Summary and Analysis of Self-Reliance About Self-

Reliance
Published first in 1841 in Essays and then in the 1847 revised edition ofEssays, "Self-
Reliance" took shape over a long period of time. Throughout his life, Emerson kept
detailed journals of his thoughts and actions, and he returned to them as a source for
many of his essays. Such is the case with "Self-Reliance," which includes materials
from journal entries dating as far back as 1832. In addition to his journals, Emerson
drew on various lectures he delivered between 1836 and 1839.

The first edition of the essay bore three epigraphs: a Latin line, meaning "Do not seek
outside yourself"; a six-line stanza from Beaumont and Fletcher's Honest Man's
Fortune; and a four-line stanza that Emerson himself wrote. Emerson dropped his
stanza from the revised edition of the essay, but modern editors have since restored it.
All three epigraphs stress the necessity of relying on oneself for knowledge and
guidance.

The essay has three major divisions: the importance of self-reliance (paragraphs 1-17),
self-reliance and the individual (paragraphs 18-32), and self-reliance and society
(paragraphs 33-50). As a whole, it promotes self-reliance as an ideal, even a virtue, and
contrasts it with various modes of dependence or conformity.

Because the essay does not have internally marked divisions delineating its three major
sections, readers should number each paragraph in pencil as this discussion will make
reference to them.

Summary and Analysis of Self-RelianceParagraphs 1-17 -

The Importance of Self-Reliance
Emerson begins his major work on individualism by asserting the importance of thinking
for oneself rather than meekly accepting other people's ideas. As in almost all of his
work, he promotes individual experience over the knowledge gained from books: "To
believe that what is true in your private heart is true for all men — that is genius." The
person who scorns personal intuition and, instead, chooses to rely on others' opinions
lacks the creative power necessary for robust, bold individualism. This absence of
conviction results not in different ideas, as this person expects, but in the acceptance of
the same ideas — now secondhand thoughts — that this person initially intuited.

The lesson Emerson would have us learn? "Trust thyself," a motto that ties together this
first section of the essay. To rely on others' judgments is cowardly, without inspiration or
hope. A person with self-esteem, on the other hand, exhibits originality and is childlike
— unspoiled by selfish needs — yet mature. It is to this adventure of self-trust that
Emerson invites us: We are to be guides and adventurers, destined to participate in an
act of creation modeled on the classical myth of bringing order out of chaos.
Although we might question his characterizing the self-esteemed individual as childlike,
Emerson maintains that children provide models of self-reliant behavior because they
are too young to be cynical, hesitant, or hypocritical. He draws an analogy between
boys and the idealized individual: Both are masters of self-reliance because they apply
their own standards to all they see, and because their loyalties cannot be coerced. This
rebellious individualism contrasts with the attitude of cautious adults, who, because they
are overly concerned with reputation, approval, and the opinion of others, are always
hesitant or unsure; consequently, adults have great difficulty acting spontaneously or
genuinely.

Emerson now focuses his attention on the importance of an individual's resisting

pressure to conform to external norms, including those of society, which conspires to
defeat self-reliance in its members. The process of so-called "maturing" becomes a
process of conforming that Emerson challenges. In the paragraph that begins with the
characteristic aphorism "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist," he asserts
a radical, even extreme, position on the matter. Responding to the objection that
devotedly following one's inner voice is wrong because the intuition may be evil, he
writes, "No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature . . . the only right is what is
after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it." In other words, it is better to be
true to an evil nature than to behave "correctly" because of society's demands or
conventions.

The non-conformist in Emerson rejects many of society's moral sentiments. For

example, he claims that an abolitionist should worry more about his or her own family
and community at home than about "black folk a thousand miles off," and he chides
people who give money to the poor. "Are they my poor?" he asks. He refuses to support
morality through donations to organizations rather than directly to individuals. The
concrete act of charity, in other words, is real and superior to abstract or theoretical
morality.

In a subdued, even gentle voice, Emerson states that it is better to live truly and
obscurely than to have one's goodness extolled in public. It makes no difference to him
whether his actions are praised or ignored. The important thing is to act independently:
"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think . . . the great man is
he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of
solitude." Note that Emerson contrasts the individual to society — "the crowd" — but
does not advocate the individual's physically withdrawing from other people. There is a
difference between enjoying solitude and being a social hermit.

Outlining his reasons for objecting to conformity, Emerson asserts that acquiescing to
public opinion wastes a person's life. Those around you never get to know your real
personality. Even worse, the time spent maintaining allegiances to "communities of
opinion" saps the energy needed in the vital act of creation — the most important
activity in our lives — and distracts us from making any unique contribution to society.
Conformity corrupts with a falseness that pervades our lives and our every action: ". . .
every truth is not quite true." Finally, followers of public opinion are recognized as
hypocrites even by the awkwardness and falsity of their facial expressions.

Shifting the discussion to how the ideal individual is treated, Emerson notes two
enemies of the independent thinker: society's disapproval or scorn, and the individual's
own sense of consistency. Consistency becomes a major theme in the discussion as he
shows how it restrains independence and growth.

Although the scorn of "the cultivated classes" is unpleasant, it is, according to Emerson,
relatively easy to ignore because it tends to be polite. However, the outrage of the
masses is another matter; only the unusually independent person can stand firmly
against the rancor of the whole of society.

