Emerson's Essays Part 7

[Footnote 236: James Hutton (1726-1797), great Scotch geologist, author of the Theory of the Earth.]

[Footnote 237: Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), English philosopher, jurist, and legislative reformer.]

[Footnote 238: Fourier (1772-1837), French socialist, founder of the system of Fourierism.]

[Footnote 239: Calvinism, the doctrines of John Calvin (1509-1564). French theologian and Protestant reformer. A cardinal doctrine of Calvinism is predestination.]

[Footnote 240: Quakerism, the doctrines of the Quakers or Friends, a society founded by George Fox (1624-1691).]

[Footnote 241: Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), Swedish theosophist, founder of the New Jerusalem Church. He is taken by Emerson in his Representative Men as the type of the mystic, and is often mentioned in his other works.]

[Footnote 242: "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not."--EMERSON, Art.]

[Footnote 243: Thebes, a celebrated ruined city of Upper Egypt.]

[Footnote 244: Palmyra, a ruined city of Asia situated in an oasis of the Syrian desert, supposed to be the Tadmor built by Solomon in the wilderness (II. Chr., viii. 4).]

[Footnote 245: "Vain, very vain, my weary search to find That bliss which only centers in the mind.... Still to ourselves in every place consign'd, Our own felicity we make or find." GOLDSMITH (and JOHNSON), The Traveler, 423-32.

"He that has light within his own clear breast May sit i' th' center, and enjoy bright day; But he that hides a dark soul, and foul thoughts, Benighted walks under the mid-day sun; Himself in his own dungeon." MILTON, Comus, 381-5.

Compare also Paradise Lost, I, 255-7.]

[Footnote 246: Vatican, the palace of the pope in Rome, with its celebrated library, museum, and art gallery.]

[Footnote 247: Doric, the oldest, strongest, and simplest of the three styles of Grecian architecture.]

[Footnote 248: Gothic, a pointed style of architecture, prevalent in western Europe in the latter part of the middle ages.]

[Footnote 249: Never imitate. Emerson insists on this doctrine.]

[Footnote 250: Shakespeare (1564-1616), the great English poet and dramatist. He is mentioned in Emerson's writings more than any other character in history, and is taken as the type of the poet in his Representative Men.

"O mighty poet! Thy works are not as those of other men, simply and merely great works of art; but are also like the phenomena of nature, like the sun and the sea, the stars and the flowers,--like frost and snow, rain and dew, hailstorm and thunder, which are to be studied with entire submission of our own faculties, and in the perfect faith that in them there can be no too much or too little, nothing useless or inert,--but that, the further we press in our discoveries, the more we shall see proofs of design and self-supporting arrangement where the careless eye had seen nothing but accident!"--DE QUINCY.]

[Footnote 251: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American philosopher, statesman, diplomatist, and author. He discovered the ident.i.ty of lightning with electricity, invented the lightning-rod, went on several diplomatic missions to Europe, was one of the committee that drew up the Declaration of Independence, signed the treaty of Paris, and compiled Poor Richard's Almanac.]

[Footnote 252: Francis Bacon (1561-1626), a famous English philosopher and statesman. He became Lord Chancellor under Elizabeth. He is best known by his Essays; he wrote also the Novum Organum and the Advancement of Learning.]

[Footnote 253: Sir Isaac Newton. (See note 53.)]

[Footnote 254: Scipio. (See note 205.)]

[Footnote 255: Phidias (500?-432? B.C.), famous Greek sculptor.]

[Footnote 256: Egyptians. He has in mind the pyramids.]

[Footnote 257: The Pentateuch is attributed to Moses.]

[Footnote 258: Dante (1265-1321), the greatest of Italian poets, author of the Divina Commedia.]

[Footnote 259: Foreworld, a former ideal state of the world.]

[Footnote 260: New Zealander, inhabitant of New Zealand, a group of two islands lying southeast of Australia.]

[Footnote 261: Geneva, a city of Switzerland, situated at the southwestern extremity of Lake Geneva.]

