爱默生

拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生(1803—1882)

《美国人的历史》

1、第一个跟美国的主流气质完全合拍的美国知识分子和作家就是爱默生,在某些方面他可以说是典型的19世纪美国人,他开始有意识地地质文化自卑感,他写过“把欧洲的绦虫从美国的躯体中分离出去,用对美国的激情把对欧洲的激情驱逐出去。”

2、他推动了最早的美国本土哲学运动,被称为“超验主义”,他在《论自然》中概要地论述了这一学说。

3、从他开始美国开始有了严格意义上的知识分子。

4、他是个反精英主义者。他认为美国文化必须是平等主义的、民主主义的。在文化领域,就像在所有领域一样,自励自助是至关重要的。

5、他认为知识(加上道德品格)往往会促进商业的成功。

6、爱默生是一名非凡的制造商,专门生产简短的格言和精辟的警句,其中有许多锦言佳句因为真实而深深打动了他的听众,比如“生活就是寻找力量”“固执己见是心胸狭小之辈的魔障”等等。

7、他作为国家的圣贤与先知的名声更多的是通过巡回演讲来赢得的。听爱默生的演讲是文化渴望和品位提升的一个可靠标志:对数百万美国人来说,爱默生成了“思想者”的化身。

《美国社会生活与思想史》 (纳尔逊·曼弗雷德·布莱克)

1、高瞻远瞩的理想主义与精打细算的实用主义独特结合的产物。

2、做牧师三年之久,之所以辞职是因为他理解到自己不再相信组织起来的宗教,甚至是上帝一位论这种自由的宗教形式他也不信。爱默生虽是教会的反叛者,但依然是虔诚的信徒。爱默生反对历史上的基督教,因为它以古代的奇迹为基础。他知道上帝是神,是有肉身的神,但是,任何一个人也是如此。爱默生的上帝不是一个人,而是神秘的统一体,是充溢于整个宇宙的“超灵”。

3、爱默生认为思想毫无价值,除非付诸实践。“好的想法”爱默生说,“并不比好梦强多少,除非加以贯彻执行。”知识应扎根于经验。“思想是先导,”他写道,“思想从无意识到有意识的过度是行动,如我的生活所示,我之所知,仅此而已”爱默生的这种理论,孕育着后世美国哲学家所谓的实用主义的种子。

《美国文学周期》

1、最后把浪漫主义想象的抽象观念与十九世纪中叶美国生活的现实统一起来的是拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生。

十九世纪三十年代与四十年代以爱默生为中心的一些钱宁的热诚拥护者是他的学说世俗化,这些人被称为超验主义者。

2、爱默生年轻时的讲道反映出他竭力要比即便是最平和的唯一神论正统思想与自己追求个人道德完善的强烈愿望糅合在一起。

3、爱默生把毕生的精力奉献给发展与阐述一下的信念:人通过直觉所体验到生活的内在、道德及神启示的法则都可在通过感觉观察到的自然界法则的多种形式的表现中一点一点地找到对应。

4、爱默生已经发表了能够接受科学的发现并运用它们为上帝服务的新观念,展示了发现上帝的方法而没有能明确地说明上帝的本质。这一品质是爱默生成为一个时代的发言人:旧的教条在这时代正在消逝,新的法则正在形成。 CNKI《美国个人主义思想探源——爱默生个人主义之欧洲渊源及其对美国文化的贡献》刘宽红

作为美国超验主义思想的主要代表和美国文艺复兴运动的领袖,爱默生对美国文化产生了重要的影响,因而在美国历史上,爱默生享有实用主义哲学之父和美国精神的先知(林肯语)等美称,他的思想也标志着美国文化和美国精神的独立。

1、爱默生个人主义思想是在继承和超越欧洲个人主义传统的基础上产生的。英国个人主义传统主要从以下几方面对爱默生产生了影响:

首先,在对个人权利的宣扬上,爱默生吸收了洛克个人主义思想。其个人主义从一而终地贯彻着:人是社会和宇宙的主体,人具有至高无上的权利和地位,国家为个人而存在。然而与洛克有所不同的是,爱默生认为自然界存在着完满的规律,但只有通过其与人的关系,或者仅当它植根于人的心灵中时,才对我们有吸引力,因而人的生活不是与世界协调,而是与心中的观念相一致。人是大宇宙中的小宇宙,人的灵魂与宇宙中的每件事物相符合,人应当发挥自己的才能,由此爱默生就

把其个人主义理论从经验的层次提升到超验和形而上的层次。

其次,爱默生坚持个人权利至上,反对国家和政府对个人的干涉,这和英国个人主义传统不谋而合。

第三,爱默生继承英国个人主义传统对待理性的态度,关注实践和现实生活。反唯理论是英国传统的一大特色,这种传统认为,人是一种经验性的存在物,人通过经验去理解和把握世界,人并不具备高度理性和智慧,人不过是易犯错误的生物,个人的错误只能在社会过程中得到修正。爱默生非常重视这一思维方式,他关注行动,关注实践,在他眼里,思想只有付诸实践才有意义。

2、由于爱默生继承了英国经验主义的行为方式,因而在实践层面上更为强调人的现实生活,为美国个人主义走向世俗个人主义奠定了基础,为美国本土哲学——实用主义的到来做了理论上的准备。

3、爱默生一生关注人的主体世界,通过卡莱尔、华兹华斯和柯尔律治等人,他受到了康德思想的鼓舞,可以说爱默生的超验主义是在康德理论的影响下形成的。从以上帝为中心,最后过渡到以人为中心,以原生依赖上帝过渡到人的自立,上帝为人而存在。通过这个循环,爱默生的个人主义就从神学迈向了人本主义。从这个意义上说,爱默生个人主义具有启蒙的性质,它是美国个人主义思想的发源地之一。

