,illustration3  ,engd by ,h4 ,b4 ,hall  
7signature ,o4 ,b4 ,frothingham7  ,g4   
,p4 ,putnam's ,sons1 ,new ,york4        
,,transcendentalism    ,,in    ,,new    
,,england     ,a ,,history     ,,by     
,,octavius ,,brooks ,,frothingham       
,author of ,life of ,theodore ,parker1  
,religion of ,humanity1 c41 c4          
,illustration    ,,new ,,york   ,g4 ,p4 
,,putnam',s ,,sons   #ahb ,,fifth       
,,avenue   #ahgf    ,,copyright1   ,g4  
,p4 ,,putnam',s ,,sons4   #ahgf4        
,,contents4                             
,,page    ,,contents       iii          
,,preface      v    ,i4    ,,beginnings 
,,in ,,germany      #a    ,,ii4         
,,transcendentalism ,,in                
,,germany--,,kant1 ,,jacobi1 ,,fichte1  
etc4      #ad    ,,iii4    ,,theology   
,,and ,,literature--,,schleiermacher1   
,,goethe1 ,,richter1 etc4      #dg      
,,iv4    ,,transcendentalism ,,in       
,,france--,,cousin1 ,,constant1         
,,jouffroy1 etc4      #fj    ,v4        
,,transcendentalism ,,in                

,,england--,,coleridge1 ,,carlyle1      
,,wordsworth      #gf    ,,vi4          
,,transcendentalism ,,in ,,new ,,england
      #aje    ,,vii4    ,,practical     
,,tendencies      #adb    ,,viii4       
,,religious ,,tendencies      #ahe      
,,ix4    ,,the ,,seer--,,emerson        
#bah    ,x4    ,,the ,,mystic--,,alcott 
#bdi    ,,xi4    ,,the                  
,,critic--,,margaret ,,fuller      #bhd 
,,xii4    ,,the ,,preacher--,,theodore  
,,parker      #cjb    ,,xiii4    ,,the  
,,man ,,of ,,letters--,,george ,,ripley 
#cbb    ,,xiv4    ,,minor ,,prophets    
#cce    ,,xv4    ,,literature      #ceg 
,,preface4   ,while we are gathering up 
for exhibition before other nations1 the
 results of a century of ,american life1
 with a purpose to show the issues thus 
far of our experiment in free           
institutions1 it is fitting that some   
report should be made of the influences 
that have shaped the national mind1 and 
determined in any important degree or   
respect its intellectual and moral      

character4 ,a well-considered account of
 these influences would be of very great
 value to the student of history1 the   
statesman and philosopher1 not merely as
 throwing light on our own social       
problem1 but as illustrating the general
 law of human progress4 ,this book is   
offered as a modest contribution to that
 knowledge4  ,transcendentalism1 as it  
is called1 the transcendental movement1 
was an important factor in ,american    
life4 ,though local in activity1 limited
 in scope1 brief in duration1 engaging  
but a comparatively small number of     
individuals1 and passing over the upper 
regions of the mind1 it left a broad and
 deep trace on ideas and institutions4  
,it affected thinkers1 swayed           
politicians1 guided moralists1 inspired 
philanthropists1 created reformers4 ,the
 moral enthusiasm of the last           
generation1 which broke out with such   
prodigious power in the holy war against
 slavery2 which uttered such earnest    
protests against capital punishment1 and

 the wrongs inflicted on women2 which   
made such passionate pleading in behalf 
of the weak1 the injured1 the           
disfranchised of every race and         
condition2 which exalted humanity above 
institutions1 and proclaimed the        
inherent worth of man1--owed1 in larger 
measure than is suspected1 its glow and 
force to the ,transcendentalists4 ,this1
 as a fact of history1 must be admitted1
 as well by those who judge the movement
 unfavorably1 as by its friends4 ,in the
 view of history1 which is concerned    
with causes and effects in their large  
human relations1 individual opinions on 
them are of small moment4 ,it was once  
the fashion--and still in some quarters 
it is the fashion--to laugh at          
,transcendentalism as an                
incomprehensible folly1 and to call     
,transcendentalists visionaries4 ,to    
admit that they were1 would not alter   
the fact that they exerted an influence 
on their generation4 ,it is usual with  
critics of a cold1 unsympathetic1       

cynical cast1 to speak of               
,transcendentalism as a form of         
sentimentality1 and of                  
,transcendentalists as sentimentalists2 
to decry enthusiasm1 and deprecate the  
mischievous effects of feeling on the   
discussion of social questions4 ,but    
their disapproval1 however just and     
wholesome1 does not abolish the trace   
which moral enthusiasm1 under whatever  
name these judges may please to put upon
 it1 has left on the social life of the 
people4 ,whether the impression was for 
evil or for good1 it is there1 and      
equally significant for warning or for  
commendation4  ,as a form of mental     
philosophy ,transcendentalism may have  
had its day2 at any rate1 it is no      
longer in the ascendant1 and at present 
is manifestly on the decline1 being     
suppressed by the philosophy of         
experience1 which1 under different      
names1 is taking possession of the      
speculative world4 ,but neither has this
 consideration weight in deciding its   

value as an element in progress4 ,an    
unsound system requires as accurate a   
description and as severe an analysis as
 a sound one2 and no speculative        
prejudice should interfere with the most
 candid acknowledgment of its           
importance4 ,error is not disarmed or   
disenchanted by caricature or neglect4  
,to those who may object that the writer
 has too freely indulged his own        
prejudices in favor of                  
,transcendentalism and the              
,transcendentalists1 and has            
transgressed his own rules by writing a 
eulogy instead of a history1 he would   
reply1 that in his belief every system  
is best understood when studied         
sympathetically1 and is most fairly     
interpreted from the inside4 ,we can    
know its purposes only from its friends1
 and we can do justice to its friends   
only when we accept their own account of
 their beliefs and aims4 ,renan         
somewhere says1 that in order to judge a
 faith one must have confessed it and   

abandoned it4 ,such a rule supposes     
sincerity in the confession and honesty 
in the withdrawal2 but with this        
qualification its reasonableness is     
easily admitted4 ,if the result of such 
a verdict prove more favorable than the 
polemic would give1 and more cordial    
than the critic approves1 it may not be 
the less just for that4  ,the writer was
 once a pure ,transcendentalist1 a warm 
sympathizer with transcendental         
aspirations1 and an ardent admirer of   
transcendental teachers4 ,his ardor may 
have cooled2 his faith may have been    
modified2 later studies and meditations 
may have commended to him other ideas   
and methods2 but he still retains enough
 of his former faith to enable him to do
 it justice4 ,his purpose has been to   
write a history2 not a critical or      
philosophical history1 but simply a     
history2 to present his subject with the
 smallest possible admixture of         
discussion1 either in defence or        
opposition4 ,he has1 therefore1 avoided 

the metaphysics of his theme1 by        
presenting cardinal ideas in the        
simplest statement he could command1 and
 omitting the details that would only   
cumber a narrative4 ,sufficient         
references are given for the direction  
of students who may wish to become more 
intimately acquainted with the          
transcendental philosophy1 but an       
exhaustive survey of the speculative    
field has not been attempted4 ,this book
 has but one purpose--to define the     
fundamental ideas of the philosophy1 to 
trace them to their historical and      
speculative sources1 and to show whither
 they tended4 ,if he has done this      
inadequately1 it will be disclosed2 he  
has done it honestly1 and as well as he 
could4 ,in a little while it will be    
difficult to do it at all2 for the      
disciples1 one by one1 are falling      
asleep2 the literary remains are        
becoming few and scarce2 the materials  
are disappearing beneath the rapid      
accumulations of thought2 the new order 

is thrusting the old into the           
background2 and in the course of a few  
years1 even they who can tell the story 
feelingly will have passed away4 ,the   
author1 whose task was gladly accepted1 
though not voluntarily chosen1 ventures 
to hope1 that if it has not been done as
 well as another might have done it1 it 
has not been done so ill that others    
will wish he had left it untouched4  ,o4
 ,b4 ,f4  ,,new ,,york1 ,april #ab1     
#ahgf4     ,,transcendentalism4     ,i4 
,,beginnings ,,in ,,germany4   ,to make 
intelligible the ,transcendental        
,philosophy of the last generation in   
,new ,england it is not necessary to go 
far back into the history of thought4   
,ancient idealism1 whether ,eastern or  
,western1 may be left undisturbed4      
,platonism and neo-,platonism may be    
excused from further tortures on the    
witness stand4 ,the speculations of the 
mystics1 ,romanist or ,protestant1 need 
not be re-examined4 ,the idealism of    
,gale1 ,more1 ,pordage1 of ,cudworth and

 the later ,berkeley1 in ,england1 do   
not immediately concern us4 ,we need not
 even submit ,john ,locke to fresh      
cross-examination1 or describe the      
effect of his writings on the thinkers  
who came after him4  ,the               
,transcendental ,philosophy1 so-called1 
had a distinct origin in ,immanuel      
,kant1 whose ,critique of ,pure ,reason 
was published in #agha1 and opened a new
 epoch in metaphysical thought4 ,by this
 it is not meant that ,kant started a   
new movement of the human mind1 proposed
 original problems1 or projected issues 
never contemplated before4 ,the         
questions he discussed had been         
discussed from the earliest times1 and  
with an acumen that had searched out the
 nicest points of definition4 ,in the   
controversy between the ,nominalists1   
who maintained that the terms used to   
describe abstract and universal ideas   
were mere names1 designating no real    
objects and corresponding to no actually
 existing things1 and the ,realists1 who

 contended that such terms were not     
figments of language1 but described     
realities1 solid though incorporeal1    
actual existences1 not to be confounded 
with visible and transient things1 but  
the essential types of such1--the       
scholastics of either school discussed  
after their manner1 with astonishing    
fulness and subtlety1 the matters which 
later metaphysicians introduced4 ,the   
modern ,germans revived in substance the
 doctrines held by the ,realists4 ,but  
the scholastic method1 which was        
borrowed from the ,greeks1 lost its     
authority when the power of ,aristotle's
 name declined1 and the scholastic      
discussions1 turning1 as they signally  
did1 on theological questions1 ceased to
 be interesting when the spell of       
theology was broken4  ,between the      
schools of ,sensationalism and          
,idealism1 since ,john ,locke1 the same 
matters were in debate4 ,the ,scotch as 
well as the ,english metaphysicians     
dealt with them according to their      

genius and ability4 ,the different      
writers1 as they succeeded one another1 
took up the points that were presented  
in their day1 exercised on them such    
ingenuity as they possessed1 and in good
 faith made their several contributions 
to the general fund of thought1 but     
neglected to sink their shafts deep     
enough below the surface to strike new  
springs of water4  ,locke's ,essay on   
the ,human ,understanding was an event  
that made an epoch in philosophy1       
because its author1 not satisfied to    
take up questions where his predecessors
 had left them1 undertook an independent
 examination of the ,human ,mind1 in    
order to ascertain what were the        
conditions of its knowledge4 ,the       
ability with which this attempt was     
made1 the entire sincerity of it1 the   
patient watch of the mental operations1 
the sagacity that followed the trail of 
lurking thoughts1 surprised them in     
their retreats1 and extracted from them 
the secret of their combinations1 fairly