[Footnote 262: Greenwich nautical almanac. The meridian of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, near London, is the prime meridian for reckoning the longitude of the world. The nautical almanac is a publication containing astronomical data for the use of navigators and astronomers. What is the name of the corresponding publication of the U.S. Observatory at Washington?]

[Footnote 263: Get the meaning of these astronomical terms.]

[Footnote 264: Plutarch. (50?-120? A.D.), Greek philosopher and biographer, author of Parallel Lives, a series of Greek and Roman biographies. Next after Shakespeare and Plato he is the author most frequently mentioned by Emerson. Read the essay of Emerson on Plutarch.]

[Footnote 265: Phocion (402-317 B.C.), Athenian statesman and general. (See note 364.)]

[Footnote 266: Anaxagoras (500-426 B.C.), Greek philosopher of distinction.]

[Footnote 267: Diogenes (400?-323?), Greek cynic philosopher who affected great contempt for riches and honors and the comforts of civilized life, and is said to have taken up his residence in a tub.]

[Footnote 268: Henry Hudson (---- - 1611), English navigator and explorer, discoverer of the bay and river which bear his name.]

[Footnote 269: Bering or Behring (1680-1741), Danish navigator, discoverer of Behring Strait.]

[Footnote 270: Sir William Edward Parry (1790-1855), English navigator and Arctic explorer.]

[Footnote 271: Sir John Franklin (1786-1846?), celebrated English navigator and Arctic explorer, lost in the Arctic seas.]

[Footnote 272: Christopher Columbus (1445?-1506), Genoese navigator and discoverer of America. His ship, the Santa Maria, appears small and insignificant in comparison with the modern ocean ship.]

[Footnote 273: Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Emperor of France, one of the greatest military geniuses the world has ever seen. He was defeated in the battle of Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington, and died in exile on the isle of St. Helena. Emerson takes him as a type of the man of the world in his Representative Men: "I call Napoleon the agent or attorney of the middle cla.s.s of modern society.... He was the agitator, the destroyer of prescription, the internal improver, the liberal, the radical, the inventor of means, the opener of doors and markets, the subverter of monopoly and abuse.... He had the virtues of the ma.s.ses of his const.i.tuents: he had also their vices. I am sorry that the brilliant picture has its reverse."]

[Footnote 274: Comte de las Cases (not Casas) (1766-1842), author of Memorial de Sainte-Helene.]

[Footnote 275: Ali, Arabian caliph, surnamed the "Lion of G.o.d," cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed. He was a.s.sa.s.sinated about 661.]

[Footnote 276: The county of Ess.e.x in England has several namesakes in America.]

[Footnote 277: Fortune. In Roman mythology Fortune, the G.o.ddess of fortune or chance, is represented as standing on a ball or wheel.

"Nec metuis dubio Fortunae stantis in orbe Numen, et exosae verba superba deae?" OVID, Tristia, v., 8, 8.

FRIENDSHIP.

[Footnote 278: Most of Emerson's Essays were first delivered as lectures, in practically the form in which they afterwards appeared in print. The form and style, it is true, were always carefully revised before publication; this Emerson called 'giving his thoughts a Greek dress.' His essay on Friendship, published in the First Series of Essays in 1841 was not, so far as we know, delivered as a lecture; parts of it, however, were taken from lectures which Emerson delivered on Society, The Heart, and Private Life.

In connection with his essay on Friendship, the student should read the two other notable addresses on the same subject, one the speech by Cicero, the famous Roman orator, and the other the essay by Lord Bacon, the great English author.]

[Footnote 279: Relume. Is this a common word? Define it.]

[Footnote 280: Pa.s.s my gate. The walk opposite Emerson's house on the 'Great Road' to Boston was a favorite winter walk for Concord people. Along it pa.s.sed the philosophic Alcott and the imaginative Hawthorne, as well as famous townsmen, and school children.]

[Footnote 281: My friends have come to me, etc.: Compare with Emerson's views here expressed the n.o.ble pa.s.sage in his essay on _The Over-Soul_: "Every friend whom not thy fantastic will but the great and tender heart in thee craveth, shall lock thee in his embrace. And this because the heart in thee is the heart of all; not a valve, not a wall, not an intersection is there anywhere in nature, but one blood rolls uninterruptedly in endless circulation through all men, as the water of the globe is all one sea, and, truly seen, its tide is one."]