4、爱默生还开创了美国本土个人主义的先河。到了19世纪,个人主义在美国终于迎来了一个理论上的总结和提高,和以往美国个人主义相比,爱默生尤为强调了个人的精神至上性,并从提倡个人的神圣性和个性进而推及到人的生活方式,最后又提升文化的自立和民族的自立。

《美国文学简史》

1、超验主义:

(1)超验主义(Transcendentalism)是19世纪30年代在美国兴起的一场带有宗教色彩的思想解放运动。18世纪末,新英格兰的波士顿兴起了一种新的教派——唯一理教(Unitarianism)。1785年,新英格兰主教派教会的波士顿耶稣教派公开信仰唯一理教,否认三位一体之说,认为上帝只有一位,耶稣是人而不是神。

(2)爱默生在他的文章《超验主义者》对超验主义的定义是:“现在流行的超验主义就是理想主义,1842年的理想主义”1842年左右,一些新英格兰人对当时物质利益至上的生活并不满意,于是他们成立了“超验主义俱乐部”,聚在一起共同探讨大家所关心的国计民生的问题。其中大部分是牧师或教师,他们极力反对波士顿商人的价值观和冷酷死板的上帝一位论理性主义。

(3)超验主义是对唯一理教的扬弃。在某种程度上,它是一种自由主义宗教。它主张给与信教者更多的宗教自由,反对教会对教徒施加种种限制和约束。在超验主义者看来,既然上帝与人的心灵之间存在着直接的联系,因此人完全可以依靠自己的直觉来认识上帝,而不需要借助于经验、《圣经》或信条、教会或传教士等等媒介。它主张用一个仁慈的上帝取代过去那个愤怒的上帝,认为人不是生而有罪,不是注定要受苦,而是自由的和能够享有永恒幸福的。上帝不是把幸福赐予少数选民,而是赐予每一个人。超验主义者从宗教和精神至上的角度出发,提倡人人平等自由,颂扬和支持杰弗逊时代创建的民主政治。

(4)超验主义认为精神或“超灵”是宇宙中最重要之物,注重个人,一再重复个人的重要,以及恢复个性的意义。超验主义者认为自然是超灵或是上帝的象征。对他们而言,自然不是纯粹的物质,而是充满着上帝的存在。新英格兰超验主义是国外因素和美国清教共同影响下的产物。

2、作为超验主义的先驱,爱默生将超验主义的观点做了一个系统的综合,其中最主要的元素就是“超灵”,因而他的作品中无不表现出对精神的重视。他认为自然是最纯洁的,能影响人们的道德思想,并且上帝就存在于

自然之中。

3、作为超验主义这,爱默生认为物质世界是充满生计而不断进化的。和清教徒的祖辈一样,他认为自然是上帝的象征,存在于人和上帝之间,是通向真理的途径。

4、爱默生的审美观在美国掀起了一场革命,尤其是在美国是个文学方面。它标志着真正的美国诗歌以及诗人的诞生。

5、《论美国学者》被认为是“美国知识分子的独立宣言”。爱默生的观点是:美国人不应该模仿别人,而应该重视当时当地的主题,长期向别国学习的时代结束了。他呼吁美国作家以美国独特的方式描绘自己的土地。爱默生对于美国文学界的重要性就在于他是一个新民族的梦想和斗争具体化,在那个格式化的年代加入了属于自己的特点。

《新编美国文学史》上海外语教育出版社

1、超验主义是具有广泛影响的一股浪漫主义改革思潮,其基本精神是挑战传统的理性主义和怀疑论哲学,特别是挑战作为清教主义理论基础的加尔文教思想。超验主义的基本观点,在“大觉醒运动”的主要思想家爱德华兹和唯一神教(唯一神教只相信有唯一的上帝,不相信圣父、圣子、圣灵三位一体的教义,在信仰上可称为上帝一体论(monarchianism)。由於其不相信耶稣的神性,因此不是基督徒。唯一神教相信人类心灵的直觉,也相信自然之中隐藏著造物者的天意,相信上帝在创造世界之后就撒手不管,留给人类自由意志面对天意,因此否定原罪及宿命论。)思想家之一钱宁的观点中可以初见端倪。爱德华兹认为人的获救有赖于“有上帝的精神瞬间投射的艺术神圣而超自然的光明”,而钱宁则提出,人人心中都有一个可以通过直觉的内省来认识的上帝。同时,超验主义思想在哲学上受到德国的康德、费希特、谢林等人的唯心主义和神秘轮的影响,也受到英国浪漫主义文学家‘以及印度、中国等东方民族的古典哲学思想的影响。

2、超验主义是一种唯心主义一元论,它认为世界和上帝同在一统一体重,不仅如此,虽然上帝本身是超验的,但是他就存在于这个世界之中,既然人人具有内在的神性,人与人之间从根本上说就应当是平等,他们与“超灵”沟通的权利和可能性也是平等的,应受到同样的承认和尊重,表达了对一切宗教和世俗的权威的怀疑,这一点,恰好形成了美国“个人主义”的理论基础。

3、爱默生的自然并不是独立于人的滋味自在额物质存在,它是人之心灵的表象,而所谓的自然之美,在他看来是人通过存在于心灵之中关于美的概念所认识的美。也就是说,自在的自然其实是人心灵中的自然,自然之美实际上是人心灵中之美,这种美,是“超验”的,即超越了人们感官的认知限度。

4、确定自然——人——上帝之间的关系,只是爱默生超验主义的理论基础,而其精髓,则是他提出了“超灵”的概念。爱默生仍然从自然和自然美出发,认为人人心中都存在着一种能使其心灵认知自然美的东西,这种抽象的,无形的,存在于所有人的心灵之中的东西,爱默生称之为“超灵”,它是人心灵发展的最高阶段,而人只能通过直觉的内省,打到与“超灵”沟通的境界。