 earned for him the title of ,father of 
,modern ,psychology4 ,the intellectual  
history of the race shows very few such 
examples of single-minded fidelity      
combined with rugged vigor and          
unaffected simplicity4 ,with what honest
 directness he announced his purpose6   
,his book grew out of a warm discussion 
among friends1 the fruitlessness whereof
 convinced him that both sides had taken
 a wrong course2 that before men set    
themselves upon inquiries into the deep 
matters of philosophy it was necessary  
to examine our own abilities1 and see   
what objects our understandings were or 
were not fitted to deal with4 ,to do    
this was his purpose4  ,first1 he said1 
,i shall inquire into the original of   
those ideas1 notions1 or whatever else  
you please to call them1 which a man    
observes and is conscious to himself he 
has in his mind2 and the ways whereby   
the understanding comes to be furnished 
with them4  ,secondly1 ,i shall endeavor
 to show what knowledge the             

understanding hath by those ideas1 and  
the certainty1 evidence and extent of   
it4  ,thirdly1 ,i shall make some       
inquiry into the nature and grounds of  
faith or opinion2 whereby ,i mean that  
assent which we give to any proposition 
as true1 of whose truth we have yet no  
certain knowledge2 and we shall have    
occasion to examine the reasons and     
degrees of assent4  ,locke did his work 
well3 how well is attested by the       
excitement it caused in the intellectual
 world1 the impulse it gave to          
speculation in ,england and on the      
continent of ,europe1 the controversies 
over the author's opinions1 the struggle
 of opposing schools to secure for their
 doctrines his authority1 the           
appreciation on one side1 the           
depreciation on the other1 the          
disposition of one period to exalt him  
as the greatest discoverer in the       
philosophic realm1 and the disposition  
of another period to challenge his title
 to the name of philosopher4 ,the ,essay

 is a small book1 written in a homely1  
business-like style1 without affectation
 of depth or pretence of learning1 but  
it is charged with original mental      
force4 ,exhaustive it was not2          
exhaustive it could not have been4 ,the 
,england of the seventeenth century was 
not favorable to original researches in 
that field4 ,the ,essay was planned in  
#afgj1 completed after considerable     
interruptions in #afhg1 and published in
 #afij4 ,to one acquainted with the     
phases through which ,england was       
passing at that period1 these dates will
 tell of untoward influences that might 
account for graver deficiencies than    
characterize ,locke's work4 ,the        
scholastic philosophy1 from which ,locke
 broke contemptuously away at ,oxford1  
seems to have left no mark on his mind2 
but the contemptuous revulsion1 and the 
naked self-reliance in which the        
sagacious but not generously cultivated 
man found refuge1 probably roughened his
 speculative sensibility1 and made it   

impossible for him to handle with       
perfect nicety the more delicate facts  
of his science4 ,it can hardly be       
claimed that ,locke was endowed by      
nature with philosophical genius of the 
highest order4 ,while at ,oxford he     
abandoned philosophy1 in disgust1 for   
medicine1 and distinguished himself     
there by judgment and penetration4      
,subsequently his attention was turned  
to politics1 another pursuit even less  
congenial with introspective genius4    
,these may not be the reasons for the   
incompleteness which so glowing a       
eulogist as ,mr4 ,george ,h4 ,lewes     
admits in the ,essay2 but at all events1
 whatever the reasons may have been1 the
 incompleteness was felt2 the debate    
over the author's meaning was an open   
proclamation of it2 at the close of a   
century it was apparent to at least one 
mind that ,locke's attempt must be      
repeated1 and his work done over again  
more carefully4  ,the man who came to   
this conclusion and was moved to act on 

it was ,,immanuel ,,kant1 born at       
,koenigsberg1 in ,prussia1 ,april #bb;d1
 #agbd2 died there ,february #abth1     
#ahjd4 ,his was a life rigorously       
devoted to philosophy4 ,he inherited    
from his parents a love of truth1 a     
respect for moral worth1 and an         
intellectual integrity which his        
precursor in ,england did not more than 
match4 ,he was a master in the sciences1
 a proficient in languages1 a man       
cultivated in literature1 a severe      
student1 of the ,german type1 whose     
long1 calm1 peaceful years were spent in
 meditation1 lecturing and writing4 ,he 
was distinguished as a mathematician    
before he was heard of as a philosopher1
 having predicted the existence of the  
planet ,uranus before ,herschel         
discovered it4 ,he was forty-five years 
old when these trained powers were      
brought to bear on the study of the     
human mind3 he was sixty-seven when the 
meditation was ended4 ,his book1 the    
,critique of ,pure ,reason1 was the     

result of twelve years of such thinking 
as his genius and training made him     
capable of4 ,in what spirit and with    
what hope he went about his task1       
appears in the ,introduction and the    
,prefaces to the editions of #agha and  
#aghg4 ,in these he frankly opens his   
mind in regard to the condition of      
philosophical speculation4 ,that        
condition he describes as one of saddest
 indifference4 ,the throne of           
,metaphysics was vacant1 and its former 
occupant was a wanderer1 cast off by the
 meanest of his subjects4 ,locke had    
started a flight of hypotheses1 which   
had frittered his force away and made   
his effort barren of definite result4   
,theories had been suggested and        
abandoned2 the straw had been thrashed  
till only dust remained2 and unless a   
new method could be hit on1 the days of 
mental philosophy might be considered as
 numbered4 ,the physical sciences would 
take advantage of the time1 enter the   
deserted house1 secure possession1 and  

set up their idols in the ancient       
shrine4  ,these sciences1 it was        
admitted1 command and deserve           
unqualified respect4 ,to discover the   
secret of their success ,kant passed in 
review their different systems1 examined
 them in respect to their principles and
 conditions of progress1 with a purpose 
to know what1 if any1 essential         
difference there might be between them  
and the metaphysics which had from of   
old claimed to be1 and had the name of  
being1 a science4 ,logic1 mathematics1  
physics1 are sciences3 by virtue of what
 inherent peculiarity do they claim     
superior right to that high appellation8
 ,intellectual philosophy has always    
been given over to conflicting parties4 
,its history is a history of            
controversies1 and of controversies that
 resulted in no triumph for either side1
 established no doctrine1 and reclaimed 
no portion of truth4 ,material          
philosophy has made steady advances from
 the beginning2 its disputes have ended 

in demonstrations1 its contests have    
resulted in the establishment of        
legitimate authority3 if its progress   
has been slow it has been continuous2 it
 has never receded2 and its variations  
from a straight course are insignificant
 when surveyed from a position that     
commands its whole career4  ,since      
,aristotle1 logic has1 without serious  
impediment or check1 matured its rules  
and methods4 ,holding the same cardinal 
positions as in ,aristotle's time1 it   
has simply made them stronger1 the rules
 being but interpretations of rational  
principles1 the methods following       
precisely the indications of the human  
mind1 which from the nature of the case 
remain always the same4  ,the           
mathematics1 again1 have had their      
periods of uncertainty and conjecture4  
,but since the discovery of the         
essential properties of the triangle1   
the career has been uninterrupted4 ,the 
persistent study of constant properties1
 which were not natural data1 but mental

 conceptions formed by the elimination  
of variable quantities1 led to results  
which had not to be abandoned4  ,it was 
the same with physics4 ,the physics of  
the ancients were heaps of conjecture4  
,the predecessors of ,galileo abandoned 
conjecture1 put themselves face to face 
with ,nature1 observed and classified   
phenomena1 but possessed no method by   
which their labors could be made        
productive of cumulative results4 ,but  
after ,galileo had experimented with    
balls of a given weight on an inclined  
plane1 and ,torricelli had pushed upward
 a weight equal to a known column of    
water1 and ,stahl had reduced metals to 
lime and transformed lime back again    
into metal1 by the addition and         
subtraction of certain parts1 the       
naturalists carried a torch that        
illumined their path4 ,they perceived   
that reason lays her own plans1 takes   
the initiative with her own principles1 
and must compel nature to answer her    
questions1 instead of obsequiously      

following its leading-string4 ,it was   
discovered that scattered observations1 
made in obedience to no fixed plan1 and 
associated with no necessary law1 could 
not be brought into systematic form4    
,the discovery of such a law is a       
necessity of reason4 ,reason presents   
herself before nature1 holding in one   
hand the principles which alone have    
power to bring into order and harmony   
the phenomena of nature2 in the other   
hand grasping the results of experiment 
conducted according to those principles4
 ,reason demands knowledge of nature1   
not as a docile pupil who receives      
implicitly the master's word1 but as a  
judge who constrains witnesses to reply 
to questions put to them by the court4  
,to this attitude are due the happy     
achievements in physics2 reason         
seeking--not fancying--in nature1 by    
conformity with her own rules1 what     
nature ought to teach1 and what of      
herself she could not learn4 ,thus      
physics became established upon the     

solid basis of a science1 after         
centuries of error and groping4         
,wherefore now1 asks ,kant1 are         
metaphysics so far behind logic1        
mathematics1 and physics8 ,wherefore    
these heaps of conjecture1 these vain   
attempts at solution8 ,wherefore these  
futile lives of great men1 these        
abortive flights of genius8 ,the study  
of the mind is not an arbitrary pursuit1
 suggested by vanity and conducted by   
caprice1 to be taken up idly and        
relinquished at a moment's notice4 ,the 
human mind cannot acquiesce in a        
judgment that condemns it to barrenness 
and indifference in respect to such     
questions as ,god1 the ,soul1 the       
,world1 the ,life to ,come2 it is       
perpetually revising and reversing the  
decrees pronounced against itself4 ,it  
must accept the conditions of its being4
  ,from a review of the progress of the 
sciences it appeared to ,kant that their
 advance was owing to the elimination of
 the variable elements1 and the steady  

contemplation of the elements that are  
invariable and constant1 the most       
essential of which is the contribution  
made by the human mind4 ,the laws that  
are the basis of logic1 of the          
mathematics1 and of the higher physics1 
and that give certitude to these        
sciences1 are simply the laws of the    
human mind itself4 ,strictly speaking1  
then1 it is in the constitution of the  
human mind1 irrespective of outward     
objects and the application of          
principles to them1 that we must seek   
the principle of certitude4 ,thus far in
 the history of philosophy the human    
mind had not been fairly considered4    
,thinkers had concerned themselves with 
the objects of knowledge1 not with the  
mind that knows4 ,they had collected    
facts2 they had constructed systems2    
they had traced connections2 they had   
drawn conclusions4 ,few had defined the 
relations of knowledge to the human     
mind4 ,yet to do that seemed the only   
way to arrive at certainty1 and raise   