[Footnote 282: Bard. Poet: originally one who composed and sang to the music of a harp verses in honor of heroes and heroic deeds.]

[Footnote 283: Hymn, ode, and epic. Define each of these three kinds of poetry.]

[Footnote 284: Apollo. In cla.s.sic mythology, the sun G.o.d who presided over music, poetry, and art; he was the guardian and leader of the Muses.]

[Footnote 285: Muses. In cla.s.sic mythology, the nine sisters who presided over music, poetry, art, and science. They were Clio the muse of history, Euterpe of music, especially the flute, Thalia of comedy, Melpomene of tragedy, Terpsich.o.r.e of dancing, Erato of erotic poetry, mistress of the lyre, Polyhymnia of sacred poetry, Urania of astronomy, Calliope of eloquence and epic poetry.]

[Footnote 286: Genius. According to an old belief, a spirit that watched over a person to control, guide and aid him.]

[Footnote 287: "Crush the sweet poison," etc. This is a quotation from Comus, a poem by Milton.]

[Footnote 288: Systole and diastole. (See note 98.)]

[Footnote 289: Friendship, like the immortality, etc. See on what a high plane Emerson places this relation of friendship. In 1840 he wrote in a letter: "I am a worshiper of friendship, and cannot find any other good equal to it. As soon as any man p.r.o.nounces the words which approve him fit for that great office, I make no haste; he is holy; let me be holy also; our relations are eternal; why should we count days and weeks?"]

[Footnote 290: Elysian temple. Temple of bliss. In Greek mythology, Elysium was the abode of the blessed after death.]

[Footnote 291: An Egyptian skull. Plutarch says that at an Egyptian feast a skull was displayed, either as a hint to make the most of the pleasure which can be enjoyed but for a brief s.p.a.ce, or as a warning not to set one's heart upon transitory things.]

[Footnote 292: Conscious of a universal success, etc. Emerson wrote in his journal: "My entire success, such as it is, is composed wholly of particular failures."]

[Footnote 293: Extends the old leaf. Compare Emerson's lines: "When half-G.o.ds go The G.o.ds arrive."

[Footnote 294: A texture of wine and dreams. What does Emerson mean by this phrase? Explain the whole sentence.]

[Footnote 295: "The valiant warrior," etc. The quotation is from Shakespeare's Sonnet, XXV.]

[Footnote 296: Naturlangsamkeit. A German word meaning slowness. The slowness of natural development.]

[Footnote 297: Olympian. One who took part in the great Greek games held every four years on the plain of Olympia. The racing, wrestling and other contests of strength and skill were accompanied by sacrifices to the G.o.ds, processions, and banquets. There was a sense of dignity and almost of worship about the games. The Olympic games have been recently revived, and athletes from all countries of the world contest for the prizes--simple garlands of wild olive.]

[Footnote 298: I knew a man who, etc. The allusion is to Jonas Very, a mystic and poet, who lived at Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts.]

[Footnote 299: Paradox. Define this word. Explain its application to a friend.]

[Footnote 300: My author says, etc. The quotation is from _A Consideration upon Cicero_, by the French author, Montaigne. Montaigne was one of Emerson's favorite authors from his boyhood: of the essays he says, "I felt as if I myself, had written this book in some former life, so sincerely it spoke my thoughts."]

[Footnote 301: Cherub. What is the difference between a cherub and a seraph?]

[Footnote 302: Curricle. A two-wheeled carriage, especially popular in the eighteenth century.]

[Footnote 303: This law of one to one. Emerson felt that this same law applied to nature. He wrote in his journal: "Nature says to man, 'one to one, my dear.'"]

[Footnote 304: Crimen quos, etc. The Latin saying is translated in the preceding sentence.]

[Footnote 305: Nonage. We use more commonly the word, "minority."]

[Footnote 306: Ja.n.u.s-faced. The word here means simply two-faced, without the idea of deceit usually attached to it. In Roman mythology, Ja.n.u.s, the doorkeeper of heaven was the protector of doors and gateways and the patron of the beginning and end of undertakings. He was the G.o.d of the rising and setting of the sun, and was represented with two faces, one looking to the east and the other to the west. His temple at Rome was kept open in time of war and closed in time of peace.]