The urge to remain consistent with past actions and beliefs inhibits the full expression of
an individual's nature. The metaphor of a corpse as the receptacle of memory is a
shocking — but apt — image of the individual who is afraid of contradiction. In this vivid
image of the "corpse of . . . memory," Emerson asks why people hold onto old beliefs or
positions merely because they have taken these positions in the past. Being obsessed
with whether or not you remain constant in your beliefs needlessly drains energy — as
does conformity — from the act of living. After all, becoming mature involves the
evolution of ideas, which is the wellspring of creativity. It is most important to review
constantly and to reevaluate past decisions and opinions, and, if necessary, to escape
from old ideas by admitting that they are faulty, just as the biblical Joseph fled from a
seducer by leaving his coat in her hands, an image particularly potent in characterizing
the pressure to conform as both seductive and degrading.

Noteworthy in this discussion on consistency is the famous phrase "A foolish

consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." The term "hobgoblin," which symbolizes
fear of the unknown, furthers the effect produced by the "corpse" of memory and
reinforces Emerson's condemnation of a society that demands conformity. Citing
cultures that traditionally frown on inconsistency, Emerson points out that history's
greatest thinkers were branded as outcasts for their original ideas — and scorned as
such by their peers. Notable among these figures is Jesus Christ.

What appears to be inconsistency is often a misunderstanding based on distortion or

perspective. Emerson develops this idea by comparing the progress of a person's
thoughts to a ship sailing against the wind: In order to make headway, the ship must
tack, or move in a zigzag line that eventually leads to an identifiable end. In the same
way, an individual's apparently contradictory acts or decisions show consistency when
that person's life is examined in its entirety and not in haphazard segments. We must
"scorn appearances" and do what is right or necessary, regardless of others' opinions or
criticisms.

Society is not the measure of all things; the individual is. "A true man," Emerson's label
for the ideal individual, "belongs to no other time or place, but is the centre of all things.
Where he is, there is nature." Nature is not only those objects around us, but also our
individual natures. And these individual natures allow the great thinker — the ideal
individual — to battle conformity and consistency.

Summary and Analysis of Self-RelianceParagraphs 18-32

- Self-Reliance and the Individual
The second section of "Self-Reliance" offers more suggestions for the individual who
wants to achieve the desirable quality of self-reliance. Emerson begins with a directive:
"Let a man then know his worth, and keep things under his feet." Material objects,
especially those that are imposing — Emerson cites magnificent buildings and heroic
works of art, including costly books — often intimidate people by making them feel of
lesser worth. This feeling of inferiority is a mistake: Humans determine an object's
worth, not vice versa. Emerson illustrates this point by relating a fable of a drunkard who
is brought in off the street and treated like a royal personage; the unthinking individual is
like the drunkard, living only half awake, until he comes to his senses by exercising
reason and discovers that he is actually a prince.

One cause for our not exercising reason is the uncritical manner in which we read.
Complaining that we often enjoy reading about the exploits of famous people while
ignoring or devaluing books about ordinary righteousness and virtue, Emerson asks
why people view the acts of well-known individuals as more important than the behavior
of ordinary citizens, even though the good or bad behavior of ordinary people can have
effects as noble or as dire as the actions of the powerful. Condemning European
monarchies, he considers why royalty is accorded exaggerated respect despite the
equal importance of common people; he can reason only that ordinary people respect
royalty in recognition that a king or a queen represents the "royal" nature of every
person, an argument he rejects outright.

Given the inferiority that an individual can feel when confronted by conformity and
consistency, and now commonality, Emerson wonders how people remain confident in
their abilities. The answer is provided by "that source, at once the essence of genius, of
virtue, and of life, which we call Spontaneity or Instinct." The wisdom that springs from
spontaneous instinct is Intuition, or inner knowledge from directly apprehending an
object. All other knowledge is mere tuition, secondhand beliefs received from others
instead of a uniquely individual response that was sparked by the source itself. This
notion of Intuition is closely related to a main idea of transcendentalism: An all-
encompassing "soul" animates the universe and is the source of all wisdom and
inspiration. Direct knowledge, or intuition, is gained as a gift from this overwhelming
source. But exactly what Emerson means by "Intuition" and "soul" is difficult to grasp,
even for him: "If we ask whence this comes, if we seek to pry into the soul that causes,
all philosophy is at fault. Its presence or its absence is all we can affirm."

Emerson now introduces a contrasting idea to the portrait he has drawn of the intuitive
individual: the characteristics and behavior of the "thoughtless man," who cannot see
the depth of truth being used by the self-reliant, intuitive person. Thoughtless people
cannot understand self-reliant individuals' seeming inconsistencies because thoughtless
people are too worried about being consistent — as society oppressively wants them to
be.

Transcendence is gained only through intuitive knowledge. Describing this transcendent

quality is difficult, Emerson says, because we have no concrete words for such an
abstract state of mind. It is beyond language and can be conveyed only in negatives, by
telling what it is not: "And now at last the highest truth of this subject remains unsaid;
probably cannot be said; for all that we say is the far-off remembering of the intuition."
This type of understanding does not come from any teacher or intermediary; moreover,
it reaches deeper than any kind of emotion, such as hope, gratitude, or even joy.

Attempting to relate transcendence to what he has been saying about self-reliance,

Emerson emphasizes the important process of eternally evolving for the better. The
self-reliant individual is not beholden to society: Although society may remain stagnant,
the individual constantly changes, growing more virtuous and noble. This person gains
something that others in society do not: namely, the knowledge — and, by extension,
the power — of the permeating spirit that animates all things, be they natural objects —
plants, animals, or trees — or social activities — for example, commerce or war.