 

第二篇:爱默生资料

爱默生(Ralph Waldo Emerson,1803-1882)是美国伟大的思想家、文学家、演说家、励志先驱,被称为―美国精神先知‖、―美国的孔子‖(林肯语),―确立美国文化精神的代表人物,就像雨果对于法国或是托尔斯泰对于俄国,爱默生确立了美国模式‖(约翰逊)。旅居美国大半生的才女张爱玲一生只翻译了一册美国人的书,那就是―爱默生选集‖,她曾说过:―爱默生的作品即使在今日看来,也仍旧没有失去时效。‖

历史上,众多励志大师如戴尔·卡耐基、拿破仑·希尔、奥格·曼狄诺等曾经受到了爱默生―第一个论点依靠自我,尊重自我‖思想的影响和启发。―依靠自我,尊重自我,独立自助,祟尚个性‖,这是美国精神的的突出特征,也是美国企业文化的精髓,美国社会的迅猛发展与美国个人才智的充分展现,正与这种精神息息相关。

Historically, many inspirational artists such as Dale Carnegie ? Napoleon ? Hill, Ogg ? Man Dinuo so Emerson has been "to rely on self, respect for self," thinking of the impact and inspiration. "Relying on self, respect for self and independent self-help, pursues individuality", which is the spirit of the prominent features of the United States, is the essence of American culture, American society and the rapid development of individual

―美洲大陆的懒散智力,将要睁开它惺松的眼睑……我们依赖旁人的日子,我们师从它国的长期学徒时代即将结束。‖洋溢在《美国学者》中的激情与信心,后来被普遍视作美国的―思想独立宣言‖,那场并不出色的演讲,被神话成美国精神觉醒的标志。生命几乎横贯19世纪(1803年-1883年)的爱默生成为那个时代当之无愧的代表人物。爱默生的精神活动支配了整个19世纪美国的精神气质。

Intellectual laziness of the American continent, will be opened the lid it Xingsong ... ... We rely on other people's time, we studied under which the country's long-term apprenticeship era coming to an end." Filled in "American Scholar" in the passion and confidence, and later generally regarded as America's "Declaration of Independence thought," That is not good speech, by myth into a symbol of awakening the American spirit. Life is almost running through the 19th century (1803 -1,883 years) Emerson as a worthy representative of that era. Emerson's spiritual domination of the entire 19th century American ethos.

One of his great statements was in The American Scholar. Oliver Wendell Holmes called the speech ―our intellectual Declaration of Indepedence‖ . in the address he defined the scholar’s obligations for ages.

爱默生反对权威,崇尚直觉,其思想核心是主张人能超越感觉和理性而直接认识真理。他的重要作品有《依靠自我》、《生活的准则》、《论自然》等。他的思想被称为超验主义的核心,他本人则被冠以―美国的文艺复兴领袖‖之美誉。他作品的中心是人本主义哲学思想,基本出发点是反对权威,崇尚直觉,主张个性解放,打破神学和外国教条束缚,核心是主张人能超越感觉和理性,直接认识真理。他的超验主义观点摒弃了加尔文教派以神为中心的思想,吸取了康德先验论和欧洲浪漫派理论家的思想,提出人能够凭直觉认识真理,因而在一定程度上,人就是上帝。

Emerson against the authority, respect for intuition, their thinking is the core of feelings and ideas one is above the rational and directly understand the truth. His important works are "relying on self," "living guidelines", "On Nature". His thought has been called the heart of Transcendentalism, he was dubbed "America's Renaissance Leaders" of reputation. The center of his work is humanistic philosophy of thinking, the basic starting point is against the authority, respect for intuition, advocating individual liberty, to break the theological and foreign dogma, the core is the proposition one is above the sense and reason, a direct understanding of truth. Transcendentalism he abandoned the Calvinist view of God as the center of thought, drawing on Kant's transcendentalism and the European Romantic theorists who make people can intuitively understand the truth, and therefore to some extent, who is God.

为此,他呼吁,―我们要用自己的脚走路,用自己的手操作,说自己心理想说的话。‖爱默生的观点反应了资本主义上升时期的时代精神:―一个人一定能够成为他想成为的人。‖这种自立精神,被称为美国式的宗教,激励了美国民族精神的发展和完善。

To this end, he cried out, "believe yourself: Every heart is beating with that string. Acceptable to God for you to find the location - the composition of contemporary society and the World Network." Emerson believes that the universe is a single spirit (both the "super spiritual" or "God"), the

expression of the human mind and the natural world with the spirit of the same nature and therefore have a "divine." Since "man is his own god", people should believe in yourself, not worship of the ancients, dependence on foreign. He said, "people should learn is to capture, observe from the heart of the flash, rather than poets and great men of the Light."

