are very honest; Emerson admires that about children. Throughout the essay he seems to be trying to convince you that this way is the right way.
Thanks for reading,
Julianna O