In the paragraphs leading up to this section's conclusion, Emerson moves from analysis
to exhortation, offering suggestions on how we should act. Although everyone can
become a model of self-reliance for the improvement of society, he asserts that "we" —
the lazy, non-self-reliant individuals — are a "mob." Too many people, he says, are led
by suggestions, by desires, and by feelings of responsibility. Instead of practicing
independent self-reliance, we give in to others' demands. He urges us to place truth
before politeness, value integrity more than comfort, and abandon hypocrisy in favor of
honesty. Acknowledging that the self-reliant individual risks being misunderstood as
merely selfish or self-indulgent, he vows that individuals who rigorously follow their
consciences will be more "godlike" than individuals who follow society's laws.

Summary and Analysis of Self-RelianceParagraphs 33-50

- Self-Reliance and Society
In the final third of "Self-Reliance," Emerson considers the benefits to society of the kind
of self-reliance he has been describing. His examination of society demonstrates the
need for a morality of self-reliance, and he again criticizes his contemporary Americans
for being followers rather than original thinkers. Condemning the timidity of most young
people, whose greatest fear is failure, he levels his complaint especially at urban,
educated youths, unfavorably comparing them with a hypothetical farm lad, who
engages himself in many occupations largely self-taught and entrepreneurial. The
comparison between the city youths and the country fellow is to be expected given the
quality of life Emerson traditionally assigns to each environment. Of no surprise is his
favoring the bucolic life.
Emerson now focuses on four social arenas in which self-reliant individuals are needed:
religion, which fears creativity; culture, which devalues individualism; the arts, which
teach us only to imitate; and society, which falsely values so-called progress.

Religion, Emerson says, could benefit from a good dose of self-reliance because self-
reliance turns a person's mind from petty, self-centered desires to a benevolent wish for
the common good. Religion's main problem is its fear of individual creativity. As a
consequence, it opts for the art of mimicry: "Everywhere I am hindered of meeting God
in my brother, because he has shut his own temple doors, and recites fables merely of
his brother's, or his brother's brother's God." Any religion can introduce new ideas and
systems of thought to an individual, but religious creeds are dangerous because they
substitute a set of ready answers for the independent thought required of the self-reliant
person.

Although we might question Emerson's relating travel — or culture — to religion, both

substitute an external source of wisdom for an individual's inner wisdom. The person
who travels "with the hope of finding [something] greater than he knows . . . travels
away from himself, and grows old even in youth among old things." The reference to
youth reminds us that the self-reliant individual is childlike and original, whereas a
person who travels for the wrong reasons creates nothing new and chooses instead to
be surrounded by "old things."

The urge to travel is a symptom, according to Emerson, of our educational system's

failure: Because schools teach us only to imitate, too often we travel to experience
others' works of art rather than create them ourselves. In "The American Scholar,"
Emerson advises young scholars to break with European literary traditions.

Likewise, in "Self-Reliance," he addresses American artists with many of the same

arguments: "Beauty, convenience, grandeur of thought, and quaint expression are as
near to us as to any," if only American artisans would consider "the climate, the soil, the
length of the day, the wants of the people, the habit and form of the government."

Emerson's criticism of society, and especially its ill-conceived notion of progress, differs
from his earlier comments on the subject. The progression of ideas symbolized in the
zigzag line of a ship is not what he is addressing here. He is arguing that society does
not necessarily improve from material changes. For example, advances in technology
result in the loss of certain kinds of wisdom: The person who has a watch loses the
ability to tell time by the sun's position in the sky, and improvements in transportation
and war machinery are not accompanied by corresponding improvements in either the
physical or mental stature of human beings. The most effective image for this static
nature of society is the wave. A wave moves in and out from the shoreline, but the water
that composes it does not; changes occur in society, but "society never advances."

The last two paragraphs of "Self-Reliance" are a critique of property and fortune.
Emerson castigates reliance on property, as he earlier attacked reliance on the thinking
of others, as a means to a full life. Rather than admiring property, the cultivated man is
ashamed of it, especially of property that is not acquired by honest work. Respect for
property leads to a distortion of political life: Society is corrupted by people who regard
government as primarily a protector of property rather than of persons.

Finally, Emerson urges the individual to be a risk taker. No external event, he says,
whether good or bad, will change the individual's basic self-regard. "Nothing can bring
you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." Self-
reliance, then, is the triumph of a principle.

Summary and Analysis of Self-RelianceGlossary

Ne te quaesiveris extraLatin, meaning "Do not seek outside yourself." In other words,
"Look within."

Beaumont, Francis (d. 1616) An English dramatist, he co-authored all of his major
works, including The Maides Ragedy (1611), with John Fletcher.

Fletcher, John (1579-1625) An English dramatist best known for his collaboration with
Francis Beaumont; Fletcher was the sole author of at least fifteen plays.

bantling A baby.

Plato (c. 427-347 B.C.) A Greek philosopher, he formulated the philosophy of idealism,
which holds that the concepts or ideas of things are more perfect — and, therefore,
more real — than the material things themselves.

Milton, John (1608-74) The English poet renowned for his religious epic
poem Paradise Lost (1667), which sought to "justify the ways of God to men."

set at naught To set aside, or deem inconsequential.

firmament The expanse of the heavens; the sky; poetically, a symbol of strength.

piquancy Appealingly provocative.

the pit In early theaters, the cheapest seats behind the orchestra, below the level of the
stage.

cumbers To trouble the mind or the senses.

eclat A dazzling display.