爱默生集散文作家、思想家、诗人于一身,他的诗歌、散文独具特色,注重思想内容而没有过份注重词藻的华丽,行文犹如格言,哲理深入浅出,说服力强,且有典型的―爱默生风格‖。有人这样评价他的文字―爱默生似乎只写警句‖,他的文字所透出的气质难以形容:既充满专制式的不容置疑,又具有开放式的民主精神;既有贵族式的傲慢,更具有平民式的直接;既清晰易懂,又常常夹杂着某种神秘主义......一个人能在一篇文章中塞入那么多的警句实在是了不起的,那些值得在清晨诵读的句子为什么总能够振奋人心,岁月不是为他蒙上灰尘,而是映衬得他熠熠闪光。―

Emerson set of prose writers, thinkers, poets in one of his poems, essays unique and not focus too much emphasis on the ideological content of the ornate flourishes, reads like a motto, philosophy in layman's language, persuasive, and have typical " Emerson style. " It was said of his words, "Emerson seems to write aphorisms," the text is disclosed by his

temperament indescribable: no doubt full of authoritarian style, but also has an open spirit of democracy; both aristocratic arrogance, a more direct style of civilians; both clear and easy to understand, it is often mixed with some kind of mystical ...... a man stuffed in an article in so many aphorisms is remarkable, that is worth reading in the morning Why the sentence can always exciting, not for his years of being covered with dust, but he was silhouetted against the shining. "

他每天阅读歌德、普鲁塔克、蒙田、莎士比亚和华滋华斯,他奉劝每一位读者:不做自己,而做一个柏拉图主义者;不做一个灵魂,而做一名基督徒;不做一名博物学家,而做一名笛卡尔主义者;不做诗人,而做一名莎士比亚崇拜者……

Every day he read Goethe, Plutarch, Montaigne, Shakespeare and Wordsworth, he advised every reader: do not do yourself, but to be a

Platonist; do not do a soul, and do a Christians; do not do a naturalist, but to be a Cartesian advocates; makes the poet, but to do a Shakespeare admirer ... ...

这看似矛盾的观点,蕴涵了爱默生简单而一致的思维方式,即如何在伟大的传统与个人独特创造性间寻找平衡,他相信每颗心灵都足以包容整个世界与所有伟大传统,每一个人在发现与唤醒自己的内心时,就会发现世界的全部真相——典型的爱默生式的表达就是,―顺从内心的召唤,你就是宇宙中最伟大的天才‖。对,这听起来就像是一位泛心灵主义者的主张,但它却比任何理论都更富有成效地激发我们内心的冲动,

它如此符合一个刚刚崛起的民主社会中普通人的内心,它也同样对精英主义者构成致命的吸引力。

This seemingly contradictory point of view, implies that Emerson thought a simple and consistent approach, that is how the great tradition and individual creativity unique among Xunzhao balance, he believes every soul pieces are enough to accommodate all great tradition of the Shi Jie, each one Discovery and awaken in their hearts, they will find the world the whole truth - the typical Emersonian expression is, "obey the call of heart, you're the greatest genius of the universe." Yes, this sounds like a Marxist who advocated pan-soul, but it is more productive than any theory to stimulate our inner impulse, it just so consistent with the rise of a democratic society of ordinary people inside, it also on the elitist pose a fatal attraction.

他足够勇敢,他将自己所思考的一切,不管多么粗糙,都表露出来。他像记者一样观察,像牧师一样写作,他赋予了那些或许简单的思想一种高贵的情怀。更重要的是,他不知疲倦地宣讲他所理解的一切,在他的后半生中,演讲是他最重要的活动。他是那个时代最伟大的公共知识分子,他不仅将思想传达给更多的读者,还帮助形成了美国的知识分子俱乐部。除去超验主义者们,霍桑、梭罗与麦尔维尔是他的好朋友,而沃尔特·惠特曼则更加热情:―我的思想犹如咝咝作响的热水,而爱默生终于使它们沸腾。‖令人惊奇的是爱默生的感觉力,他不喜欢抽象事物,更为确切地说,在他人眼中抽象的理念,在爱默生的头脑中再具体不过了,正如他能将宗教情怀与对自然的热衷神奇地结合在一起。在爱默生那些常常并不严谨的文章中,一个理念活生生地站在我们面前,相互拥抱或厮杀,我听过的对此最为动人的评论是:―切开这些词,它们会出血。‖

支持这一切的是,爱默生对于生命的热情,尽管他一生都生活在死亡的阴影之中,他的四个兄弟姐妹与他的第一个儿子都死于肺结核,他还因为理想过分庞大,而时常陷入沮丧之中。但他的热情顽强地使他活到80岁,在那个年代,这或许比写出一本伟大的书还了不起。他像一个罗马人一样珍视荣誉,因为他相信人生的最高目标就是―使自己变得更优秀‖,他随口说出那些让每一个青年都再次振奋的话:―奋发向上吧,悲伤的年轻人,要让自己发光‖。

爱默生集散文作家、思想家、诗人于一身,第三段他的诗歌、散文独具特色,注重思想内容而没有过分注重词藻的华丽,行文犹如格

言,哲理深入浅出,说服力强,且有典型的―爱默生风格‖。有人这样评价他的文字―爱默生似乎只写警句‖,他的文字所透出的气质难以形容:既充满专制式的不容置疑,又具有开放式的民主精神;既有贵族式的傲慢,更具有平民式的直接;既清晰易懂,又常常夹杂着某种神秘主义......一个人能在一篇文章中塞入那么多的警句实在是了不起的,那些值得在清晨诵读的句子为什么总能够振奋人心,岁月不是为他蒙上灰尘,而是映衬得他熠熠闪光。

三Emerson set of prose writers, thinkers, poets in one of his poems, prose unique, and not focus too much emphasis on the ideological content of gorgeous rhetoric, reads like a motto, philosophy in layman's language, persuasive, and there is a typical "love Emerson style. " It was said of his words, "Emerson seems to write aphorisms," the text is disclosed by his temperament indescribable: no doubt full of authoritarian style, but also has an open spirit of democracy; both aristocratic arrogance, a more direct style of civilians; both clear and easy to understand, it is often mixed with some kind of mystical ...... a man stuffed in an article in so many aphorisms is remarkable, that is worth reading in the morning Why the sentence can always exciting, not for his years of being covered with dust, but he was silhouetted against the shining.