metaphysics to the established rank of  
physics1 mathematics1 and logic4        
,struck with this idea1 ,kant undertook 
to transfer contemplation from the      
objects that engaged the mind to the    
mind itself1 and thus start philosophy  
on a new career4 ,he meditated a fresh  
departure1 and proposed to effect in    
metaphysics a revolution parallel with  
that which ,copernicus effected in      
astronomy4 ,as ,copernicus1 finding it  
impossible to explain the movements of  
the heavenly bodies on the supposition  
of their turning round the globe as a   
centre1 bethought him to posit the sun  
as a centre1 round which the earth with 
other heavenly bodies turned--so ,kant1 
perceiving the confusion that resulted  
from making man a satellite of the      
external world1 resolved to try the     
effect of placing him in the position of
 central sway4 ,whether this pretension 
was justifiable or not1 is not a subject
 of inquiry here4 ,they may be right who
 sneer at it as a fallacy2 they may be  

right who ridicule it as a conceit4 ,we 
are historians1 not critics4 ,that      
,kant's position was as has been        
described1 admits of no question4 ,that 
he built great expectations on his      
method is certain4 ,he anticipated from 
it the overthrow of hypotheses which1   
having no legitimate title to authority1
 erected themselves to the dignity of   
dogmas1 and assumed supreme rank in the 
realm of speculation4 ,that it would be 
the destruction of famous               
demonstrations1 and would reduce        
renowned arguments to naught1 might be  
foreseen2 but in the place of pretended 
demonstrations1 he was confident that   
solid ones would be established1 and    
arguments that were merely specious     
would give room to arguments that were  
profound4 ,schools might be broken up1  
but the interests of the human race     
would be secured4 ,at first it might    
appear as if cardinal beliefs of mankind
 must be menaced with extinction as the 
ancient supports one after another fell2

 but as soon as the new foundations were
 disclosed it was anticipated that faith
 would revive1 and the great convictions
 would stand more securely than ever4   
,whatever of truth the older systems had
 contained would receive fresh and      
trustworthy authentication2 the false   
would be expelled2 and a method laid    
down by which new discoveries in the    
intellectual sphere might be confidently
 predicted4  ,in this spirit the author 
of the transcendental philosophy began1 
continued1 and finished his work4  ,the 
word transcendental was not new in      
philosophy4 ,the ,schoolmen had used it 
to describe whatever could not be       
comprehended in or classified under the 
so-called categories of ,aristotle1 who 
was the recognized prince of the        
intellectual world4 ,these categories   
were ten in number3 ,quantity1 ,quality1
 ,relation1 ,action1 ,passion1 ,the     
,where1 ,the ,when1 ,position in ,space1
 ,possession1 ,substance4 ,four things  
were regarded by the ,schoolmen as      

transcending these mental forms--namely1
 ,being1 ,truth1 ,unity1 ,goodness4 ,it 
is hardly necessary to say that the     
,transcendentalism of modern times owed 
very little to these distinctions1 if it
 owed anything to them4 ,its origin was 
not from thence2 its method was so      
dissimilar as to seem sharply opposed4  
,the word transcendental has become     
domesticated in science4 ,transcendental
 anatomy inquires into the idea1 the    
original conception or model on which   
the organic frame of animals is built1  
the unity of plan discernible throughout
 multitudinous genera and orders4       
,transcendental curves are curves that  
cannot be defined by algebraic          
equations4 ,transcendental equations    
express relations between transcendental
 qualities4 ,transcendental physiology  
treats of the laws of development and   
function1 which apply1 not to particular
 kinds or classes of organisms1 but to  
all organisms4 ,in the terminology of   
,kant the term transcendent was employed

 to designate qualities that lie outside
 of all experience1 that cannot be      
brought within the recognized           
formularies of thought1 cannot be       
reached either by observation or        
reflection1 or explained as the         
consequences of any discoverable        
antecedents4 ,the term transcendental   
designated the fundamental conceptions1 
the universal and necessary judgments1  
which transcend the sphere of           
experience1 and at the same time impose 
the conditions that make experience     
tributary to knowledge4 ,the            
transcendental philosophy is the        
philosophy that is built on these       
necessary and universal principles1     
these primary laws of mind1 which are   
the ground of absolute truth4 ,the      
supremacy given to these and the        
authority given to the truths that      
result from them entitle the philosophy 
to its name4 ,i term all cognition      
transcendental which concerns itself not
 so much with objects1 as with our mode 

of cognition of objects so far as this  
may be possible a priori4 ,a system of  
such conceptions would be called        
,transcendental ,philosophy4     ,,ii4  
,,transcendentalism ,,in ,,germany4     
,,kant4  ,there is no call to discuss   
here the system of ,kant1 or even to    
describe it in detail4 ,the means of    
studying the system are within easy     
reach of ,english readers4#a ,our       
concern is to know the method which     
,kant employed1 and the use he made of  
it1 the ground he took and the positions
 he held1 so far as this can be         
indicated within reasonable compass1 and
 without becoming involved in the       
complexity of the author's metaphysics4 
,the ,critique of ,pure ,reason is      
precisely what the title imports--a     
searching analysis of the human mind2 an
 attempt to get at the ultimate grounds 
of thought1 to discover the a priori    
principles4 ,reason is the faculty which
 furnishes the principles of cognition a
 priori4 ,therefore pure reason is that 

which contains the principles of knowing
 something1 absolutely a priori4 ,an    
organon of pure reason would be a       
summary of these principles1 according  
to which all pure cognition a priori can
 be obtained1 and really accomplished4  
,the extended application of such an    
organon would furnish a system of pure  
reason4  #a ,see ,kant's ,critique of   
,pure ,reason1 ,london1 #ahch2 ,morell's
 ,history of ,modern ,philosophy2       
,chalybaeus' ,historical ,development of
 ,speculative ,philosophy from ,kant to 
,hegel2 ,lewes' ,biographical ,history  
of ,philosophy2 ,cousin's ,lecons1      
,o,euvres1 ,iere serie1 vol4 #e1 give a 
clear account of ,kant's philosophy4    
,the problem of modern philosophy may be
 thus stated3 ,have we or have we not   
ideas that are true of necessity1 and   
absolutely8 ,are there ideas that can   
fairly be pronounced independent in     
their origin of experience1 and out of  
the reach of experience by their nature8
 ,one party contended that all knowledge

 was derived from experience2 that there
 was nothing in the intellect that had  
not previously been in the senses3 the  
opposite party maintained that a        
portion1 at least1 of knowledge came    
from the mind itself2 that the intellect
 contained powers of its own1 and       
impressed its forms upon the phenomena  
of sense4 ,the extreme doctrine of the  
two schools was represented1 on the one 
side by the materialists1 on the other  
by the mystics4 ,between these two      
extremes various degrees of compromise  
were offered4  ,the doctrine of innate  
ideas1 ascribed to ,descartes1--though  
he abandoned it as untenable in its     
crude form1--affirmed that certain      
cardinal ideas1 such as causality1      
infinity1 substance1 eternity1 were     
native to the mind1 born in it as part  
of its organic constitution1 wholly     
independent therefore of experience4    
,locke claimed for the mind merely a    
power of reflection by which it was able
 to modify and alter the material given 

by the senses1 thus exploding the       
doctrine of innate ideas4  ,leibnitz1   
anxious to escape the danger into which 
,descartes fell1 of making the outward  
world purely phenomenal1 an expression  
of unalterable thought1 and also to     
escape the consequences of ,locke's     
position that all knowledge originates  
in the senses1 suggested that the       
understanding itself was independent of 
experience1 that though it did not      
contain ideas like a vessel1 it was     
entitled to be called a power of forming
 ideas1 which have1 as in mathematics1 a
 character of necessary truths4 ,these  
necessary laws of the understanding1    
which experience had no hand in         
creating1 are1 according to ,leibnitz1  
the primordial conditions of human      
knowledge4  ,hume1 taking ,locke at his 
word1 that all knowledge came from      
experience1 that the mind was a passive 
recipient of impressions1 with no       
independent intellectual substratum1    
reasoned that mind was a fiction2 and   

taking ,berkeley at his word that the   
outward world had no material existence1
 and no apparent existence except to our
 perception1 he reasoned that matter was
 a fiction4 ,mind and matter both being 
fictions1 there could be no certain     
knowledge2 truth was unattainable2 ideas
 were illusions4 ,the opposing schools  
of philosophers annihilated each other1 
and the result was scepticism4  ,hume   
started ,kant on his long and severe    
course of investigation1 the result of  
which was1 that neither of the          
antagonist parties could sustain itself3
 that ,descartes was wrong in asserting 
that such abstract ideas as causality1  
infinity1 substance1 time1 space1 are   
independent of experience1 since without
 experience they would not exist1 and   
experience takes from them form only2   
that ,locke was wrong in asserting that 
all ideas originated in experience1 and 
were resolvable into it1 since the ideas
 of causality1 substance1 infinity and  
others certainly did not so originate1  

and were not thus resolvable4 ,it is    
idle to dispute whether knowledge comes 
from one source or another--from without
 through sensation1 or from within      
through intuition2 the everlasting      
battle between idealism and realism1    
spiritualism and materialism1 can never 
result in victory to either side4 ,mind 
and universe1 intelligence and          
experience1 suppose each other2 neither 
alone is operative to produce knowledge4
 ,knowledge is the product of their     
mutual co-operation4 ,mind does not     
originate ideas1 neither does sensation 
impart them4 ,object and subject1       
sterile by themselves1 become fruitful  
by conjunction4 ,there are not two      
sources of knowledge1 but one only1 and 
that one is produced by the union of the
 two apparent opposites4 ,truth is the  
crystallization1 so to speak1 that      
results from the combined elements4     
,let us follow the initial steps of     
,kant's analysis4 ,mind and             
,universe--,subject and ,object--,ego   

and ,non-ego1 stand opposite one        
another1 front to front4 ,mind is       
conscious only of its own operations3   
the subject alone considers4 ,the first 
fact noted is1 that the subject is      
sensitive to impressions made by outward
 things1 and is receptive of them4      
,dwelling on this fact1 we discover that
 while the impressions are many in      
number and of great variety1 they all1  
whatever their character1 fall within   
certain inflexible and unalterable      
conditions--those of space and          
time--which must1 therefore1 be regarded
 as pre-established forms of            
sensibility4 ,time is no empirical      
conception which can be deduced from    
experience4 ,time is a necessary        
representation which lies at the        
foundation of all intuitions4 ,time is  
given a priori4 ,in it alone is any     
reality of phenomena possible4 ,these   
disappear1 but it cannot be annihilated4
 ,so of space4 ,space is an intuition1  
met with in us a priori1 antecedent to  