Lethe In Greek mythology, the river of forgetfulness that flows between the world of the
living and the underworld of the dead.
titular Existing only in title, or name.

ephemeral Short-lived; transitory.

Barbados The easternmost island of the West Indies, Barbados was a British colony
until it became independent in 1966; British legislation abolished slavery in the West
Indies in 1833.

lintel The horizontal door post of a house.

Whim Emerson is recalling Exodus 12, in which God instructs Moses to mark the doors
of Hebrew homes with blood so that the inhabitants will be spared when God passes
through Egypt to "smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast." Here,
Emerson is saying that instead of marking the house with blood, he would mark the
house with the word "Whim," thereby characterizing the inhabitants as utterly devoid of
personal integrity.

alms to sots Donations to drunkards.

bleeding A medical practice in which blood is released from a patient's veins,

supposedly to drain away infections or toxic matter.

Bible-society One of a number of societies organized for translating and distributing

bibles.

blindman's buff A game in which a blindfolded player tries to catch and identify other
players.

mow To grimace.

magnanimity The quality of being generous in forgiving insult or injury.

Joseph and the harlot A reference to the biblical Joseph, who refused the advances of
an Egyptian officer's wife (the "harlot"); the woman then falsely accused him of rape,
and Joseph was thrown in jail, where he received his gift of dream interpretation.

hobgoblin A frightening apparition; a goblin.

Pythagoras (sixth century B.C.) Greek philosopher; considered to be the first true
mathematician.

Socrates (d. 399 B.C.) A Greek philosopher, he initiated a question-and-answer

method of teaching — called the Socratic method — as a means of achieving self-
knowledge; opponents of Socrates' method felt that he was undermining the authority of
the state by teaching youths to question received knowledge. He was brought to trial,
convicted of corrupting youth, and condemned to die; he carried out the sentence by
drinking poison.

Luther, Martin (1483-1546) A German theologian, Luther is credited with initiating the
Protestant Reformation; he believed in the ability of educated lay people to form ethical
and religious judgments based on their own interpretations of scripture.

Copernicus, Nicolaus (1473-1543) The Polish astronomer who theorized that the earth
revolves around the sun.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) An Italian scientist, Galileo furthered the theories advanced
by Copernicus through use of the telescope; his views were considered a threat to
certain religious doctrines, and he was obliged to publicly retract some of his assertions.

Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727) English mathematician and scientist; Newton is chiefly
remembered for formulating the law of gravity.

Andes A South American rugged mountain chain that runs parallel to the Pacific coast,
through Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.

Himmaleh The Himalaya Mountains are the highest in the world, forming the northern
border of Nepal.

acrostic A short poem in which the first, middle, or last letter of each line spells a word
or phrase when read in sequence.

Alexandrian stanza A palindrome; an arrangement of words that reads the same

backwards or forward — for example, "If I had a hi-fi."

tacks The movement of a sailboat against the wind by setting sails and steering back
and forth across the direction of the wind; each leg of the journey is a single tack.

Chatham, First Earl of (1708-78) More widely known as Willim Pitt the Elder, he
supported the American colonists' bid for independence in the British Parliament.

port Bearing; posture.

ephemera Something that has a transitory existence.

gazetted Here, meaning "dismissed."

Spartan fife Refers to the fife, a small flute, used in tandem with drums to provide
cadence for marching soldiers.
Caesar, Gaius Julius (100-44 B.C.) A Roman general, statesman, and emperor,
Caesar was given a mandate by the people to rule as dictator for life; he was stabbed to
death by a group of republicans led by Brutus and Cassius.

Monachism of the Hermit Anthony The construction of the abbeys of St. Anthony
marked the beginning of Christian monasticism.

Reformation A sixteenth-century movement in Europe to reform excesses and

deficiencies in the Church, the Reformation eventually resulted in the separation of the
Protestant churches from what then came to be known as the Roman Catholic Church.

Quakerism Officially called the Society of Friends; a group of Christians originating in

seventeenth-century England under George Fox. They hold that believers receive direct
guidance from a divine inner light.

Fox, George (1624-91) The founder of the Society of Friends (1647), popularly called
the Quakers, Fox preached equality between men and women, and pacifism. The
Quaker doctrine of inner enlightenment is similar to transcendentalists' emphasis on
intuitive knowledge.

Methodism Founded by John Wesley (1703-91), Charles Wesley (1707-88), and others
in England during the early 1700s, this Protestant religion emphasized doctrines of free
grace and individual responsibility.

Clarkson, Thomas (1760-1846) A pioneer of the British antislavery movement.

Scipio Africanus the "Elder" (237-183 B.C.) Until Julius Caesar, he was the greatest
Roman general, defeating the mighty Hannibal at Zama in 202 B.C.

charity-boy A boy attending a school for indigent children and funded by charitable
donations.

interloper One who interferes in the affairs of others.

mendicant Taking the characteristics of a beggar.

sycophantic Trying to win favors from influential people by excessive fawning and
flattery.

Alfred (d. 899) Alfred was the king (871-99) of what was then called West Saxony, in
the southwest portion of England.

Scanderbeg (d. 1468) Revolutionary leader and national hero of Albania.

Gustavus (1594-1632) Gustavus was the Swedish king responsible for making Sweden
a major European power; after his troops marched through Germany, he became
known as the "Lion of the North." During his reign, a short-lived Swedish colony — the
only one in the Americas — was founded in what is now Delaware.

hieroglyphic A picture or symbol representing a sound or a word; best known for being
used by the ancient Egyptians.

parallax The apparent change in the position of an object, resulting from a change in
the position from which it is viewed.

