Self-Reliance

From the spiritual to the economic, Emerson s Self-Reliance details the various aspects of a man s ability to rely on himself for survival. This 19th century essay resolutely supports Emerson s life-long belief in individualism and encourages mankin...

In The Poet, an essay by U.S. writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, the author expresses the need for the United States to have its own new and unique poet to write about the new country's virtues and vices. It is not about men of poetical talents, or of indu...

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.

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 ...

Building on and enriching ideas set forth in Self-Reliance, Emerson argues that true heroism is self-confidence and persistency in the face of corrosive pressures to conform to society.

Circles is an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, first published in 1841. The essay reflects on the vast array of circles one may find throughout nature, and what is suggested by these circles in philosophical terms. In the opening line of the essay Emer...

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 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 modern version of Ralph Waldo Emerson's classic was created to reach a larger and more contemporary audience. The work has been edited to appeal to a wider range of experience and expression. The book is so full of wisdom but we simply don't sp...