any perception of objects1 a pure1 not  
an empirical intuition4 ,these two forms
 of sensibility1 inherent and           
invariable1 to which all experiences are
 subject1 are primeval facts of         
consciousness4 ,kant's argument on the  
point whether or no space and time have 
an existence apart from the mind1 is    
interesting1 but need not detain us4    
,the materials furnished by sensibility 
are taken up by the understanding1 which
 classifies1 interprets1 judges1        
compares1 reduces to unity1 eliminates1 
converts1 and thus fashions sensations  
into conceptions1 transmutes impressions
 into thoughts4 ,here fresh processes of
 analysis are employed in classifying   
judgments1 and determining their        
conditions4 ,all judgments1 it is found1
 must conform to one of four invariable 
conditions4 ,i4 ,quantity1 which may be 
subdivided into unity1 plurality1 and   
totality3 the one1 the many1 the whole4 
,,ii4 ,quality1 which is divisible as   
reality1 negation1 and limitation3      

something1 nothing1 and the more or     
less4 ,,iii4 ,relation1 which also      
comprises three heads3 substance and    
accident1 cause and effect1 reciprocity1
 or action and reaction4 ,,iv4          
,modality1 which embraces the possible  
and the impossible1 the existent and the
 non-existent1 the necessary and the    
contingent4 ,these categories1 as they  
were called1 after the terminology of   
,aristotle1 were supposed to exhaust the
 forms of conception4  ,having thus     
arrived at conceptions1 thoughts1       
judgments1 another faculty comes in to  
classify the conceptions1 link the      
thoughts together1 reduce the judgments 
to general laws1 draw inferences1 fix   
conclusions1 proceed from the particular
 to the general1 recede from the general
 to the particular1 mount from the      
conditioned to the unconditioned1 till  
it arrives at ultimate principles4 ,this
 faculty is reason1--the supreme        
faculty1 above sensibility1 above       
understanding4 ,reason gives the final  

generalization1 the idea of a universe  
comprehending the infinitude of details 
presented by the senses1 and the worlds 
of knowledge shaped by the              
understanding2 the idea of a personality
 embracing the infinite complexities of 
feeling1 and gathering under one        
dominion the realms of consciousness2   
the idea of a supreme unity combining in
 itself both the other ideas2 the       
absolute perfection1 the infinite and   
eternal ,one1 which men describe by the 
word ,god4  ,here the thinker rested4   
,his search could be carried no further4
 ,he had1 as he believed1 established   
the independent dominion of the mind1   
had mapped out its confines1 had        
surveyed its surface2 he had confronted 
the idealist with the reality of an     
external world2 he had confronted the   
sceptic with laws of mind that were     
independent of experience2 and1 having  
done so much1 he was satisfied1 and     
refused to move an inch beyond the      
ground he occupied4 ,to those who       

applied to him for a system of positive 
doctrines1 or for ground on which a     
system of positive doctrines could be   
erected1 he declined to give aid4 ,the  
mind1 he said1 cannot go out of itself1 
cannot transgress its own limits4 ,it   
has no faculty by which it can perceive 
things as they are2 no vision to behold 
objects corresponding to its ideas2 no  
power to bridge over the gulf between   
its own consciousness and a world of    
realities existing apart from it4       
,whether there be a spiritual universe  
answering to our conception1 a ,being   
justifying reason's idea of supreme     
unity1 a soul that can exist in an      
eternal1 supersensible world1 are       
questions the philosopher declined to   
discuss4 ,the contents of his own mind  
were revealed to him1 no more4 ,kant    
laid the foundations1 he built no       
structure4 ,he would not put one stone  
upon another2 he declared it to be      
beyond the power of man to put one stone
 upon another4 ,the attempts which his  

earnest disciples--,fichte1 for         
example--made to erect a temple on his  
foundation he repudiated4 ,as the       
existence of an external world1 though a
 necessary postulate1 could not be      
demonstrated1 but only logically        
affirmed2 so the existence of a         
spiritual world of substantial entities 
corresponding to our conceptions1 though
 a necessary inference1 could only be   
logically affirmed1 not demonstrated4   
,our idea of ,god is no proof that ,god 
exists4 ,that there is a ,god may be an 
irresistible persuasion1 but it can be  
nothing more2 it cannot be knowledge4   
,of the facts of consciousness1 the     
reality of the ideas in the mind1 we may
 be certain2 our belief in them is clear
 and solid2 but from belief in them     
there is no bridge to them4  ,kant      
asserted the veracity of consciousness1 
and demanded an absolute acknowledgment 
of that veracity4 ,the fidelity of the  
mind to itself was a first principle    
with him4 ,having these ideas1 of the   

soul1 of ,god1 of a moral law2 being    
certain that they neither originated in 
experience1 nor depended on experience  
for their validity2 that they           
transcended experience altogether--man  
was committed to an unswerving and      
uncompromising loyalty to himself4 ,his 
prime duty consisted in deference to the
 integrity of his own mind4 ,the laws of
 his intellectual and moral nature were 
inviolable4 ,whether there was or was   
not a ,god2 whether there was or was not
 a substantial world of experience where
 the idea of rectitude could be         
realized1 the dictate of duty justified1
 the soul's affirmation of good ratified
 by actual felicity1--rectitude was none
 the less incumbent on the rational     
mind2 the law of duty was none the less 
imperative2 the vision of good none the 
less glorious and inspiring4 ,virtue had
 its principle in the constitution of   
the mind itself4 ,every virtue had there
 its seat4 ,there was no sweetness of   
purity1 no heroism of faith1 that had   

not an abiding-place in this impregnable
 fortress4  ,thus1 while on the         
speculative side ,kant came out a       
sceptic in regard to the dogmatic       
beliefs of mankind1 on the practical    
side he remained the fast friend of     
intellectual truth and moral sanctity4  
,practical ethics never had a more      
stanch supporter than ,immanuel ,kant4  
,if a man cannot pass beyond the        
confines of his own mind1 he has1 at all
 events1 within his own mind a temple1 a
 citadel1 a home4  ,the ,critique of    
,pure ,reason made no impression on its 
first appearance4 ,but no sooner was its
 significance apprehended1 than a storm 
of controversy betrayed the fact that   
even the friends of the new teacher were
 less content than he was to be shut up 
in their own minds4 ,the calm1          
passionless1 imperturbable man smoked   
his pipe in the peace of meditation2    
eager thinkers1 desirous of getting more
 out of the system than its author did1 
were impatient at his backwardness1 and 

made the intellectual world ring with   
their calls to improve upon and complete
 his task4  ,the publication of ,kant's 
great work did not put an end to the    
wars of philosophy4 ,on the contrary1   
they raged about it more furiously than 
ever4 ,as the two schools found in      
,locke fresh occasion for renewing their
 strife under the cover of that great   
name1 so here again the latent elements 
of discord were discovered and speedily 
brought to the surface4 ,the sceptics   
seized on the sceptical bearings of the 
new analysis1 and proceeded to build    
their castle from the materials it      
furnished2 the idealists took advantage 
of the positions gained by the last     
champion1 and pushed their lines forward
 in the direction of transcendental     
conquest4 ,we are not called on to      
follow the sceptics1 however legitimate 
their course1 and we shall but indicate 
the progress made by the idealists1     
giving their cardinal principles1 as we 
have done those of their master4        

,,jacobi4  ,the first important step in 
the direction of pure transcendentalism 
was taken by ,frederick ,henry ,jacobi1 
who was born at ,duesseldorf1 ,january  
#be1 #agdc4 ,he was a man well educated 
in philosophy1 with a keen interest in  
the study of it1 though not a           
philosopher by profession1 or a         
systematic writer on metaphysical       
subjects4 ,his position was that of a   
civilian who devoted the larger part of 
his time to the duties of a public      
office under the government4 ,his       
writings consist mainly of letters1     
treatises on special points of          
metaphysical inquiry1 and articles in   
the philosophical journals4 ,his        
official position gave repute to the    
productions of his pen1 and the         
circumstance of his being1 not an       
amateur precisely1 but a devotee of     
philosophy for the love of it and not as
 a professional business1 imparted to   
his speculation the freshness of        
personal feeling4 ,his ardent           

temperament1 averse to scepticism1 and  
touched with a mystical enthusiasm1     
rebelled against the formal and deadly  
precision of the analytical method1 and 
sought a way out from the intellectual  
bleakness of the ,kantean metaphysics   
into the sunshine and air of a living   
spiritual world4 ,the critics busied    
themselves with mining and sapping the  
foundations of consciousness as laid by 
the philosopher of ,koenigsberg1 who1   
they complained1 had been too easy in   
conceding the necessity of an outward   
world4 ,jacobi accepted with gratitude  
the intellectual basis afforded1 and    
proceeded to erect thereupon his        
observatory for studying the heavens4   
,though not the originator of the ,faith
 ,philosophy1 as it was called1 he      
became the finisher and the best known  
expositor of it4 ,since the time of     
,aristotle1 he said1 it has been the    
effort of philosophical schools to rank 
direct and immediate knowledge below    
mediate and indirect2 to subordinate the

 capacity for original perception to the
 capacity for reflection on abstract    
ideas2 to make intuition secondary to   
understanding1 the sense of essential   
things to definitions4 ,nothing is      
accepted that does not admit of being   
proved by formal and logical process1 so
 that1 at last1 the result is looked for
 there1 and there only4 ,the validity of
 intuition is disallowed4  ,jacobi's    
polemics were directed therefore against
 the systems of ,spinoza1 ,leibnitz1    
,wolf--in a word against all systems    
that led to scepticism and dogmatism2   
and his positive efforts were employed  
in constructing a system of ,faith4 ,his
 key-word was ,faith1 by which he meant 
intuition1 the power of gazing          
immediately on essential truth2 an      
intellectual faculty which he finally   
called ,reason1 by which supersensual   
objects become visible1 as material     
objects become visible to the physical  
eye2 an inward sense1 a spiritual eye1  
that gives evidence of things not seen  

and substance to things hoped for2 a    
faculty of vision to which truths       
respecting ,god1 ,providence1           
,immortality1 ,freedom1 the ,moral ,law1
 are palpably disclosed4 ,kant had      
pronounced it impossible to prove that  
the transcendental idea had a           
corresponding reality as objective      
being4 ,jacobi declared that no such    
proof was needed2 that the reality was  
necessarily assumed4 ,kant had denied   
the existence of any faculty that could 
guarantee the existence of either a     
sensual or a supersensual world4 ,jacobi
 was above all else certain that such a 
faculty there was1 that it was          
altogether trustworthy1 and that it     
actually furnished material for         
religious hope and spiritual life3 the  
only possible material1 he went on to   
say2 for without this capacity of       
intuition1 philosophy could be in his   
judgment nothing but an insubstantial   
fabric1 a castle in the air1 a thing of 
definitions and terminologies1 a        