David (d. 962 B.C.) The second king of Judah and Israel, David is the reputed author of
many of the Psalms; the most famous stories about David concern his success as a
young shepherd boy over the great Philistine warrior Goliath, and his love for the king's
son, Jonathan, who loved David with a love that "was wonderful, surpassing the love of
women" (I Samuel 17:48; 11 Samuel 1:26-27).

Jeremiah Hebrew prophet during the period 626 B.C. to the fall of Jerusalem in 586
B.C.; his texts are compiled in the Book of Jeremiah, also called Lamentations.

Paul (c. first century) Termed the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul was a Hebrew who had
Roman citizenship; while on the road to Damascus, he saw a vision of Christ and was
converted to Christianity. His writings in the New Testament articulate the foundations
for most Christian beliefs.

grandames Grandmothers.

Judas Iscariot (d. 33) Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve Apostles and the betrayer
of Christ.

Thor In Norse mythology, the god of thunder; he is commemorated in the name of the
fifth day of the week, Thursday.

Woden The Anglo-Saxon form of Odin, chief among the Norse and Germanic gods.

Saxon breasts Part of the American construction of race in the 1800s was the
development of the notion of a "Saxon" or "Anglo-Saxon" race, supposedly derived from
the Teutonic conquerors of England following the Roman Empire; Americans who
wished to maintain an elite class of descendants of northern European Protestants
excluded Irish, eastern and southern Europeans, and people of color from the notion of
"true" Americans.

antinomianism Belief in the religious doctrine that promotes faith rather than
adherence to moral laws.

Zoroaster (sixth century B.C.) The Persian prophet who founded a religious system
that taught that life was a continual struggle between the forces of light and dark.
Locke, John (1632-1704) An English philosopher, Locke developed a theory of
cognition that denied the existence of innate ideas and asserted that all thought is
based on knowledge received from our senses. His works influenced American Puritan
preacher Jonathan Edwards, who modified Puritan doctrine to allow for more play of
reason and intellect, building a foundation for Unitarianism and, eventually,
transcendentalism.

Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent (1743-94) French chemist; regarded as the founder of

modern chemistry

Hutton, James (1726-97) A Scottish geologist, he advanced the hypothesis that

geologic changes in the earth's surface occur slowly over long periods of time.

Bentham, Jeremy (1748-1832) British philosopher; recognized as the official founder of

utilitarianism, which holds that the chief purpose of human social existence is to secure
the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Fourier, Francois Marie (1772-1837) French social theorist.

Calvinism A Christian theological perspective associated with the work of John Calvin
(1509-64), who advocated the final authority of the Bible and salvation by grace alone.

Swedenborgism The philosophical system derived by the Swedish philosopher

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772); emphasizes mystical insight and an idealistic vision
of human nature.

pinfold An enclosure for stray animals; to confine.

churlish Unrefined.

Thebes An ancient city in Egypt, it was a major center of national life and culture at the
time of the Pharaohs; many of its magnificent monuments had fallen into ruin by
Emerson's time.

Palmyra An ancient city in the Middle East, north of Damascus.

Doric The earliest and simplest of Greek architecture, characterized by fluted pillars
with plain, square tops.

Gothic A European style of architecture noted for its pointed arches and flying
buttresses.

Franklin, Benjamin (1706-90) An American scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and

philosopher; one of the most important figures in the transformation of the American
colonies into the United States of America.
Bacon, Francis (1561-1626) English essayist, statesman, and philosopher; he
proposed a theory of scientific knowledge based on observation and experiment that
came to be known as the inductive method.

Phidias (c. fifth century B.C.) A great Athenian sculptor, none of whose works survive.

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) The Italian poet renowned for The Divine Comedy,
completed in 1321.

Foreworld The primeval world.

amelioration An improvement.

Greenwich nautical almanac Initiated in 1767, the Nautical Almanac, published by the
Royal Greenwich Observatory in England, was indispensable to ship captains and
navigators,

solstice The two times of the year when the sun reaches its most northerly (summer)
and southerly (winter) positions, with reference to the equator. These are the longest
and shortest days, respectively, of the year.

equinox The two times during the year when the sun crosses the celestial equator, and
day and night are of equal length.

Stoic One who approaches life rationally, indifferent to pleasure and emotional pain.

Plutarch (c. 46-120) Greek biographer; his Parallel Lives was a source for much of
English literature, including several works by Shakespeare.

Phocion (402-318 B.C.) A ruler of Athens and a former pupil of Plato.

Anaxagoras (d. 428 B.C.) Greek philosopher; he believed that matter was composed
of atoms.

Diogenes of Sinope (c. fourth century B.C.) Diogenes was the most famous of the
Cynics, a group of Greek philosophers who considered virtue to be the only good and
esteemed self-sufficiency.

Hudson, Henry (d. 1611) The English explorer who sailed up the river now bearing his
name and established an English claim to it; he died after being set adrift by a mutinous
crew in the Canadian bay that was later named for him.

Bering, Vitus (d. 1741) Danish explorer.

Parry, Sir William Edward (1790-1855) A pioneer explorer of the Arctic Ocean.
Franklin, Sir John (1786-1847) An Arctic explorer from England.

Napoleon I (1769-1821) The emperor of France from 1804 to 1814, Napoleon I is

remembered as one of the greatest military strategists of all time.

bivouac A camp without tents.

