The Spiritual Emerson: Essential Writings by Ralph Waldo Emerson

by Ralph Waldo Emerson, David M. Robinson (Editor)

Overview

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) is known best in the twenty-first century as a literary innovator and early architect of American intellectual culture, but his writings still offer spiritual sustenance to the thoughtful reader. The Spiritual Emerson, originally published on the two hundredth anniversary of the writer's birth, brings together the writings that articulate Emerson's spiritual vision and promise the greatest relevance to today's reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807077191
Publisher:	Beacon Press
Publication date:	04/15/2004
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	508,244
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

David M. Robinson is the author of numerous books, including Emerson and the Conduct of Life and Apostle of Culture: Emerson as Preacher and Lecturer. He is Oregon Professor of English and Distinguished Professor of American Literature at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
	Introduction: Emerson's Spiritual Principles	1
	Nature (1836)	21
	The Divinity School Address (1838)	63
	Self-Reliance (1841)	83
	Compensation (1841)	110
	The Over-Soul (1841)	131
	Circle (1841)	150
	Experience (1844)	164
	The Fugitive Slave Law (1854)	189
	Worship (1860)	207
	Essential Principles of Religion (1862)	231
	Character (1866)	242
	Notes to the Introduction	261
	Suggestions for Further Reading	264

Editorial Reviews

'A guided anthology that takes the reader through Emerson's own spiritual evolution.'—Robert D. Richardson, Jr., author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire

'It is a great service of this book that it traces [Emerson's] spiritual development . . . [It] is also valuable in establishing the full texture and subtlety of Emerson's much-misunderstood notion of self-reliance and nonconformity.'—Richard Higgins, Boston Globe

'This collection brings together for the first time Emerson's most important writings on spiritual themes, along with a discerning and eminently readable introduction by one of the foremost authorities on Emerson's religious thought.'—Lawrence Buell, Harvard University, author of Literary Transcendentalism and Emerson

From the Publisher