shifting body of hot and cold vapor4    
,this1 it will be observed1 seemed a    
legitimate consequence of ,kant's       
method4 ,kant had admitted the          
subjective reality of sensible          
impressions1 and had claimed a similar  
reality for our mental images of        
supersensible things4 ,he allowed the   
validity as conceptions1 the practical  
validity1 of the ideas of ,god1 ,duty1  
,immortality4 ,jacobi contended that    
having gone so far1 it was lawful if not
 compulsory to go farther2 that the     
subjective reality implied an objective 
reality2 that the practical inference   
was as valid as any logical inference   
could be2 and that through the intuition
 of reason the mind was placed again in 
a living universe of divine realities4  
,chalybaeus says of ,jacobi3 ,with deep 
penetration he traced the mystic        
fountain of desire after the highest and
 best1 to the point where it discloses  
itself as an immediate feeling in       
consciousness2 that this presentiment   

was nothing more than ,kant said it     
was--a faint mark made by the           
compressing chain of logic1 he would not
 allow2 he described it rather as the   
special endowment and secret treasure of
 the human mind1 which he that would not
 lose it must guard against the touch of
 evil-minded curiosity2 for whoever     
ventures into this sanctuary with the   
torch of science1 will fare as did the  
youth before the veiled image at ,sais4 
,and again3 ,this point1 that a         
self-subsisting truth must correspond to
 the conscious idea1 that the subject   
must have an object which is personal   
like itself1 is the ore that ,jacobi was
 intent on extracting from the layers of
 consciousness3 he disclosed it only in 
part1 but unsatisfactory as his         
exposition was to the stern inquisition 
of science1 his purpose was so strong1  
his aim so single1 we cannot wonder     
that1 in spite of the outcry and the    
scorn against his ',faith or ,feeling   
,philosophy1' his thought survived1 and 

even entered on a new career in later   
times4 ,it must1 however1 be confessed  
that instead of following up his clue1  
speculative fashion1 he laid down his   
undeveloped theorem as an essential     
truth1 above speculation1 declaring that
 speculation must end in absolute       
idealism1 which was but another name for
 nihilism and fatalism4 ,jacobi made his
 own private consciousness a measure for
 the human mind4 ,at the close of his   
chapter1 ,chalybaeus quotes ,hegel's    
verdict1 expressed in these words3      
,jacobi resembles a solitary thinker1   
who1 in his life's morning1 finds an    
ancient riddle hewn in the primeval     
rock2 he believes that the riddle       
contains a truth1 but he tries in vain  
to discover it4 ,the day long he carries
 it about with him2 entices weighty     
suggestions from it2 displays it in     
shapes of teaching and imagery that     
fascinate listeners1 inspiring noblest  
wishes and anticipations3 but the       
interpretation eludes him1 and at       

evening he lays him down in the hope    
that a celestial dream or the next      
morning's waking will make articulate   
the word he longs for and has believed  
in4   ,,fichte4  ,the transcendental    
philosophy received from ,jacobi an     
impulse toward mysticism4 ,from another 
master it received an impulse toward    
heroism4 ,this master was ,johann       
,gottlieb ,fichte1 born at ,rammenau1 in
 ,upper ,lusatia1 on the #aith of ,may1 
#agfb4 ,a short memoir of him by        
,william ,smith1 published in #ahde1    
with a translation of the ,nature of the
 ,scholar1 and reprinted in ,boston1    
excited a deep interest among people who
 had neither sympathy with his          
philosophy nor intelligence to          
comprehend it4 ,he was a great mind1 and
 a greater character--sensitive1 proud1 
brave1 determined1 enthusiastic1        
imperious1 aspiring2 a mighty soul2 a   
cold1 colossal1 adamantine spirit1      
standing erect and clear1 like a ,cato  
,major among degenerate men2 fit to have

 been the teacher of the ,stoa1 and to  
have discoursed of beauty and virtue in 
the groves of ,academe6 ,so robust an   
intellect1 a soul so calm1 so lofty1    
massive1 and immovable1 has not mingled 
in philosophical discussion since the   
time of ,luther4 ,for the man rises     
before us amid contradiction and debate 
like a granite mountain amid clouds and 
winds4 ,as a man approved by action and 
suffering1 in his life and in his death1
 he ranks with a class of men who were  
common only in better ages than ours4   
,thus wrote ,thomas ,carlyle of him more
 than a generation ago4  ,the direction 
given to philosophy by such a man could 
not but be decided and bold4 ,his short 
treatises1 all marked by intellectual   
power1 some by glowing eloquence1       
carried his thoughts beyond the         
philosophical circle and spread his     
leading principles far beyond the usual 
speculative lines4 ,the ,destination of 
,man1 ,the ,vocation of the ,scholar1   
,the ,nature of the ,scholar1 ,the      

,vocation of ,man1 ,the ,characteristics
 of the ,present ,age1 ,the ,way towards
 the ,blessed ,life1 were translated    
into ,english1 published in the         
,catholic ,series of ,john ,chapman1 and
 extensively read4 ,the ,english        
reviewers helped to make the author and 
his ideas known to many readers4  ,the  
contribution that ,fichte made to the   
transcendental philosophy may be        
described without using many words4 ,he 
became acquainted with ,kant's system in
 ,leipsic1 where he was teaching1 in    
#agij4 ,the effect it had on him is     
described in letters to his friends4 ,to
 one he wrote3 ,the last four or five   
months which ,i have passed in ,leipsic 
have been the happiest of my life2 and  
the most satisfactory part of it is1    
that ,i have to thank no man for the    
smallest ingredient in its pleasures4   
,when ,i came to ,leipsic my brain      
swarmed with great plans4 ,all were     
wrecked2 and of so many soap-bubbles    
there now remains not even the light    

froth that composed them4 ,this         
disturbed a little my peace of mind1 and
 half in despair ,i joined a party to   
which ,i should long ere this have      
belonged4 ,since ,i could not alter my  
outward condition1 ,i resolved on       
internal change4 ,i threw myself into   
philosophy1 and1 as you know1 the       
,kantean4 ,here ,i found the remedy for 
my ills1 and joy enough to boot4 ,the   
influence of this philosophy1 the moral 
part of it in particular 7which1        
however1 is unintelligible without      
previous study of the ',critique of     
,pure ,reason'71 on the whole spiritual 
life1 and especially the revolution it  
has caused in my own mode of thought1 is
 indescribable4 ,to another he wrote in 
similar strain3 ,i have lived in a new  
world since reading the ',critique of   
,pure ,reason4' ,principles ,i believed 
irrefragable are refuted2 things ,i     
thought could never be proved--the idea 
of absolute freedom1 of duty1 for       
example--are demonstrated2 and ,i am so 

much the happier4 ,it is indescribable  
what respect for humanity1 what power   
this system gives us4 ,what a blessing  
to an age in which morality was torn up 
by the roots1 and the word duty blotted 
out of the dictionary6 ,to ,johanna     
,rahn he expresses himself in still     
heartier terms3 ,my scheming mind has   
found rest at last1 and ,i thank        
,providence that shortly before all my  
hopes were frustrated ,i was placed in a
 position which enabled me to bear the  
disappointment with cheerfulness4 ,a    
circumstance that seemed the result of  
mere chance induced me to devote myself 
entirely to the study of the ,kantean   
philosophy--a philosophy that restrains 
the imagination1 always too strong with 
me1 gives reason sway1 and raises the   
soul to an unspeakable height above all 
earthly concerns4 ,i have accepted a    
nobler morality1 and instead of busying 
myself with outward things1 ,i concern  
myself more with my own being4 ,it has  
given me a peace such as ,i never before

 experienced2 amid uncertain worldly    
prospects ,i have passed my happiest    
days4 ,it is difficult beyond all       
conception1 and stands greatly in need  
of simplification4444 ,the first        
elements are hard speculations1 that    
have no direct bearing on human life1   
but their conclusions are most important
 for an age whose morality is corrupted 
at the fountain head2 and to set these  
consequences before the world would1 ,i 
believe1 be doing it a good service4 ,i 
am now thoroughly convinced that the    
human will is free1 and that to be happy
 is not the purpose of our being1 but to
 deserve happiness4 ,so great was       
,fichte's admiration of ,kant's system1 
that he became at once an expositor of  
its principles1 in the hope that he     
might render it intelligible and        
attractive to minds of ordinary culture4
  ,fichte considered himself a pure     
,kantean1 perhaps the only absolutely   
consistent one there was2 and that he   
did so is not surprising2 for1 in       

mending the master's positions1 he      
seemed to be strengthening them against 
assault4 ,he did not1 like ,jacobi1 draw
 inferences which ,kant had laboriously1
 and1 as it seemed1 effectually cut off2
 he merely entrenched himself within the
 lines the philosopher of ,koenigsberg  
had drawn4 ,kant had1 so his critics    
charged1 taken for granted the reality  
of our perceptions of outward things4   
,this was the weak point in his system1 
of which his adversaries took advantage4
 ,on this side he allowed empiricism to 
construct his wall1 and left            
incautiously an opening which the       
keen-sighted foe perceived at once4     
,fichte bethought him to fortify that   
point1 and thus make the philosophy     
unassailable2 to take it1 in fact1 out  
of the category of a philosophical      
system1 and give it the character of a  
science4 ,to this end1 with infinite    
pains and incredible labor1 he tested   
the foundations to discover the         
fundamental and final facts which rested

 on the solid rock4 ,the ultimate facts 
of consciousness were in question4      
,fichte accepted without hesitation the 
confinement within the limits of        
consciousness against which ,jacobi     
rebelled1 and proceeded to make the     
prison worthy of such an occupant4 ,the 
facts of consciousness1 he admitted1 are
 all we have4 ,the states and activities
 of the mind1 perceptions1 ideas1       
judgments1 sentiments1 or by whatever   
other name they may be called1          
constitute1 by his admission1 all our   
knowledge1 and beyond them we cannot go4
 ,they are1 however1 solid and          
substantial4 ,of the outward world he   
knew nothing and had nothing to say2 he 
was not concerned with that4 ,the mind  
is the man2 the history of the mind is  
the man's history2 the processes of the 
mind report the whole of experience2 the
 phenomena of the external universe are 
mere phenomena1 reflections1 so far as  
we know1 of our thought2 the mountains1 
woods1 stars1 are facts of              

consciousness1 to which we attach these 
names4 ,to infer that they exist because
 we have ideas of them1 is illegitimate 
in philosophy4 ,the ideas stand by      
themselves1 and are sufficient of       
themselves4  ,the mind is first1        
foremost1 creative and supreme4 ,it     
takes the initiative in all processes4  
,he that assumes the existence of an    
external world does so on the authority 
of consciousness4 ,if he says that      
consciousness compels us to assume the  
existence of such a world1 that it is so
 constituted as to imply the realization
 of its conception1 still we have simply
 the fact of consciousness2 power to    
verify the relation between this inner  
fact and a corresponding physical       
representation1 there is none4 ,analyze 
the facts of consciousness as much as we
 may1 revise them1 compare them1 we are 
still within their circle and cannot    
pass beyond its limit4 ,is it urged that
 the existence of an external world is a
 necessary postulate8 ,the same reply   