Las Casas, Emmanuel (1766-1842) French historian; best known for recording
Napoleon's last conversations on the island of St. Helena.

Caliph Ali (d. 661) The fourth caliph — or leader — of the Muslim community, Caliph
Ali's descendants are regarded as the true successors to the prophet Mohammed.

Whigs Naming themselves after the British party of the common people (as opposed to
the aristocratic Tories), the Whig party in the United States was active from 1834 to
1854.

Life and Background

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803, to the Reverend William and Ruth
Haskins Emerson. His father, pastor of the First Unitarian Church of Boston, chaplain of
the Massachusetts Senate, and an editor of Monthly Anthology, a literary review, once
described two-year-old son Waldo as "a rather dull scholar." (Emerson was called
Waldo throughout his lifetime and even signed his checks as Waldo.) Following
William's death from stomach cancer in 1811, the family was left in a state of near-
poverty, and Emerson was raised by his mother and Mary Moody Emerson, an aunt
whose acute, critical intelligence would have a lifelong influence on him. Through the
persistence of these two women, he completed studies at the Boston Public Latin
School.

Emerson entered Harvard College on a scholarship in 1817, and during collegiate

holidays he taught school. An unremarkable student, he made no particular impression
on his contemporaries. In 1821, he graduated thirteenth in his class of 1959, and he
was elected class poet only after six other students declined the honor. It was at
Harvard that he began keeping his celebrated journals.

After graduating from college, Emerson moved to Boston to teach at his brother
William's School for Young Ladies and began to experiment with fiction and verse. In
1825, after quitting the ladies school, he entered Harvard Divinity School; one year later,
he received his master's degree, which qualified him to preach. He began to suffer from
symptoms of tuberculosis, and in the fall of 1827 he went to Georgia and Florida in
hopes of improving his health. He returned in late December to Boston, where he
preached occasionally. In Concord, New Hampshire, he met Ellen Tucker, a seventeen-
year-old poet who also suffered from tuberculosis. The two were married in September
1829, just after Emerson had been ordained pastor of the Second Unitarian Church of
Boston. They were very happy in the marriage, but, unfortunately, both were also quite
ill with tuberculosis; in 1831, after less than two years of marriage, Ellen died.

By the end of the following year, Emerson had resigned his pastorate at Second
Unitarian Church. Among his reasons for resigning were his refusal to administer the
sacrament of the Last Supper, which he believed to be an unnecessary theological rite,
and his belief that the ministry was an "antiquated profession." On Christmas Day,
1832, he left for Europe even though he was so ill that many of his friends thought he
would not survive the rigors of the winter voyage. While in Europe, he met many of the
leading thinkers of his time, including the economist and philosopher John Stuart Mill;
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whose Aids to Reflection Emerson admired; the poet William
Wordsworth; and Thomas Carlyle, the historian and social critic, with whom Emerson
established a lifelong friendship.

After his return from Europe in the fall of 1833, Emerson began a career as a public
lecturer with an address in Boston. One of his first lectures, "The Uses of Natural
History," attempted to humanize science by explaining that "the whole of Nature is a
metaphor or image of the human mind," an observation that he would often repeat.
Other lectures followed — on diverse subjects such as Italy, biography, English
literature, the philosophy of history, and human culture.

In September 1834, Emerson moved to Concord, Massachusetts, as a boarder in the

home of his step-grandfather, Ezra Ripley. On September 14, 1835, he married Lydia
Jackson of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and they moved into a house of their own in
Concord, where they lived for the rest of their lives.

Emerson's first book, Nature, was published anonymously in 1836. Although only a slim
volume, it contains in brief the whole substance of his thought. It sold very poorly —
after twelve years, its first edition of 500 copies had not yet sold out. However, "The
American Scholar," the Phi Beta Kappa address that Emerson presented at Harvard in
1837, was very popular and, when printed, sold well. A year after he made this speech,
he was invited back to Harvard to speak to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity
School. His address, which advocated intuitive, personal revelation, created such an
uproar that he was not invited back to his alma mater for thirty years. Perhaps Amos
Bronson Alcott best summarizes this phase of Emerson's life when he wrote:
"Emerson's church consists of one member — himself."

In 1836, Emerson joined the Transcendental Club, and in the ensuing years the group,
which included Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and Alcott, met often at his
home. In 1840, he helped launchThe Dial, a journal of literature, philosophy, and
religion that focused on transcendentalist views. After the first two years, he succeeded
Fuller as its editor. The Dial was recognized as the official voice of transcendentalism,
and Emerson became intimately associated with the movement. Two years later,
however, the journal ceased publication.

In 1841, Emerson published the first volume of his Essays, a carefully constructed
collection of some of his best-remembered writings, including "Self-Reliance" and "The
Over-Soul." A second series ofEssays in 1844 would firmly establish his reputation as
an authentic American voice.

Tragedy struck the Emerson family in January 1842 when Emerson's son, Waldo, died
of scarlet fever. Emerson would later write "Threnody," an elegy expressing his grief for
Waldo; the poem was included in his collection Poems (1846). Ellen, Edith, and Edward
Waldo, his other children, survived to adulthood.

In 1847, Emerson again traveled abroad, lecturing in England with success. He

renewed his friendship with Carlyle, met other notable English authors, and collected
materials for English Traits, which was eventually published in 1856. A collection
called Addresses and Lectures appeared in 1849, and Representative Men was
published in 1850.

