Essays: First Series

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Cosimo Classics, 1841 - 260 pages

"Within man is the soul of the whole; The wise silence; The universal beauty."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays


Essays: First Series (1841) is a collection of essays drafted early in Emerson's career as a writer. In them, he elaborates on the ideas that emerged following approximately fifteen years spent studying philosophy, religion, and literature and formulating a set of beliefs that laid the foundation for the American transcendental movement. This collection contains the following twelve essays: "Art," "Circles," "Compensation," "Friendship," "Heroism," "History," "Intellect," "Love," "Prudence," "Self-Reliance," "Spiritual Laws," and "The Over-Soul." These are also available as individual publications from Cosimo Classics.

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About the author (1841)

RALPH WALDO EMERSON (1803-1882) was an American poet and essayist. Universally known as the Sage of Concord, Emerson established himself as a leading spokesman of transcendentalism and as a major figure in American literature. His additional works include a series of lectures published as Representative Men (1850), The Conduct of Life (1860), and Society and Solitude (1870).

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