[Footnote 307: Harbinger. A forerunner; originally an officer who rode in advance of a royal person to secure proper lodgings and accommodations.]

[Footnote 308: Empyrean. Highest and purest heaven; according to the ancients, the region of pure light and fire.]

HEROISM.

[Footnote 309: t.i.tle. Probably this essay is, essentially at least, the lecture on Heroism delivered in Boston in the winter of 1837, in the course of lectures on Human Culture.]

[Footnote 310: Motto. This saying of Mahomet's was the only motto prefixed to the essay in the first edition. In later editions, Emerson prefixed, according to his custom, some original lines; "Ruby wine is drunk by knaves, Sugar spends to fatten slaves, Rose and vine-leaf deck buffoons, Thunder clouds are Jove's festoons, Drooping oft in wreaths of dread Lightning-knotted round his head: The hero is not fed on sweets, Daily his own heart he eats; Chambers of the great are jails, And head-winds right for royal sails."

[Footnote 311: Elder English dramatists. The dramatists who preceded Shakespeare. In his essay on Shakespeare; or, the Poet, Emerson enumerates the foremost of these,--"Kyd, Marlowe, Greene, Jonson, Chapman, Dekker, Webster, Heywood, Middleton, Peele, Ford, Ma.s.singer, Beaumont and Fletcher."]

[Footnote 312: Beaumont and Fletcher. Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher were two dramatists of the Elizabethan age. They wrote together and their styles were so similar that critics are unable to identify the share of each in their numerous plays.]

[Footnote 313: Rodrigo, Pedro, or Valerio. Favorite names for heroes among the dramatists. Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, known usually by the t.i.tle of the Cid, was the national hero of Spain, famous for his exploits against the Moors. Don Pedro was the Prince of Arragon in Shakespeare's play, Much Ado About Nothing.]

[Footnote 314: Bonduca, Sophocles, the Mad Lover, and Double Marriage. The first, third and fourth are names of plays by Beaumont and Fletcher. In the case of the second, Emerson, by a lapse of memory, gives the name of one of the chief characters instead of the name of the play--The Triumph of Honor in a piece called _Four Plays in One_. It is from this play by Beaumont and Fletcher that the pa.s.sage in the essay is quoted.]

[Footnote 315: Adriadne's crown. According to Greek mythology, the crown of Adriadne was, for her beauty and her sufferings, put among the stars. She was the daughter of Minos, King of Crete; she gave Theseus the clue by means of which he escaped from the labyrinth and she was afterwards abandoned by him.]

[Footnote 316: Romulus. The reputed founder of the city of Rome.]

[Footnote 317: Laodamia, Dion. Read these two poems by Wordsworth, the great English poet, and tell why you think Emerson mentioned them here.]

[Footnote 318: Scott. Sir Walter Scott, a famous Scotch author.]

[Footnote 319: Lord Evandale, Balfour of Burley. These are characters in Scott's novel, Old Mortality. The pa.s.sage referred to by Emerson is in the forty-second chapter.]

[Footnote 320: Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle was a great admirer of heroes, a.s.serting that history is the biography of great men. One of his most popular books is Heroes and Hero-Worship, on a plan similar to that of Emerson's Representative Men.]

[Footnote 321: Robert Burns. A Scotch lyric poet. Emerson was probably thinking of the patriotic song, Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled.]

[Footnote 322: Harleian Miscellanies. A collection of ma.n.u.scripts published in the eighteenth century, and named for Robert Harley, the English statesman who collected them.]

[Footnote 323: Lutzen. A small town in Prussia. The battle referred to was fought in 1632 and in it the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus gained a great victory over vastly superior numbers. Nearly two hundred years later another battle was fought at Lutzen, in which Napoleon gained a victory over the allied Russians and Prussians.]

[Footnote 324: Simon Ockley. An English scholar of the seventeenth century whose chief work was a History of the Saracens.]

[Footnote 325: Oxford. One of the two great English universities.]