Emerson's later works were never so highly esteemed as his writings previous to 1850.
However, he continued to lead an active intellectual and social life. He made many
lecture appearances in all parts of the country, and he continued writing and publishing.
During the 1850s, he vigorously supported the antislavery movement. When the
American Civil War broke out, he supported the Northern cause, but the war troubled
him: He was deeply appalled by the amount of violence, bloodshed, and destruction it
engendered,

In 1866, Emerson was reconciled with Harvard, and a year later the college invited him
to give the Phi Beta Kappa address. May-Day and Other Pieces, published in 1867, was
a second gathering of his poems, and his later essays were collected in Society and
Solitude(1870).

As he grew older, Emerson's health and mental acuity began to decline rapidly. In 1872,
after his Concord home was badly damaged by fire, his friend Russell Lowell and others
raised $17,000 to repair the house and send him on vacation. However, the trauma
added to his intellectual decline.

In 1879, Emerson joined Amos Bronson Alcott and others in establishing the Concord
School of Philosophy. He often lamented that he had "no new ideas" in his later years.
He also had to quit the lecture circuit as his memory began to lapse.

Emerson died of pneumonia on April 27, 1882, and, announcing his death, Concord's
church bells rang 79 times.
Chronology of Emerson's Life

1803 Born May 25 in Boston, Massachusetts, to the Reverend William and Ruth
Haskins Emerson.

1811 Father dies May 12 of stomach cancer.

1812 Enters Boston Public Latin School; begins writing poetry.

1817 Enters Harvard College.

1821 Graduates from Harvard College in August; begins teaching at his brother
William's School for Young Ladies.

1824 Dedicates himself to religious study.

1825 Leaves the School for Young Ladies and enters Harvard Divinity School.

1826 Becomes licensed to preach; fearing tuberculosis, he travels to Charleston, South

Carolina, and later to St. Augustine, Florida.

1829 Is ordained pastor of the Second Unitarian Church of Boston; marries Ellen Tucker
in September,

1831 Nineteen-year-old Ellen dies February 8 of tuberculosis.

1832-33 Resigns from Second Church and travels in Europe; visits Carlyle, Mill,
Coleridge, and Wordsworth.

1833-34 Lectures on "The Uses of Natural History."

1835 Lectures on biography; meets Alcott and Fuller; marries Lydia Jackson.

1835-36 Lectures on "English Literature."

1836 Anonymously publishes Nature; first meeting of Transcendental Club; birth of first
child, Waldo, on October 30.

1836-37 Lectures on "Philosophy of History."

1837 Delivers "The American Scholar" address before Harvard's Phi Beta Kappa
Society.

1837-38 Lectures on "Human Culture."

1838 Delivers a controversial address before the senior class of Harvard Divinity
School.

1838-39 Lectures on "Human Life."

1839 First daughter, Ellen, is born February 24.

1839-40 Lectures on "The Present Age."

1840 The transcendentalist journal The Dial first published.

1841 Publishes Essays: First Series; daughter Edith is born November 22.

1841-42 Lectures on "The Times."

1842 Son, Waldo, dies of scarlet fever; Emerson succeeds Margaret Fuller as editor of
The Dial.

1844 Son, Edward Waldo, is born July 10; publishes Essays: Second Series.

1845-46 Lectures on "Representative Men."

1846 Publishes Poems in December.

1847-48 Second trip to Europe; visits Carlyle and other important literary figures.

1849 Publishes Nature; Addresses, and Lectures in September.

1850 Publishes Representative Men in January.

1853 Eighty-four-year-old mother dies.

1856 Publishes English Traits in August.

1862 Lectures on "American Civilization" in Washington, D.C.; meets President Lincoln.

1866 Receives honorary doctorate from Harvard.

1867 Publishes May-Day and Other Pieces in April.

1870 Publishes Society and Solitude in March; lectures on "Natural History of Intellect."

1872 Emerson's home burns.

1872-73 Third trip abroad.

 1875 Publishes Letters and Social Aims in December.

1876 Publishes Selected Poems.

1882 Dies of pneumonia on April 27 and is buried in Concord's Sleepy Hollow

Cemetery.

Self-Reliance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson. For other uses, see Self-reliance.

Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay called for staunch individualism.

"Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher and

essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's
recurrent themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow
their own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of Emerson's most famous quotations: "A foolish
consistency is thehobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and
divines."[1] This essay is an analysis into the nature of the “aboriginal self on which a universal
reliance may be grounded.”[2]

Contents
[hide]

 1History
 2Summary
 3Themes
 4In popular culture
 5References
 6External links

History[edit]
The first hint of the philosophy that would become "Self-Reliance" was presented by Ralph Waldo
Emerson as part of a sermon in September 1830 a month after his first marriage.[3] His wife Ellen
was sick with tuberculosis[4] and, as Emerson's biographer Robert D. Richardson wrote, "Immortality
had never been stronger or more desperately needed!"[3]
From 1836 into 1837, Emerson presented a series of lectures on the philosophy of history at
Boston's Masonic Temple. These lectures were never published separately, but many of his
thoughts in these were later used in "Self-Reliance" and several other essays.[5] Later lectures by
Emerson led to public censure of his radical views, the staunch defense of individualism in "Self-
Reliance" being a possible reaction to that censure.[6]
"Self-Reliance" was first published in his 1841 collection, Essays: First Series.[7] Emerson helped
start the beginning of the Transcendentalist movement in America. "Self-Reliance" is one of
Emerson’s most famous essays. Emerson wrote on “individualism, personal responsibility, and
nonconformity.”[8]