avails1 namely1 that the idea of        
necessity is but one of our ideas1 a    
conception of the mind1 an inner notion 
or impression which legitimates itself  
alone4 ,does the objector further       
insist1 in a tone of exasperation caused
 by what seems to him quibbling1 that in
 this case consciousness plays us false1
 makes a promise to the ear which it    
breaks to the hope--lies1 in short8 ,the
 imperturbable philosopher sets aside   
the insinuation as an impertinence4 ,the
 fact of consciousness1 he maintains1   
stands and testifies for itself4 ,it is 
not answerable for anything out of its  
sphere4 ,in saying what it does it      
speaks the truth2 the whole truth1 so   
far as we can determine4 ,whether or no 
it is absolutely the whole truth1 the   
truth as it lies in a mind otherwise    
constituted1 is no concern of ours4     
,the reasoning by which ,fichte cut off 
the certainty of a material world       
outside of the mind1 told with equal    
force against the objective existence of

 a spiritual world4 ,the mental vision  
being bounded by the mental sphere1 its 
objects being there and only there1 with
 them we must be content4 ,the soul has 
its domain1 untrodden forests to        
explore1 silent and trackless ways to   
follow1 mystery to rest in1 light to    
walk by1 fountains and floods of living 
water1 starry firmaments of thought1    
continents of reason1 zones of law1 and 
with this domain it must be satisfied4  
,god is one of its ideas2 immortality is
 another2 that they are anything more   
than ideas1 cannot be known4  ,that the 
charge of atheism should be brought     
against so uncompromising a thinker1 is 
a less grave imputation upon the        
discernment of his contemporaries than  
ordinarily it is4 ,that he should have  
been obliged1 in consequence of it1 to  
leave ,jena1 and seek an asylum in      
,prussia1 need not excite indignation1  
at least in those who remember his      
unwillingness or inability to modify his
 view1 or explain the sense in which he 

called himself a believer4 ,to charge a 
man with atheism1 as if atheism were    
guilt1 is a folly to be ashamed of2 but 
to class a man among atheists who in no 
sense accepts the doctrine of an        
intelligent1 creative ,cause1 is just1  
while language has meaning4 ,and this is
 ,fichte's position4 ,in his philosophy 
there was no place for assurance of a   
,being corresponding to the mental      
conception4 ,the word ,god with him     
expressed the category of the ,ideal4   
,the world being but the incarnation of 
our sense of duty1 the reflection of the
 mind1 the creator of it is the mind4   
,god1 being a reflection of the soul in 
its own atmosphere1 is one of the soul's
 creations1 a shadow on the surface of a
 pool4 ,the soul creates2 deity is      
created4 ,this is not even ideal        
atheism1 like that of ,etienne          
,vacherot2 it may be much nobler and    
more inspiring than the recognized forms
 of theism2 it is dogmatic or           
speculative atheism only3 but that it   

is1 and that it should confess itself4  
,it was natural that ,fichte1 being     
perfect master of his thought1 should   
disclaim and resent an imputation which 
in spirit he felt was undeserved4 ,it   
was natural that people who were not    
masters of his thought1 and would not   
have appreciated it if they had been1   
should judge him by the only definitions
 they had4 ,berkeley and ,fichte stood  
at opposite extremes in their ,idealism4
 ,berkeley1 starting from the           
theological conception of ,god1         
maintained that the outward world had a 
real existence in the supreme mind1     
being phenomenal only to the human4     
,fichte1 starting from the human mind1  
contended that it was altogether        
phenomenal1 the supreme mind itself     
being phantasmal4  ,how came it1 some   
will naturally ask1 that such a man     
escaped the deadly consequences of such 
resolute introspection8 ,where was there
 the indispensable basis for action and 
reaction8 ,life is conditioned by       

limitation2 the shore gives character to
 the sea2 the outward world gives       
character to the man1 excites his       
energy1 defines his aim1 trains his     
perception1 educates his will1 offers a 
horizon to his hope4 ,the outward world 
being removed1 dissipated1 resolved into
 impalpable thought1 what substitute for
 it can be devised8 ,must not the man   
sink into a visionary1 and waste his    
life in dream8  ,that ,fichte was       
practically no dreamer1 has already been
 said4 ,the man who closed a severe1    
stately1 and glowing lecture on duty    
with the announcement--it was in #ahac1 
when the ,french drums were rattling in 
the street1 at times drowning the       
speaker's voice--that the course would  
be suspended till the close of the      
campaign1 and would be resumed1 if      
resumed at all1 in a free country1 and  
thereupon1 with a ,german patriot's     
enthusiasm1 rushed himself into the     
field--this man was no visionary1 lost  
in dreams4 ,the internal world was with 

him a living world2 the mind was a      
living energy2 ideas were things2       
principles were verities2 the laws of   
thought were laws of being4 ,so intense 
was his feeling of the substantial      
nature of these invisible entities1 that
 the obverse side of them1 the negation 
of them1 had all the vis inertia1 all   
the objective validity of external      
things4 ,he spoke of absolute           
limitations1 inexplicable limitations1  
against which the mind pressed as       
against palpable obstacles1 and in      
pressing against which it acquired      
tension and vigor4 ,passing from the    
realm of speculation into that of       
practice1 the obstacles assumed the     
attributes of powers1 the impediments   
became foes1 to be resisted as          
strenuously as ever soldier opposed     
soldier in battle4 ,from the strength of
 this conviction he was enabled to say3 
,i am well convinced that this life is  
not a scene of enjoyment1 but of labor  
and toil1 and that every joy is granted 

but to strengthen us for further        
exertion2 that the control of our fate  
is not required of us1 but only our     
self-culture4 ,i give myself no concern 
about external things2 ,i endeavor to   
be1 not to seem2 ,i am no man's master1 
and no man's slave4  ,fichte was a      
sublime egoist4 ,in his view1 the mind  
was sovereign and absolute1 capable of  
spontaneous1 self-determined1           
originating action1 having power to     
propose its own end and pursue its own  
freely-chosen course2 a live            
intelligence1 eagerly striving after    
self-development1 to fulfil all the     
possibilities of its nature4 ,of one    
thing he was certain--the reality of the
 rational soul1 and in that certainty   
lay the ground of his tremendous weight 
of assertion4 ,his professional chair   
was a throne2 his discourses were       
prophecies2 his tone was the tone of an 
oracle4 ,it made the blood burn to hear 
him2 it makes the blood burn at this    
distance to read his printed words4 ,to 

cite a few sentences from his writings  
in illustration of the man's way of     
dealing with the great problems of life1
 is almost a necessity4 ,the following  
often-quoted but pregnant passage is    
from ,the ,destination of ,man3 ,i      
understand thee now1 spirit sublime6 ,i 
have found the organ by which to        
apprehend this reality1 and probably all
 other4 ,it is not knowledge1 for       
knowledge can only demonstrate and      
establish itself2 every kind of         
knowledge supposes some higher knowledge
 upon which it is founded2 and of this  
ascent there is no end4 ,it is faith1   
that voluntary repose in the ideas that 
naturally come to us1 because through   
these only we can fulfil our destiny2   
which sets its seal on knowledge1 and   
raises to conviction1 to certainty1     
what1 without it1 might be sheer        
delusion4 ,it is not knowledge1 but a   
resolve to commit one's self to         
knowledge4 ,no merely verbal distinction
 this1 but a true and deep one1 charged 

with momentous consequences to the whole
 character4 ,all conviction is of faith1
 and proceeds from the heart1 not from  
the understanding4 ,knowing this1 ,i    
will enter into no controversy1 for ,i  
foresee that in this way nothing can be 
gained4 ,i will not endeavor1 by        
reasoning1 to press my conviction on    
others1 nor will ,i be discouraged if   
such an attempt should fail4 ,my mode of
 thinking ,i have adopted for myself1   
not for others1 and to myself only need 
,i justify it4 ,whoever has the same    
upright intention will also attain the  
same or a similar conviction1 and       
without it that is impossible4 ,now that
 ,i know this1 ,i know also from what   
point all culture of myself and others  
must proceed2 from the will1 and not    
from the understanding4 ,let but the    
first be steadily directed toward the   
good1 the last will of itself apprehend 
the true4 ,should the last be exercised 
and developed1 while the first remains  
neglected1 nothing can result but a     

facility in vain and endless refinements
 of sophistry4 ,in faith ,i possess the 
test of all truth and all conviction2   
truth originates in the conscience1 and 
what contradicts its authority1 or makes
 us unwilling or incapable of rendering 
obedience to it1 is most certainly      
false1 even should ,i be unable to      
discover the fallacies through which it 
is reached4444 ,what unity1 what        
completeness and dignity1 our human     
nature receives from this view6 ,our    
thought is not based on itself1         
independently of our instincts and      
inclinations4 ,man does not consist of  
two beings running parallel to each     
other2 he is absolutely one4 ,our entire
 system of thought is founded on        
intuition2 as is the heart of the       
individual1 so is his knowledge4  ,the  
everlasting world now rises before me   
more brightly1 and the fundamental laws 
of its order are more clearly revealed  
to my mental vision4 ,the will alone1   
lying hid from mortal eyes in the       

obscurest depths of the soul1 is the    
first link in a chain of consequences   
that stretches through the invisible    
realm of spirit1 as1 in this terrestrial
 world1 the action itself1 a certain    
movement communicated to matter1 is the 
first link in a material chain that     
encircles the whole system4 ,the will is
 the effective cause1 the living        
principle of the world of spirit1 as    
motion is of the world of sense4 ,the   
will is in itself a constituent part of 
the transcendental world4 ,by my free   
determination ,i change and set in      
motion something in this transcendental 
world1 and my energy gives birth to an  
effect that is new1 permanent1 and      
imperishable4 ,let this will find       
expression in a practical deed1 and this
 deed belongs to the world of sense and 
produces effects according to the virtue
 it contains4  ,this is the stoical     
aspect of the doctrine4 ,the softer side
 of it appears throughout the book that 
is entitled ,the ,way towards the       

