Ralph Waldo Emerson was a Harvard graduate and a well-respected preacher. He was a genius and a spiritual leader. There are many qualities about Emerson that are admirable. There is no doubt he probably touched and inspired many people throughout his life. Even after his death, Emerson is still touching people's lives through his writings. His inspirational words lift those who need inspiration and give new appreciation of life for those who take life for granted.
Emerson wrote Nature in 1863. This book contains eight chapters all concerning nature. The chapters have their own unique theme and approach to looking at nature.
Chapter 1. Nature:
In this chapter, Emerson emphasizes the importance of nature and
the way we view it is subjective according to what we are going
through at the time. He states that we need to see nature in a
different way so that we can become divine.
Chapter 2. Commodity:
This chapter stresses the usefulness of nature. Examples of this
would be food and water.
Chapter 3. Beauty:
Emerson states here that nature satisfies the soul with its
beauty.
Chapter 4. Language:
The main point of this chapter is that words are signs of
natural facts.
Chapter 5. Discipline:
This chapter explains that nature is a discipline.
Chapter 6. Idealism:
Emerson states that human senses could be wrong.
Chapter 7. Spirit:
This chapter brings about the idea that spirit is present in all
of nature.
Chapter 8. Prospects:
This final chapter states that the world lacks unity because man
has no unity.
In this book, Emerson shows his love for nature. The first chapter is an introduction to the piece. The next four chapters are the uses of nature. The last three chapters examine nature with deeper thoughts.
My favorite chapter is the third one (beauty). In this chapter, Emerson states that nature is divine beauty and beauty is the mark of God. This particular chapter is my favorite because it stresses the importance of the beauty of nature. This would mean that people should take care of the beautiful earth that God has given mankind.
Emerson wrote "Each and All" in 1862. This poem shows Emerson's love for nature as well. In this poem, Emerson proves that an object is most beautiful its own naural state.
EACH AND ALL
Little thinks, in the field, yon red-cloaked clown,
Of thee, from the hill-top looking down;
And the heifer, that lows in the upland farm,
Far-heard, lows not thine ear to charm;
The sexton tolling the bell at noon,
Dreams not that great Napoleon
Stops his horse, and lists with delight,
Whilst his files sweep round yon Alpine height;
Nor knowest thou what argument
Thy life to thy neighbor's creed has lent:
All are needed by each one,
Nothing is fair or good alone.
I thought the sparrow's note from heaven,
Singing at dawn on the alder bough;
I brought him home in his nest at even;--
He sings the song, but it pleases not now;
For I did not bring home the river and sky;
He sang to my ear; they sang to my eye.
The delicate shells lay on the shore;
The bubbles of the latest wave
Fresh pearls to their enamel gave;
And the bellowing of the savage sea
Greeted their safe escape to me;
I wiped away the weeds and foam,
And fetched my sea-born treasures home;
But the poor, unsightly, noisome things
Had left their beauty on the shore
With the sun, and the sand, and the wild uproar.
The lover watched his graceful maid
As 'mid the virgin train she strayed,
Nor knew her beauty's best attire
Was woven still by the snow-white quire;
At last she came to his hermitage,
Like the bird from the woodlands to the cage,--
The gay enchantment was undone,
A gentle wife, but fairy none.
Then I said, "I covet Truth;
Beauty is unripe childhood's cheat;
I leave it behind with the games of youth."
As I spoke, beneath my feet
The ground-pine curled its pretty wreath,
Running over the club-moss burrs;
I inhaled the violet's breath;
Around me stood the oaks and firs;
Pine cones and acorns lay on the ground;
Above me soared the eternal sky,
Full of light and deity;
Again I saw, again I heard,
The rolling river, the morning bird;--
Beauty through my senses stole,
I yielded myself to the perfect whole.
Emerson could have been the very inspiration for many environmentalists today with all of the deep thoughts about nature in his writings. He has definitely made an impact on my perspective of nature, even though I have always considered myself an enviromentally friendly person. Hopefully many others have decided to not take life for granted after reading some of Emerson's writings. I am sure that is the effect Emerson would have wanted.
Other poems:
THE SNOW-STORM
Announced by all the trumpets of the sky
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.
The steed and traveller stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Come, see the north wind's masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, naught cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly
On coop or kennel he hangs Pariah wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer's lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer's sighs, and at the gate
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone
Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.
GIVE ALL TO LOVE
Give all to love;
Obey thy heart;
Friends, kindred, days,
Estate, good fame,
Plans, credit, and the muse;
Nothing refuse.
'Tis a brave master,
Let it have scope,
Follow it utterly,
Hope beyond hope;
High and more high,
It dives into noon,
With wing unspent,
Untold intent;
But 'tis a god,
Knows its own path,
And the outlets of the sky.
'Tis not for the mean,
It requireth courage stout,
Souls above doubt,
Valor unbending;
Such 'twill reward,
They shall return
More than they were,
And ever ascending.
Leave all for love;--
Yet, hear me, yet,
One word more thy heart behoved,
One pulse more of firm endeavor,
Keep thee to-day,
To-morrow, for ever,
Free as an Arab
Of thy beloved.
Cling with life to the maid;
But when the surprise,
Vague shadow of surmise,
Flits across her bosom young
Of a joy apart from thee,
Free be she, fancy-free,
Do not thou detain a hem,
Nor the palest rose she flung
From her summer diadem.
Though thou loved her as thyself,
As a self of purer clay,
Tho' her parting dims the day,
Stealing grace from all alive,
Heartily know,
When half-gods go,
The gods arrive.
If you would like to read more of
Emerson's works, many are located at your local library. Also check out some of the other links on this website.
If you have read and enjoyed some of Emerson's writings, you may also enjoy reading Henry David Thoreau's Walden, or Life in the Woods.
All of the writings mentioned on this page and many other early American writings are discussed in depth in American Literature classes. If you are interested in registering, contact your local university, or check out one of the links on this site.
 Ralph Waldo Emerson texts |
| R.W. Emerson Great Books Index |
| Amazon- online bookstore |
| Thoreau-Ecology Hall of Fame |
| Roane State Community College |
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