Summary[edit]
"Self-Reliance" is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s compilation of many years' works and the archetype for
his transcendental philosophies. Emerson presupposes that the mind is initially subject to an
unhappy conformism.[9][10] Throughout the essay he gives a defense for his famous catch-phrase
"Trust thyself". This argument makes three major points: that each person has his own self-
contained genius, that society and worldly influences must be resisted in favor of one's own
individuality, and that self-worth has great importance and value.
In the first section, Emerson argues that inside of each person is genius. He writes: "To believe your
own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,— that is
genius." The remainder of this section is spent exploring this concept. He says that only a man who
is self-reliant will be successful and any outside influences would take away from personal
satisfaction.[8] Emerson claims that examples of people who trusted themselves above all else
include Moses, Plato, and John Milton. He then goes on to highlight the value of individual
expression. Emerson writes that a man should follow what he thinks in order to discover his own
path in life. When a person follows another person’s path instead of his own, he feels dispirited and
small. An example he states is a person hears some idea they had thought in their mind said by
another person.[8]
Emerson says that a man cannot bluntly obey society if he wants to follow his own expression. “No
government or church can explain a man’s heart to him, and so each individual must resist
institutional authority.”[8] Emerson continues by decrying the effects that society has upon the
individual. He says that when people are influenced by society, they will compromise their values in
order to retain a foolish character to the world. He states: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds…with consistency a great soul simply has nothing to do."[8] When a man adheres blindly
to thoughts or opinions he has vocalized in the past, purely for the sake of seeming true to his
principles, Emerson argues that he violates his nature. A man should not worry that he will be
misunderstood or thought less of because his opinions changed. He writes, “To be great is to be
misunderstood.”[8]A man must be willing, every day, to open his consciousness to his intuition,
whether or not what it tells him is in conflict with his past conclusions. He also states how a man
should still follow his own path even if other people feel offended by this idea. He writes, “My life is
for itself”, “and not for a spectacle” emphasizing the idea of not following what other people think,
adding to the idea that this compromises their individual values. Emerson wrote that if a person were
self-reliant, he would have “consistent access to survival.” He mentions how family, work, and
society can hinder the ability for a man to thrive.[8] He says that they can only stimulate his own
thinking, not teach him anything.[11]
The essay then discusses of the value of self-worth. Emerson says one should not overly admire a
great person from the past.[8] Emerson states that "man is timid and apologetic; he is no longer
upright; he dares not say 'I think,' 'I am,' but quotes some saint or sage." He states that historically
great men are not any more important than the present men, but they serve as examples of how to
trust oneself. Individuals should speak their ideas instead of quoting the words of historical people
because it will not help one understand his own inspiration.[8] Emerson describes a self-reliant man
as someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and truth to anyone, resilient, optimistic, quick-
thinking, and changes himself when he is inspired by himself. A self-reliant man does not like to
travel. Emerson thinks that all truths could be found where a person was and he did not have to
travel to gain anything.[8] He says, "I shun my father and mother...when my genius comes." He
continues to say, "I cannot sell my liberty and my power to save their sensibility."[12]
Emerson concludes by saying that as society gains, it also loses simultaneously. He writes “Society
is a wave”, “The waves move onward, but the water of which it is composed does not.” He explains
how in order to be happy and peaceful, one should not care about the consumerism but should
focus on his own situation. He ends with “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”[8]
Throughout this essay, Emerson argues against conformity with the world. He argues how people
should not conform to what other people in society think, but instead he should transform society
with his thoughts.[2] He gives an archetype for his own transcendental beliefs, but also argues for his
slogan "trust thyself". To follow Emerson's self-reliant credo fully, one must learn to hear and obey
what is most true within one's heart, and both think and act independent of popular opinion and
social pressure, in order to bring satisfaction to one’s self.[2]

Themes[edit]
 Individual authority: Emerson mentions that citizens control the government so they have
control. He also mentions how “nothing has authority over the self.” He says, “History cannot
bring enlightenment; only individual searching can.” He believes that truth is inside a person and
this is authority, not institutions like religion.[8]
 Nonconformity: Emerson states, "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." He
counsels his readers to do what they think is right no matter what others think.[8]
 Solitude and the community: Emerson wrote how the community is a distraction to self-growth,
by friendly visits, and family needs. He advocates more time being spent reflecting on one’s self.
This can also happen in the community by a strong self-confidence. This would help not sway
from his beliefs in groups of people.[8]
 Spirituality: Truth is within one’s self. Emerson posits that reliance upon institutionalized religion
hinders the ability to grow mentally as an individual.[8]

In popular culture[edit]
Emerson's quote, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," is a running joke in the 1998
film Next Stop Wonderland. A single woman (portrayed by Hope Davis), who is familiar with the
Emerson quote, goes on dates with several men, each of whom tries to impress her but misquotes
the line, and misattributes it to W.C. Fields, Karl Marx, orCicero.[13] The woman finally meets a man
(portrayed by Alan Gelfant) who correctly attributes the quote to Emerson.
The writer Isaac Asimov adopted the habit of writing "Emerson!" on galley proofs when an editor
questioned the consistency of different parts of a story with each other. This is "consistency" used in
a different sense from the original. In notes to the collection of detective stories Asimov's
Mysteries he relates how another author introduced him to the quote.[citation needed]
It is also quoted in the Python Style guide for the Python programming language.[14]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Reliance

Mignon, Charles W., and H. Rose. CliffsNotes on Emerson's Essays. 22 Aug

2016
</literature/e/emersons-essays/ralph-waldo-emerson-biography>.