,blessed ,life4 ,we quote a few passages
 from the many the eloquence whereof    
does no more than justice to the depth  
of sentiment3  ,full surely there is a  
blessedness beyond the grave for those  
who have already entered on it here1 and
 in no other form than that wherein they
 know it here1 at any moment4 ,by mere  
burial man arrives not at bliss2 and in 
the future life1 throughout its whole   
infinite range1 they will seek for      
happiness as vainly as they sought it   
here1 who seek it in aught else than    
that which so closely surrounds them    
here--the ,infinite4  ,religion consists
 herein1 that man in his own person1    
with his own spiritual eye1 immediately 
beholds and possesses ,god4 ,this1      
however1 is possible through pure       
independent thought alone2 for only     
through this does man assume real       
personality1 and this alone is the eye  
to which ,god becomes visible4 ,pure    
thought is itself the divine existence2 
and conversely1 the divine existence1 in

 its immediate essence1 is nothing else 
than pure thought4  ,the truly religious
 man conceives of his world as action1  
which1 because it is his world1 he alone
 creates1 in which alone he can live and
 find satisfaction4 ,this action he does
 not will for the sake of results in the
 world of sense2 he is in no respect    
anxious in regard to results1 for he    
lives in action simply as action2 he    
wills it because it is the will of ,god 
in him1 and his own peculiar portion in 
being4  ,as to those in whom the will of
 ,god is not inwardly                   
accomplished1--because there is no      
inward life in them1 for they are       
altogether outward1--upon them the will 
of ,god is wrought as alone it can be2  
appearing at first sight bitter and     
ungracious1 though in reality merciful  
and loving in the highest degree4 ,to   
those who do not love ,god1 all things  
must work together immediately for pain 
and torment1 until1 by means of the     
tribulation1 they are led to salvation  

at last4  ,language like this from less 
earnest lips might be deceptive2 but    
from the lips of a teacher like ,fichte 
it tells of the solid grandeurs that    
faithful men possess in the ideal       
creations of their souls2 the           
habitableness of air-castles4           
,,schelling4  ,the chief sources from   
which the transcendental philosophy came
 from ,germany to ,america have been    
indicated4 ,the traces of ,jacobi and   
,fichte are broad and distinct on the   
mind of the ,new ,world4 ,of ,schelling 
little need be said1 for his works were 
not translated into ,english1 and the   
,french translation of the              
,transcendental ,idealism was not       
announced till #ahej1 when the movement 
in ,new ,england was subsiding4 ,his    
system was too abstract and technical in
 form to interest any but his           
countrymen4 ,coleridge was fascinated by
 it1 and yielded to the fascination so  
far as to allow the thoughts of the     
,german metaphysician to take possession

 of his mind2 but for ,coleridge1       
indeed1 few ,english-speaking men would 
have known what the system was4         
,transcendentalism in ,new ,england was 
rather spiritual and practical than     
metaphysical4 ,jacobi and ,fichte were  
both2 it can scarcely be said that      
,schelling was either4 ,his books were  
hard2 his ideas underwent continual     
changes in detail2 his speculative      
system was developed gradually in a long
 course of years4 ,but for certain      
grandiose conceptions which had a charm 
for the imagination and fascinated the  
religious sentiment1 his name need not  
be mentioned in this little incidental  
record at all4 ,there was1 however1 in  
,schelling something that recalled the  
ideal side of ,plato1 more that         
suggested ,plotinus1 the neo-,platonists
 and ,alexandrines1 a mystical          
pantheistic quality that mingled well   
with the general elements of ,idealism1 
and gave atmosphere1 as it were1 to the 
tender feeling of ,jacobi and the heroic

 will of ,fichte4  ,schelling was       
,fichte's disciple1 filled his vacant   
chair in ,jena in #agih1 and took his   
philosophical departure from certain of 
his positions4 ,fichte had shut the man 
up close in himself1 had limited the    
conception of the world by the          
boundaries of consciousness1 had reduced
 the inner universe to a full-orbed     
creation1 made its facts substantial and
 its fancies solid1 peopled it with     
living forces1 and found room in it for 
the exercise of a complete moral and    
spiritual life4 ,in his system the soul 
was creator4 ,the outer universe had its
 being in human thought4 ,subject and   
object were one1 and that one was the   
subject4  ,schelling restored the       
external world to its place as an       
objective reality1 no fiction1 no       
projection from the human mind4 ,subject
 and object1 in his view1 were one1 but 
in the ,,absolute1 the universal soul1  
the infinite and eternal mind4 ,his     
original fire mist was the unorganized  

intelligence of which the universe was  
the expression4 ,finite minds are but   
phases of manifestation of the infinite 
mind1 inlets into which it flows1 some  
deeper1 wider1 longer than others4      
,spirit and matter are reverse aspects  
of being4 ,spirit is invisible nature1  
nature invisible spirit4 ,starting from 
nature1 we may work our way into        
intelligence2 starting from             
intelligence1 we may work our way out to
 nature4 ,thought and existence having  
the same ground1 ideal and real being   
one1 the work of philosophy is          
twofold--from nature to arrive at       
spirit1 from spirit to arrive at nature4
 ,they who wish to know how ,schelling  
did it must consult the histories of    
philosophy2 the most popular of them    
will satisfy all but the experts4 ,it is
 easy to conjecture into what mysterious
 ways the clue might lead1 and in what  
wilderness of thickets the reader might 
be lost2 how in mind we are to see      
nature struggling upward into           

consciousness1 and in nature mind       
seeking endless forms of finite         
expression4 ,to unfold both processes1  
in uniform and balanced movement1       
avoiding pantheism on one side1 and     
materialism on the other1 was the       
endeavor we shall not attempt1 even in  
the most cursory manner1 to describe4   
,god becomes conscious in man1 the      
philosophic man1 the man of reason1 in  
whom the absolute being recognizes      
himself4 ,the reason gazes immediately  
on the eternal realities1 by virtue of  
what was called intellectual intuition1 
which beholds both subject and object as
 united in a single thought4 ,reason was
 impersonal1 no attribute of the finite 
intelligence1 no fact of the individual 
consciousness1 but a faculty1 if that be
 the word for it1 that transcended all  
finite experience1 commanded a point    
superior to consciousness1 was1 in fact1
 the all-seeing eye confronting itself4 
,what room here for intellectual rovers6
 ,what mystic groves for ecstatic souls 

to lose themselves in6 ,what intricate  
mazes for those who are fond of hunting 
phantoms6 ,flashes of dim glory from    
this tremendous speculation are seen in 
the writings of ,emerson1 ,parker1      
,alcott1 and other seers1 probably      
caught by reflection1 or struck out1 as 
they were by ,schelling himself1 by     
minds moving on the same level4 ,in     
,germany the lines of speculation were  
carried out in labyrinthine detail1 as1 
fortunately1 they were not elsewhere4   
,of ,hegel1 the successor in thought of 
,schelling1 there is no call here to    
speak at all4 ,his speculation1 though  
influential in ,america1 as influential 
as that of either of his predecessors1  
was scarcely known thirty-five years    
ago1 and if it had been1 would have     
possessed little charm for idealists of 
the ,new ,england stamp4 ,that system   
has borne fruits of a very different    
quality1 being adopted largely by       
churchmen1 whom it has justified and    
fortified in their ecclesiastical forms1

 doctrinal and sacramental1 and by      
teachers of moderately progressive      
tendencies4 ,the duty of unfolding his  
ideas has devolved upon students of     
,german1 as no other language has given 
them anything like adequate expression4 
,hegel1 too1 was more formidable than   
,schelling2 the latter was brilliant1   
dashing1 imaginative1 glowing2 his ideas
 shone in the air1 and were caught with 
little toil by enthusiastic minds4 ,to  
comprehend or even to apprehend ,hegel  
requires more philosophical culture than
 was found in ,new ,england half a      
century ago1 more than is by any means  
common to-day4 ,modern speculative      
philosophy is1 as a rule1 ,hegelian4    
,its spirit is conservative1 and it     
scarcely at all lends countenance to    
movements so revolutionary as those that
 shook ,new ,england4  ,long before the 
time we are dealing with--as early as   
#ahbd--the philosophy of ,hegel had     
struck hands with church and state in   
,prussia2 ,hegel was at once prophet1   

priest1 and prince4 ,in the fulness of  
his powers1 ripe in ability and in fame1
 he sat in the chair that ,fichte had   
occupied1 and gave laws to the          
intellectual world4 ,he would teach     
philosophy to talk ,german1 as ,luther  
had taught the ,bible to do4 ,a crowd of
 enthusiasts thronged about him4 ,the   
scientific and literary celebrities of  
,berlin sat at his feet2 state officials
 attended his lectures and professed    
themselves his disciples4 ,the          
government provided liberally for his   
salary1 and paid the travelling expenses
 of this great ambassador of the mind4  
,the old story of disciple become master
 was told again4 ,the philosopher was   
the friend of those that befriended him2
 the servant1 some say1 of those that   
lavished on him honors4 ,then the new   
philosophy that was to reconstruct the  
mental world learned to accept the      
actual world as it existed1 and lent its
 powerful aid to the order of things it 
promised to reconstruct4 ,throwing out  

the aphorism1 ,the rational is the      
actual1 the actual is the rational1     
,hegel declared that natural right1     
morality1 and even religion are properly
 subordinated to authority4 ,the        
despotic ,prussian system welcomed the  
great philosopher as its defender4 ,the 
,prussian ,government was not tardy in  
showing appreciation of its advocate's  
eminent services4  ,the church1 taking  
the hint1 put in its claim to patronage4
 ,it needed protection against the      
rationalism that was coming up2 and such
 protection the majesty of ,hegel       
vouchsafed to offer4 ,faith and         
philosophy formed a new alliance4       
,orthodox professors gave in their      
loyalty to the man who taught that ,god 
was in process of becoming1 and the man 
who taught that ,god was in process of  
becoming welcomed the orthodox          
professors to the circle of his         
disciples4 ,he was more orthodox than   
the orthodox2 he gave the theologians   
new explanations of their own dogmas1   

and supplied them with arguments against
 their own foes4 ,trinity1 incarnation1 
atonement1 redemption1 were all         
interpreted and justified1 to the       
complete satisfaction of the            
ecclesiastical powers4  ,this being the 
influence of the master1 and of         
philosophy as he explained it1 the      
formation of a new school by the        
earnest1 liberal men who drew very      
different conclusions from the master's 
first principles1 was to be expected4   
,but the ,new ,hegelians1 as they were  
called1 became disbelievers in religion 
and in spiritual things altogether1 and 
either lapsed1 like ,strauss1 into      
intellectual scepticism1 or1 like       
,feuerbach1 became aggressive           
materialists4 ,the ideal elements in    
,hegel's system were appropriated by    
,christianity1 and were employed against
 liberty and progress4 ,spiritualists1  
whether in the old world or the new1 had
 little interest in a philosophy that so
 readily favored two opposite           

tendencies1 both of which they abhorred4
 ,to them the spiritual philosophy was  
represented by ,hegel's predecessors4   
,the disciples of sentiment accepted    
,jacobi2 the loyalists of conscience    
followed ,fichte2 the severe            
metaphysicians1 of whom there were a    
few1 adhered to ,kant2 the soaring      
speculators and imaginative theosophists
 spread their sheeny vans1 and soared   
into the regions of the absolute with   
,schelling4 ,the idealists of ,new      
,england were largest debtors to ,jacobi
 and ,fichte4     ,,iii4                
,,transcendentalism ,,in ,,theology     
,,and ,,literature4   ,one of the       
earliest students of the ,german        
language in ,boston was ,dr4 ,n4 ,l4    
,frothingham1 ,unitarian minister of the
 ,first ,church4 ,among the professional
 books that interested him was one by   
,herder1 ,letters to a ,young           
,theologian1 chapters from which he     
translated for the ,christian ,disciple1
 the precursor of the ,christian        