他是美国文学史和思想史上公认的思想家,文学家,演说家和诗人。 在英国浪漫主义思想、新柏拉图主义,以及印度教等哲学流派的影响下,他成了美国19世纪超验主义思想的灵魂人物。 超验主义带有神秘色彩的思想激发了人们对个体存在及其能力的乐观意识。 这一思想不仅成为了美国文艺复兴的基石, 而且对当时以及未来美国的哲学、宗教、文学、教育、社会和文化都产生了深远的影响。

He was an American literary history and the history of thought recognized thinker, writer, orator and poet. British Romanticism, neo-Platonic, and the Hindu philosophical schools such as under the influence, he became the United States 19th century Transcendentalism thinking soul. Transcendentalism with mystical ideas inspired people optimistic about the ability of individual existence and consciousness. This idea has not only become the cornerstone of the American Renaissance, but also the future of the United States at that time as well as philosophy, religion, literature, education, social and cultural have had a profound impact

他的《论自然》被誉为美国“超验主义的宣言书”。 书中阐述

了他超验主义哲学思想的基本内容:自力更生、自知之明和第二个论点崇尚自然。他还发表了“神学院演说“ 的演讲, 强烈的抨击教会传统, 倡导自立精神和通过直觉所获得的精神阅历。 他的作品见解独到, 展现了超验主义世界中,理想人类生活的方方面面。 His "On Nature" is known as the "manifesto of Transcendentalism." The book set out his philosophy of Transcendentalism basic elements: self-reliance, self-knowledge and respect for nature. He also issued a "seminary speech" speech, strongly criticized the Church tradition, advocating self-reliance and the spirit gained through intuitive experience. Unique view of his work, which shows Transcendentalism world, the ideal human lives

”每个人在求知过程中, 都会经历这样一个时期,坚信这样一个道理:嫉妒是无知的表现,模仿无异于自杀, 。。。 除了本人,谁也不知道自己能做些什么, 而且你经过尝试,甚至他本人也弄不清楚自己有什么本事。“

Each person in the learning process, will experience a period of belief that a reason: envy is ignorance, imitation is tantamount to suicide. . . In addition to myself, who do not know what he could do, but after you try, and even he himself did not even know what their ability.

这是爱默生对自立精神生动形象的表述。自强自立是他思想的精髓之一,这一思想直到今天,依然体现在美国社会文化生活的方方面面当中, 是美国文化中个体主义观念的组成元素之一。 同时,他崇尚自然, 崇尚简单。

This is a vivid image of the spirit of Emerson on self-presentation.

Self-sufficient is the essence of his thought, one day the idea is still reflected in every aspect of American social and cultural life which is the concept of individualism in American culture an integral element. Meanwhile, he advocates to-nature and easy.

结束段:他的语言深奥雄辩而富有诗意,其中蕴含的睿智令人折服。他的作品就是一部人生的思想手册, 在他的指导下, 我们的灵魂就永远不会迷失。 他被誉为“美国的精神先知”,它属于美国, 也属于世界上所有思考的灵魂;属于过去, 同时也属于今天。

His profound eloquence and poetic language, the wisdom it contains is impressive. His work is the idea of a manual for life, under his guidance, our souls will never be lost. He was known as "the spirit of the United States prophet", it belongs to the United States, also belong to the soul of all the world thought; belong to the past, but also is today.

他有着哲学家的深邃,宗教家的虔诚,演说家的激情,和诗人的睿智和美。 在人们逐渐忘却心灵,抛却自然的今天, 希望你能从他的文字和思想中找到一丝平静。

He has a profound philosophers, religionists of the pious, passionate orator, and poet of wisdom and beauty. In people's hearts gradually forget, discard nature of today, I hope you can text and thought he found a trace of calm.

百科

Ralph Waldo Emerson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to:navigation, search Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Full name Ralph Waldo Emerson

Born May 25, 1803(1803-05-25)

Boston, Massachusetts

Died April 27, 1882 (aged 78)

Concord, Massachusetts

Era 19th century philosophy

Region Western Philosophy

School Transcendentalism

Signature

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American

philosopher, essayist, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid-1800s.[1] [2] He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society.

Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature. As a result of this ground-breaking work he gave a speech entitled The American Scholar in 1837, which Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. considered to be America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence".[3] Considered one of the great orators of the time, Emerson's enthusiasm and respect for his audience enraptured crowds. His support for abolitionism late in life created controversy, and at times he was subject to abuse from crowds while speaking on the topic. When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was "the infinitude of the private man."[4]

Contents [hide]

1 Early life, family, and education

2 Early career

3 Literary career and Transcendentalism

4 Civil War years

5 Final years and death

6 Lifestyle and beliefs

7 Legacy

8 Selected works

9 See also

10 Notes

11 Sources

12 External links

[edit] Early life, family, and education

This article's tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (May 2010)

Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 25, 1803,[5] son of Ruth Haskins and the Rev. William Emerson, a Unitarian minister who descended from a well-known line of ministers.[6] He was named after his

mother's brother Ralph and the father's great-grandmother Rebecca Waldo.[7] Ralph Waldo was the second of five sons who survived into adulthood; the others were William, Edward, Robert Bulkeley, and Charles.[8] Three other children—Phebe, John Clarke, and Mary Caroline–died in childhood.[8]

The young Ralph Waldo Emerson's father died from stomach cancer on May 12, 1811, less than two weeks before Emerson's eighth birthday.[9] Emerson was raised by his mother as well as other intellectual and spiritual women in his family, including his aunt Mary Moody Emerson, who had a profound impact on the young Emerson.[10] She lived with the family off and on, and maintained a constant correspondence with Emerson until her death in 1863.[11]

