...some verses . . . which were original" (E&L 259). One of its most nonchalantly daring passages begins, "I shun father and mother and wife and brother, when...would write on the lintels of the door-post, Whim" (E&L 262). Here, in the very act of audaciously asserting his independence and "genius," Emerson is...

...wants to perform surgical debridement on the illiberal argument culture around core liberal beliefs. "The doctrine of hatred must be preached as the counteraction of the doctrine of love when that pulses and whines," said Emerson.42 Sometimes one must part a path through the guano. Without feeding...

...last reference to Emerson evokes another aspect of genius— single-minded dedication to one's work: "I shun father and mother and wife and brother, when my genius calls me." Once again the image which Emerson evokes refers to a high level of self-esteem, in this case, the...

...seem trivial, even annoying. Emerson goes still further in his great essay "Self-Reliance," declaring, "I shun father and mother and wife and brother when my genius calls me." At its most extreme, the logic of the Emersonian self demands a solitude so absolute it leaves no room...

...by inhabiting contradiction and perversity. Both will, in his word, give "edge" to one's feelings: "your goodness must have some edge to it — else...of the doctrine of love when that pules and whines" (262). Reason "never reasons" and maturity is never mature: in this book, maturity suffers a reversal...

...the church, and to assume the position of priest at the family altar?" In contrast, Emerson writes, "I shun father and mother and wife and brother, when...would write on the lintels of the door-post, Whim" and "Do not tell me, as a good man did to-day, of my obligation to put all poor men in good situations....

...authentically in loosing the grip of our personal attachments" (36). As Emerson explains in "Self-Reliance," "I shun father and mother and wife and brother, when my genius calls me" (EL, 262). But -what a terrible, -wrenching burden such a vision entails. As George Kateb observes:...

...by inhabiting contradiction and perversity. Both will, in his word, give "edge" to one's feelings: "your goodness must have some edge to it — else...of the doctrine of love when that pules and whines" (RWE, 262). Reason "never reasons" and maturity is never mature: in this essay, maturity suffers a...

...Cavell's vision of language come together in his reading of Emerson's notion of genius and declaration, 'I shun father and mother and wife and brother when...would write on the lintels of the door-post, Whim" (IQO, p. 1 14). Cavell writes 'the point I emphasize here is only that the life-giving power of words,...

...this incredible tenderness for black folk a thousand miles off. Thy love afar is spite at home.' Rough and graceless would be such greeting, but truth is...affectation of love. Your goodness must have some edge to it,--else it is none. The doctrine of hatred must be preached, as the counteraction of the doctrine...