"Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes" – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Poet, essayist and lecturer Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) graduated from
Harvard University and was ordained as a Unitarian minister in 1829; but his
questioning of doctrine led him to resign his ministry three years later.
Gradually moving away from the religious and social beliefs of his
contemporaries, he formulated and expressed his philosophy in Nature, an
essay published in 1836 which helped initiate the Transcendentalist
movement (for an almost comprehensible definition of transcendentalism, see transcendentalists.com).
In 1837 he gave a speech entitled "The American Scholar" which Supreme Court Judge
Oliver Wendell Holmes described as America's "Intellectual Declaration of
Independence."
In 1840, with Margaret Fuller, he helped launch The Dial - a
journal that provided an outlet for Transcendentalist ideas. His Essays
published in 1841 and 1844 brought him international fame; and Poems
(1847) and May-Day (1867) established his reputation as a major poet.
This quote & biography originally ran in an issue of BookBrowse's membership magazine. Full Membership Features & Benefits.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung
Eve J. Chung's debut novel recounts a family's flight to Taiwan during China's Communist revolution.
I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