Emerson's formal schooling began at the Boston Latin School in 1812 when he was nine.[12] In October 1817, at 14, Emerson went to Harvard College and was appointed freshman messenger for the president, requiring Emerson to fetch delinquent students and send messages to faculty.[13] Midway through his junior year, Emerson began keeping a list of books he had read and started a journal in a series of notebooks that would be called "Wide World".[14] He took outside jobs to cover his school expenses, including as a waiter for the Junior Commons and as an occasional teacher working with his uncle Samuel in Waltham, Massachusetts.[15] By his senior year, Emerson decided to go by his middle name, Waldo.[16] Emerson served as Class Poet; as was custom, he presented an original poem on Harvard's Class Day, a month before his official graduation on August 29, 1821, when he was 18.[17] He did not stand out as a student and graduated in the exact middle of his class of 59 people.[18]

Around 1826, during a winter trip to St. Augustine, Florida, Emerson made the acquaintance of Prince Achille Murat. Murat, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, was only two years his senior; the two became extremely good friends and enjoyed one another's company. The two engaged in enlightening discussions on religion, society, philosophy, and government.[19]

[edit] Early career

Engraved drawing, 1878After Harvard, Emerson assisted his brother William [20] in a school for young women[21] established in their mother's house, after he had established his own school in Chelmsford, Massachusetts;

when his brother William [22] went to G?ttingen to study divinity, Emerson took charge of the school. Over the next several years, Emerson made his living as a schoolmaster, then went to Harvard Divinity School.

Emerson's brother Edward,[23] two years younger than he, entered the office of lawyer Daniel Webster, after graduating Harvard first in his class. Edward's physical health began to deteriorate and he soon suffered a mental collapse as well; he was taken to McLean Asylum in June 1828 at 23. Although he recovered his mental equilibrium he died in 1834 at 29 from apparently longstanding tuberculosis.[24]

Boston's Second Church invited Emerson to serve as its junior pastor and he was ordained on March 11, 1829.[25] Emerson met his first wife, Ellen Louisa Tucker, in Concord, New Hampshire and married her when she was

18.[26] The couple moved to Boston, with Emerson's mother Ruth moving with them to help take care of Ellen, who was already sick with tuberculosis.[27] Less than two years later, Ellen died at the age of 20 on February 8, 1831, after uttering her last words: "I have not forgot the peace and joy".[28] Emerson was heavily affected by her death and often visited her grave.[29] In a journal entry dated March 29, 1831, Emerson wrote, "I visited Ellen's tomb and opened the coffin".[30]

After his wife's death, he began to disagree with the church's methods, writing in his journal in June 1832: "I have sometimes thought that, in order to be a good minister, it was necessary to leave the ministry. The profession is antiquated. In an altered age, we worship in the dead forms of our forefathers".[31] His disagreements with church officials over the administration of the Communion service and misgivings about public prayer eventually led to his resignation in 1832. As he wrote, "This mode of commemorating Christ is not suitable to me. That is reason enough why I should abandon it".[32]

Emerson toured Europe in 1832 and later wrote of his travels in English Traits (1857).[33] He left aboard the brig Jasper on Christmas Day, sailing first to Malta.[34] During his European trip, he met William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Stuart Mill, and Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle in particular was a strong influence on Emerson; Emerson would later serve as an unofficial literary agent in the United States for Carlyle. The two would maintain correspondence until Carlyle's death in 1881.[35]

Emerson returned to the United States on October 9, 1833, and lived with his mother in Newton, Massachusetts, until November 1834 when he moved to Concord, Massachusetts, to live with his step-grandfather Dr. Ezra Ripley at what was later named The Old Manse.[36] In 1835, he bought a house on the Cambridge and Concord Turnpike in Concord, Massachusetts now open to the public as the Ralph Waldo Emerson House,[37] and quickly became one of the leading citizens in the town. He married his second wife Lydia Jackson in her home town of Plymouth, Massachusetts][38] on September 14, 1835.[39] He called her Lidian and she called him Mr. Emerson.[40] Their children were Waldo, Ellen, Edith, and Edward Waldo Emerson. Ellen was named for his first wife, at Lidian's suggestion.[41]

Another of Emerson's bright and promising younger brothers, Charles, born in 1808, died in 1836, also of tuberculosis,[42] making him the third young person in Emerson's innermost circle to die in a period of a few years.

Emerson lived a financially conservative lifestyle.[43] He had inherited some wealth after his wife's death, though he brought a lawsuit against the Tucker family in 1836 to get it.[44] He received $11,674.79 in July 1837.[45]

[edit] Literary career and Transcendentalism

Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1859Emerson and other like-minded intellectuals founded the Transcendental Club, which served as a center for the movement. Its first official meeting was held on September 19, 1836.[46] Emerson anonymously published his first essay, Nature, in September 1836.

A year later, on August 31, 1837, Emerson delivered his now-famous Phi Beta Kappa address, "The American Scholar",[47] then known as "An Oration, Delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge"; it was renamed for a collection of essays in 1849.[48] In the speech, Emerson declared literary independence in the United States and urged Americans to create a writing style all their own and free from Europe.[49] James Russell Lowell, who was a student at Harvard at the time, called it "an event without former parallel on our literary annals".[50] Another member of the audience, Reverend John Pierce, called it "an apparently incoherent and unintelligible address".[51]

In 1837, Emerson befriended Henry David Thoreau. Though they had likely met as early as 1835, in the fall of 1837, Emerson asked Thoreau, "Do you

keep a journal?" The question went on to have a lifelong inspiration for Thoreau.[52]

On July 15, 1838,[53] Emerson was invited to Divinity Hall, Harvard Divinity School for the school's graduation address, which came to be known as his "Divinity School Address". Emerson discounted Biblical miracles and proclaimed that, while Jesus was a great man, he was not God: historical Christianity, he said, had turned Jesus into a "demigod, as the Orientals or the Greeks would describe Osiris or Apollo".[54] His comments outraged the establishment and the general Protestant community. For this, he was denounced as an atheist,[54] and a poisoner of young men's minds. Despite the roar of critics, he made no reply, leaving others to put forward a defense. He was not invited back to speak at Harvard for another thirty years.[55]

