Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essays and Poems, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies...

In 1834, Emerson, formerly a Unitarian minister, began a new career as a public lecturer. Many of these lectures formed the source material for his essays. Nature (1836), his first published work, contained the essence of his transcendental philosophy, which views the world of natural phenomena as a sort of symbol of the inner life and emphasizes individual freedom and self-reliance. Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson is a collection of twelve of his most...

This version of Nature is an 1843 revision to the popular essay written and published in 1836. In the original essay, Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism, and suggested that reality can be understood by studying nature. Within the essay, Emerson divides nature into four usages: Commodity, Beauty, Language and Discipline. These distinctions define how humans use nature for their basic needs, their desire for delight, their communication...

Emerson's discourse on "the laws of compensation", takes on the notion that one who has money must be wicked and those who do not must be good, among other topics. It appeared in his book "Essays", first published in 1841.

Emerson's treatise on the nature of friendship. "The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.

In "Gifts" Ralph Waldo Emerson muses on the function of and expectations surrounding the giving of gifs. He touches on what gifts communicate about the nature of the giver and receiver, and how the best kind of gift is a gift of love.

In "Manners", Ralph Waldo Emerson expounds on the meaning of customs and politeness in civil society. He argues that the purpose of manners is more to facilitate the creation and proper working of society, and not to establish hierarchies.

This 1870 collection of essays was drawn from Emerson's lectures delivered over the previous twelve years. The title essay features Emerson's defense of solitude against the demands of society. Among the other works included are "Civilization," "Art," "Eloquence," "Domestic Life," "Works and Days," and "Old Age."

Miscellanies is a collection of essays and writings by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the renowned American essayist, lecturer, and philosopher. Emerson was a central figure in the transcendentalist movement of the 19th century, and his essays and lectures are celebrated for their philosophical insights and literary style. The contents of "Miscellanies" encompass a wide range of Emerson's thoughts and ideas on various subjects, including nature, self-reliance,...

This 1860 collection, based on Emerson's lectures, contains classic essays on broad topics such as "Fate," "Power," "Wealth," "Culture," and "Worship," among others. Printed in the year Lincoln became President, it probes questions of the necessary conditions for human life and freedom.