Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature- Ch 1
Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Comments are due December 06, 2013 14:00
To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.
The words that suggest reverence are: heavenly worlds, sublime, adore, preserve, envoys of beauty, admonishing smile.
So, where does Emerson think we should go? If we leave our houses, then that puts us out into public, but he is saying that we have to leave that too- what’s left? To go out in the world where there isn’t anyone else- in other words, Nature. Where would you go?
I think what hes saying is that you would have to go through great extremes to be alone.
I think the key here is the word solitary. We normally think of solitary as being alone. But Emerson is distinguishing this from being “lonely”. I can see how reading would not be lonely because when you read you imagine all the characters, or at minimum, you hear the narrator’s voice as you read. But what about writing? How do you think writing can be considered NOT solitary?
Whne I look up at the stars, I can see how someone would feel alone… there are a lot of stars up there, but we are the only planet with life, maybe… what do you see when you look at the stars?
The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood. When we speak of nature in this manner, we have a distinct but most poetical sense in the mind. We mean the integrity of impression made by manifold natural objects. It is this which distinguishes the stick of timber of the wood-cutter, from the tree of the poet. The charming landscape which I saw this morning, is indubitably made up of some twenty or thirty farms. Miller owns this field, Locke that, and Manning the woodland beyond. But none of them owns the landscape. There is a property in the horizon which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts, that is, the poet. This is the best part of these men's farms, yet to this their warranty-deeds give no title.
The words that suggested preciousness are: perfection,reverence,kindred,wisdom,simplicity,delighted.
charming landscape , distinct, impression,wise spirit, nature,
Stars can make you feel at ease, when you’re open-minded. When you fully understand many things on your own… How do you feel when you see the stars above you?
When I look at the stars, I think of the universe, the galaxies out there, and other planets. It makes me feel lonely when I think of all that. It’s like wow.. There are so many galaxies and stars.. And I’m only one small human being.. I can only picture myself alone in the middle of nowhere. That makes me feel lonely for a moment.
Nature is always good to come to when alone.
Maya
If a person find out everything about something they will lose all curiosity in that topic and get bored.
How do you get interest back in something once you get bored of it?
The flame is lost when you’ve found out everything there is to know.
This statement implies that no one is ever fully aware of everything, so even the smartest person can never fully solve the mysteries of the natural world or the cosmos, and that curiosity will always exist. Transcendentalist ideals, which emphasize that there is always more to learn and discover about the world around us, are in accordance with this. Transcendentalists hold that some things are beyond human comprehension and that true wisdom arises from acknowledging the inherent mystery and beauty of nature.
his trying to say that you cant mess around with nature. nature is very importent to him.
Does being surrounded by nature make you feel at peace?
I think Emerson is trying to say when he talks about nature he uses creative words and thinks very creative to emphasize the point. What do you think this means ?
From the ghetto & now im in the game an im ballin like im mel… (more)
From the ghetto & now im in the game an im ballin like im mel… (more)
He talks about the landscape as charming. What do you think about the landscape?
Maya
Emerson is saying that Miller, Locke, Mannings don’t actually own the land is that true?
Not by man’s eye alone can they see the full scope of nature through ideas and imagination in a non-superficial way, but by the mind of a sophisticated poet, who digs deeper in nature and finds . Is there enough poetic justice in your surroundings?
To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says, — he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me. Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, — master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.
Few people see nature for what it really is. For example most people see the sun just for it being there. A big yellow sun is all people see. What do you suppose superficial seeing is?
maya,
Maya Yasseh
I think all animals love nature because that’s basically their home.
His love /connection for heaven and earth is what gives him strength. In nature he feels free despite his problems.
Why does nature make him feel free?
The words that suggest cheerful are: delight, yields its tribute, lover of nature, part of his daily food
in this sentence it shows he likes every season of the year, and every little thing that changes in the season, every hour. do you like all seasons of the year ? Maya
This sentence implies that one sees something that reflects the beauty of their own inner nature when they gaze upon a peaceful landscape, particularly the distant horizon. It suggests a relationship between a person’s inner beauty and the external beauty of the world. This concept is consistent with Transcendentalist concepts of the intrinsic beauty and goodness of both nature and people.
The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me, and I to them. The waving of the boughs in the storm, is new to me and old. It takes me by surprise, and yet is not unknown. Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed I was thinking justly or doing right.
Christopher , David
David , christopher
When there is a storm and you look out the window you see the trees moving in the wind. It can be calming to watch. How does it make you feel?
I think that Emerson means something deeper here- what do you think he means?
David , Christopher that they know what im talking about and I know what there talking about
Emerson creates this metaphor to emphasize that when he looks up at the stars, he feels transparent- all seeing.
when i dont know some thing it alway come at me by suprise
What is the “it”?
He feels good in the nature
Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both. It is necessary to use these pleasures with great temperance. For, nature is not always tricked in holiday attire, but the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs, is overspread with melancholy today. Nature always wears the colors of the spirit. To a man laboring under calamity, the heat of his own fire hath sadness in it. Then, there is a kind of contempt of the landscape felt by him who has just lost by death a dear friend. The sky is less grand as it shuts down over less worth in the population.
This means that the power to produce that resides in people is a great pleasure but it should be used with moderation and not over done. But why would Emerson want people to moderate their production? Is too much of one thing bad?
Why do you feel that nature brings out your emotions?
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The opening line sets the tone by emphasizing that true solitude requires a retreat from both physical and mental company. Reading and writing, even alone, can still involve engagement with the world.
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