The Transcendental group began to publish its flagship journal, The Dial, in July 1840.[56] They planned the journal as early as October 1839, but work did not begin until the first week of 1840.[57] George Ripley was its managing editor[58] and Margaret Fuller was its first editor, having been hand-chosen by Emerson after several others had declined the role.[59] Fuller stayed on for about two years and Emerson took over, utilizing the journal to promote talented young writers including Ellery Channing and Thoreau.[52]

It was in 1841 that Emerson published Essays, his second book, which included the famous essay, "Self-Reliance".[60] His aunt called it a "strange medley of atheism and false independence", but it gained favorable reviews in London and Paris. This book, and its popular reception, more than any of Emerson's contributions to date laid the groundwork for his international fame.[61]

In January 1842 Emerson's first son Waldo died from scarlet fever.[62] Emerson wrote of his grief in the poem "Threnody" ("For this losing is true dying"),[63] and the essay "Experience". In the same year, William James was born, and Emerson agreed to be his godfather.

Bronson Alcott announced his plans in November 1842 to find "a farm of a hundred acres in excellent condition with good buildings, a good orchard and grounds".[64] Charles Lane purchased a 90-acre (360,000 m2) farm in Harvard, Massachusetts, in May 1843 for what would become Fruitlands, a

community based on Utopian ideals inspired in part by Transcendentalism.[65] The farm would run based on a communal effort, using no animals for labor; its participants would eat no meat and use no wool or leather.[66] Emerson said he felt "sad at heart" for not engaging in the experiment himself.[67] Even so, he did not feel Fruitlands would be a success. "Their whole doctrine is spiritual", he wrote, "but they always end with saying, Give us much land and money".[68] Even Alcott admitted he was not prepared for the difficulty in operating Fruitlands. "None of us were prepared to actualize practically the ideal life of which we dreamed. So we fell apart", he wrote.[69] After its failure, Emerson helped buy a farm for Alcott's family in Concord[68] which Alcott named "Hillside".[69]

The Dial ceased publication in April 1844; Horace Greeley reported it as an end to the "most original and thoughtful periodical ever published in this country".[70]

Emerson made a living as a popular lecturer in New England and much of the rest of the country. From 1847 to 1848, he toured England, Scotland, and Ireland.[71] He also visited Paris between the February Revolution and the bloody June Days. When he arrived, he saw the stumps where trees had been cut down to form barricades in the February riots. On May 21 he stood on the Champ de Mars in the midst of mass celebrations for concord, peace and labor. He wrote in his journal: "At the end of the year we shall take account, & see if the Revolution was worth the trees."[72]

He had begun lecturing in 1833; by the 1850s he was giving as many as 80 per year.[73] Emerson spoke on a wide variety of subjects and many of his essays grew out of his lectures. He charged between $10 and $50 for each appearance, bringing him about $800 to $1,000 per year.[74] His earnings allowed him to expand his property, buying eleven acres of land by Walden Pond and a few more acres in a neighboring pine grove. He wrote that he was "landlord and waterlord of 14 acres, more or less".[68]

In 1845, Emerson's journals show he was reading the Bhagavad Gita and Henry Thomas Colebrooke's Essays on the Vedas.[75] Emerson was strongly influenced by the Vedas, and much of his writing has strong shades of nondualism. One of the clearest examples of this can be found in his essay "The Over-soul":

We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within

man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related, the eternal ONE. And this deep power in which we exist and whose beatitude is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every hour, but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject and the object, are one. We see the world piece by piece, as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which these are shining parts, is the soul.[76]

Emerson was introduced to Indian philosophy when reading the works of French philosopher Victor Cousin.[77]

In February 1852 Emerson and James Freeman Clarke and William Henry Channing edited an edition of the works and letters of Margaret Fuller, who had died in 1850.[78] Within a week of her death, her New York editor Horace Greeley suggested to Emerson that a biography of Fuller, to be called Margaret and Her Friends, be prepared quickly "before the interest excited by her sad decease has passed away".[79] Published with the title The Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli,[80] Fuller's words were heavily censored or rewritten.[81] The three editors were not concerned about accuracy; they believed public interest in Fuller was temporary and that she would not survive as a historical figure.[82] Even so, for a time, it was the best-selling biography of the decade and went through thirteen editions before the end of the century.[80]

Walt Whitman published the innovative poetry collection Leaves of Grass in 1855 and sent a copy to Emerson for his opinion. Emerson responded positively, sending a flattering five-page letter as a response.[83] Emerson's approval helped the first edition of Leaves of Grass stir up significant interest[84] and convinced Whitman to issue a second edition shortly thereafter.[85] This edition quoted a phrase from Emerson's letter, printed in gold leaf on the cover: "I Greet You at the Beginning of a Great Career".[86] Emerson took offense that this letter was made public[87] and later became more critical of the work.[88]

[edit] Civil War years

Though Emerson was anti-slavery, he did not immediately become active in the abolitionist movement. He voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, but Emerson was disappointed that Lincoln was more concerned about preserving the Union than eliminating slavery outright.[89] Once the American Civil War broke out, Emerson made it clear that he believed in

immediate emancipation of the slaves.[90] Emerson gave a public lecture in Washington, D.C., on January 31, 1862, and declared: "The South calls slavery an institution... I call it destitution... Emancipation is the demand of civilization".[91] The next day, February 1, his friend Charles Sumner took him to meet Lincoln at the White House; his misgivings about Lincoln began to soften after this meeting.[92]

