Essays, First Series

Ralph Waldo Emerson

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Jul 26, 2013 - Philosophy - 260 pages

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher, poet, and essayist. He was the leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century. His voice and beliefs greatly influenced the Growing New Thought movement of his time and today. Religious Science and Unity can both attribute to his influence. This collection of the first series of essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson collects some of the classic thoughts of this important American and leader of the Transcendentalist movement. Contained in this volume are the following essays: History, Self-Reliance, Compensation, Spiritual Laws, Love, Friendship, Prudence, Heroism, The Over-Soul, Circles, Intellect, and Art.

About the author

Known primarily as the leader of the philosophical movement transcendentalism, which stresses the ties of humans to nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and essayist, was born in Boston in 1803. From a long line of religious leaders, Emerson became the minister of the Second Church (Unitarian) in 1829. He left the church in 1832 because of profound differences in interpretation and doubts about church doctrine. He visited England and met with British writers and philosophers. It was during this first excursion abroad that Emerson formulated his ideas for Self-Reliance. He returned to the United States in 1833 and settled in Concord, Massachusetts. He began lecturing in Boston. His first book, Nature (1836), published anonymously, detailed his belief and has come to be regarded as his most significant original work on the essence of his philosophy of transcendentalism. The first volume of Essays (1841) contained some of Emerson's most popular works, including the renowned Self-Reliance. Emerson befriended and influenced a number of American authors including Henry David Thoreau. It was Emerson's practice of keeping a journal that inspired Thoreau to do the same and set the stage for Thoreau's experiences at Walden Pond. Emerson married twice (his first wife Ellen died in 1831 of tuberculosis) and had four children (two boys and two girls) with his second wife, Lydia. His first born, Waldo, died at age six. Emerson died in Concord on April 27, 1882 at the age of 78 due to pneumonia and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Essays, First Series
• Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013
• ISBN: 1491099259, 9781491099254
• Length: 260 pages
• Subjects: Philosophy / General