On May 6, 1862, Emerson's protege Henry David Thoreau died of tuberculosis at the age of 44 and Emerson delivered his eulogy. Emerson would continuously refer to Thoreau as his best friend,[93] despite a falling out that began in 1849 after Thoreau published A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.[94] Another friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne, died two years after Thoreau in 1864. Emerson served as one of the pallbearers as Hawthorne was buried in Concord, as Emerson wrote, "in a pomp of sunshine and verdure".[95]

[edit] Final years and death

Emerson's grave in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, ConcordBeginning as early as the summer of 1871 or in the spring of 1872, Emerson was losing his memory[96] and suffered from aphasia.[97] By the end of the decade, he forgot his own name at times and, when anyone asked how he felt, he responded, "Quite well; I have lost my mental faculties, but am perfectly well".[98]

Emerson's Concord home caught fire on July 24, 1872; Emerson called for help from neighbors and, giving up on putting out the flames, all attempted to save as many objects as possible.[99] The fire was put out by Ephraim Bull, Jr., the one-armed son of Ephraim Wales Bull.[100] Donations were collected by friends to help the Emersons rebuild, including $5,000 gathered by Francis Cabot Lowell, another $10,000 collected by LeBaron Russell Briggs, and a personal donation of $1,000 from George Bancroft.[101] Support for shelter was offered as well; though the Emersons ended up staying with family at the Old Manse, invitations came from Anne Lynch Botta, James Elliot Cabot, James Thomas Fields and Annie Adams Fields.[102] The fire marked an end to Emerson's serious lecturing career; from then on, he would lecture only on special occasions and only in front of familiar audiences.[103]

While the house was being rebuilt, Emerson took a trip to England,

continental Europe, and Egypt. He left on October 23, 1872, along with his daughter Ellen[104] while his wife Lidian spent time at the Old Manse and with friends.[105] Emerson and his daughter Ellen returned to the United States on the ship Olympus along with friend Charles Eliot Norton on April 15, 1873.[106] Emerson's return to Concord was celebrated by the town and school was canceled that day.[97]

In late 1874 Emerson published an anthology of poetry called Parnassus, which included poems by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Julia Caroline Dorr, Jean Ingelow, Lucy Larcom, Jones Very, as well as Thoreau and several others.[107] The anthology was originally prepared as early as the fall of 1871 but was delayed when the publishers asked for revisions.[108]

The problems with his memory had become embarrassing to Emerson and he ceased his public appearances by 1879. As Holmes wrote, "Emerson is afraid to trust himself in society much, on account of the failure of his memory and the great difficulty he finds in getting the words he wants. It is painful to witness his embarrassment at times".[98]

On April 19, 1882, Emerson went walking despite having an apparent cold and was caught in a sudden rain shower. Two days later, he was diagnosed with pneumonia.[109] He died on April 27, 1882. Emerson is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts.[110] He was placed in his coffin wearing a white robe given by American sculptor Daniel Chester French.[111]

[edit] Lifestyle and beliefs

This section requires expansion.

Ralph Waldo Emerson in later yearsEmerson's religious views were often considered radical at the time. He believed that all things are connected to God and, therefore, all things are divine.[112] Critics believed that Emerson was removing the central God figure; as Henry Ware, Jr. said, Emerson was in danger of taking away "the Father of the Universe" and leaving "but a company of children in an orphan asylum".[113] Emerson was partly influenced by German philosophy and Biblical criticism.[114] His views, the basis of Transcendentalism, suggested that God does not have to reveal the truth but that the truth could be intuitively experienced directly from nature.[115]

Emerson did not become an ardent abolitionist until later in his life, though his journals show he was concerned with slavery beginning in his youth, even dreaming about helping to free slaves. In June 1856, shortly after Charles Sumner, a United States Senator, was beaten for his staunch abolitionist views, Emerson lamented that he himself was not as committed to the cause. He wrote, "There are men who as soon as they are born take a bee-line to the axe of the inquisitor... Wonderful the way in which we are saved by this unfailing supply of the moral element".[116] After Sumner's attack, Emerson began to speak out about slavery. "I think we must get rid of slavery, or we must get rid of freedom", he said at a meeting at Concord that summer.[117] Emerson used slavery as an example of a human injustice, especially in his role as a minister. In early 1838, provoked by the murder of an abolitionist publisher from Alton, Illinois named Elijah Parish Lovejoy, Emerson gave his first public antislavery address. As he said, "It is but the other day that the brave Lovejoy gave his breast to the bullets of a mob, for the rights of free speech and opinion, and died when it was better not to live".[116] John Quincy Adams said the mob-murder of Lovejoy "sent a shock as of any earthquake throughout this continent".[118] However, Emerson maintained that reform would be achieved through moral agreement rather than by militant action. By August 1, 1844, at a lecture in Concord, he stated more clearly his support for the abolitionist movement. He stated, "We are indebted mainly to this movement, and to the continuers of it, for the popular discussion of every point of practical ethics".[119]

There is evidence suggesting that Emerson may have been bisexual.[120] During his early years at Harvard, he found himself "strangely attracted" to a young freshman named Martin Gay about whom he wrote sexually charged poetry.[121][122] Gay would be only the first of his infatuations and interests, with Nathaniel Hawthorne numbered among them.[123]

[edit] Legacy

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Issue of 1940As a lecturer and orator, Emerson—nicknamed the Concord Sage—became the leading voice of intellectual culture in the United States.[124] Herman Melville, who had met Emerson in 1849, originally thought he had "a defect in the region of the heart" and a "self-conceit so intensely intellectual that at first one hesitates to call it by its right name", though he later admitted Emerson was "a great man".[125] Theodore Parker,

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