,examiner4 ,of ,herder1 ,george         
,bancroft wrote an account in the ,north
 ,american ,review1 and ,george ,ripley 
in the ,christian ,examiner4 ,the second
 number of ,the ,dial contains a letter 
from ,mr4 ,ripley to a theological      
student1 in which this particular book  
of ,herder is warmly commended1 as being
 worth the trouble of learning ,german  
to read4 ,the volume was remarkable for 
earnest enlightenment1 its discernment  
of the spirit beneath the letter1 its   
generous interpretations1 and its       
suggestions of a better future for the  
philosophy of religion4 ,herder was one 
of the illuminated minds2 though not    
professedly a disciple1 he had felt the 
influence of ,kant1 and was cordially in
 sympathy with the men who were trying  
to break the spell of form and          
tradition4 ,with ,lessing more          
especially1 ,herder's ,spirit of ,hebrew
 ,poetry1 of which a translation by ,dr4
 ,james ,marsh was published in #ahcc1  
found its way to ,new ,england1 and     

helped to confirm the disposition to    
seek the springs of inspiration in the  
human mind1 whence all poetry proceeded4
 ,the writer of the book1 by applying to
 ,hebrew poetry the rules of critical   
appreciation by which all poetic        
creations are judged1 abolished so far  
the distinction between sacred and      
secular1 and transferred to the credit  
of human genius the products commonly   
ascribed to divine4 ,in the persons of  
the great bards of ,israel all bards    
were glorified2 the soul's creative     
power was recognized1 and with it the   
heart of the transcendental faith4  ,the
 influence of ,schleiermacher was even  
more distinct than that of ,herder4 ,one
 book of his1 in particular1 made a deep
 impression1--the ,reden ueber          
,religion1 published in #agii4 ,the book
 is thus described by ,mr4 ,george      
,ripley1 in a controversial letter to   
,mr4 ,andrews ,norton1 who had assailed 
,schleiermacher as an atheist4 ,the     
',discourses on ,religion' were not     

intended to present a system of         
theology4 ,they are highly rhetorical in
 manner1 filled with bursts of          
impassioned eloquence1 always intense1  
and sometimes extravagant2 addressed to 
the feelings1 not to speculation2 and   
expressly disclaiming all pretensions to
 an exposition of doctrine4 ,they were  
published at a time when hostility to   
religion1 and especially to             
,christianity as a divine revelation1   
was deemed a proof of talent and        
refinement4 ,the influence of the church
 was nearly exhausted2 the highest      
efforts of thought were of a destructive
 character2 a frivolous spirit pervaded 
society2 religion was deprived of its   
supremacy2 and a 'starveling theology'  
was exalted in place of the living word4
 ,schleiermacher could not contemplate  
the wretched meagreness and degradation 
of his age without being moved as by 'a 
heavenly impulse4' ,his spirit was      
stirred within him as he saw men turning
 from the true ,god to base idols4 ,he  

felt himself impelled to go forth with  
the power of a fresh and youthful       
enthusiasm1 for the restoration of      
religion2 to present it in its most     
sublime aspect1 free from its           
perversions1 disentangled from human    
speculation1 as founded in the essential
 nature of man1 and indispensable to the
 complete unfolding of his inward being4
 ,in order to recognize everything which
 is really religious among men1 and to  
admit even the lowest degree of it into 
the idea of religion1 he wishes to make 
this as broad and comprehensive in its  
character as possible4 ,in illustration 
of this purpose ,mr4 ,ripley quotes the 
author as follows3 ,i maintain that     
piety is the necessary and spontaneous  
product of the depths of every elevated 
nature2 that it possesses a rightful    
claim to a peculiar province in the     
soul1 over which it may exercise an     
unlimited sovereignty2 that it is       
worthy1 by its intrinsic power1 to be a 
source of life to the most noble and    

exalted minds2 and that from its        
essential character it deserves to be   
known and received by them4 ,these are  
the points which ,i defend1 and which ,i
 would fain establish4  ,from this it   
will appear that ,schleiermacher gave   
countenance to the spiritual aspect of  
transcendentalism1 and co-operated with 
the general movement it represented4    
,his position that religion was not a   
system of dogmas1 but an inward         
experience2 that it was not a           
speculation1 but a feeling2 that its    
primal verities rested not on miracle or
 tradition1 not on the ,bible letter or 
on ecclesiastical institution1 but on   
the soul's own sense of things divine2  
that this sense belonged by nature to   
the human race1 and gave to all forms of
 religion such genuineness as they had2 
that all affirmation was partial1 and   
all definition deceptive2 proved to be  
practically the same with that taken by 
,jacobi1 and was so received by the     
disciples of the new philosophy4  ,but  

,schleiermacher was an ,evangelical     
,lutheran1 a believer in supernatural   
religion1 in ,christ1 in ,christianity  
as a special dispensation1 in the       
miracles of the ,new ,testament4 ,so far
 from being a rationalist1 he was the   
most formidable opponent that           
rationalism had2 for his efforts were   
directed against the critical and       
theological method1 and in support of   
the spiritual method of dealing with    
religious truths4 ,in explaining        
religion as being in its primitive      
character a sense of divine things in   
the soul1 and as having its seat1 not in
 knowledge1 nor yet in action1 neither  
in theology nor in morality1 but in     
feeling1 in aspiration1 longing1 love1  
veneration1 conscious dependence1 filial
 trust1 he deprived rationalism of its  
strength4 ,hence his attraction for     
liberal orthodox believers in ,america4 
,schleiermacher had as many disciples   
among the ,congregationalists as among  
their antagonists of the opposite       

school4 ,professors ,edwards and ,park  
included thoughts of his in their       
,selections from ,german ,literature4   
,the pulpit transcendentalists          
acknowledged their indebtedness to him1 
and the debt they acknowledged was      
sentimental rather than intellectual4   
,they thanked him for the spirit of     
fervent piety1 deep1 cordial1 human1    
unlimited in generosity1 untrammelled by
 logical distinctions1 rather than for  
new light on philosophical problems4    
,his bursts of eloquent enthusiasm over 
men whom the church outlawed--,spinoza  
for example--made amends with them for  
the absence of doctrinal exactness4 ,a  
warm sympathy with those who detached   
religion from dogma1 and recognized the 
religious sentiment under its most      
diverse forms1 was characteristic of the
 new spirit that burned in ,new         
,england4 ,schleiermacher was one of the
 first and foremost to encourage such   
sympathy3 he based it on the idea that  
man was by nature religious1 endowed    

with spiritual faculties1 and that was  
welcome tidings2 and though he retained 
the essence of the evangelical system1  
he retained it in a form that could be  
dropped without injury to the principle 
by which it was justified4 ,thus        
,schleiermacher strengthened the very   
positions he assailed1 and gave aid and 
comfort to the enemy he would overthrow4
 ,the transcendentalists1 it is true1   
employed against the rationalists the   
weapons that he put into their hands4   
,at the same time they left as          
unimportant the theological system which
 his weapons were manufactured to       
support4  ,but it was through the       
literature of ,germany that the         
transcendental philosophy chiefly       
communicated itself4 ,goethe1 ,richter  
and ,novalis were more persuasive       
teachers than ,kant1 ,jacobi or ,fichte4
 ,to those who could not read ,german   
these authors were interpreted by       
,thomas ,carlyle1 who took up the cause 
of ,german philosophy and literature1   

and wrote about them with passionate    
power in the ,english reviews2 not      
contenting himself with giving surface  
accounts of them1 but plunging boldly   
into the depths1 and carrying his       
readers with him through discussions    
that1 but for his persuasive eloquence1 
would have had little charm to ordinary 
minds4 ,goethe and ,richter were his    
heroes3 their methods and opinions are  
of the greatest account with him2 and he
 leaves nothing unexplained of the      
intellectual foundations on which they  
builded4 ,consequently in the remarkable
 papers that ,carlyle wrote about them  
and their books1 full report is given of
 the place held by the ,kantean         
philosophy in their culture4 ,the       
article on ,novalis1 in the ,foreign    
,review of #ahbi1 ,no4 #g1 presents with
 a master hand the peculiarities of the 
new metaphysics that were regenerating  
the ,german mind4 ,regenerating is not  
too strong a word for the influence that
 he ascribes to it4 ,thus in #ahbg he   

wrote in the ,edinburgh ,review3  ,the  
critical philosophy has been regarded by
 persons of approved judgment1 and      
nowise directly implicated in the       
furthering of it1 as distinctly the     
greatest intellectual achievement of the
 century in which it came to light4     
,august ,wilhelm ,schlegel has stated in
 plain terms his belief that in respect 
of its probable influence on the moral  
culture of ,europe1 it stands on a line 
with the ,reformation4 ,we mention      
,schlegel as a man whose opinion has a  
known value among ourselves4 ,but the   
worth of ,kant's philosophy is not to be
 gathered from votes alone4 ,the noble  
system of morality1 the purer theology1 
the lofty views of man's nature derived 
from it2 nay1 perhaps the very          
discussion of such matters1 to which it 
gave so strong an impetus1 have told    
with remarkable and beneficial influence
 on the whole spiritual character of    
,germany4 ,no writer of any importance  
in that country1 be he acquainted or not

 with the critical philosophy1 but      
breathes a spirit of devoutness and     
elevation more or less directly drawn   
from it4 ,such men as ,goethe and       
,schiller cannot exist without effect in
 any literature or any century2 but if  
one circumstance more than another has  
contributed to forward their endeavors  
and introduce that higher tone into the 
literature of ,germany1 it has been this
 philosophical system1 to which1 in     
wisely believing its results1 or even in
 wisely denying them1 all that was lofty
 and pure in the genius of poetry or the
 reason of man so readily allied itself4
  ,after quoting from ,meister's        
,apprenticeship a noble passage on the  
spiritual function of art1 ,carlyle     
comments thus3 ,to adopt such sentiments
 into his sober practical persuasion2 in
 any measure to feel and believe that   
such was still and must always be1 the  
high vocation of the poet2 on this      
ground of universal humanity1 of ancient
 and now almost forgotten nobleness1 to 

take his stand1 even in these trivial1  
jeering1 withered1 unbelieving days1 and
 through all their complex1 dispiriting1
 mean1 yet tumultuous influences1 to    
make his light shine before men that it 
might beautify even our rag-gathering   
age with some beams of that mild divine 
splendor which had long left us1 the    
very possibility of which was denied2   
heartily and in earnest to meditate all 
this was no common proceeding2 to bring 
it into practice1 especially in such a  
life as his has been1 was among the     
highest and hardest enterprises which   
any man whatever could engage in4  ,from
 ,schiller's correspondence with        
,goethe1 ,carlyle quotes the following  
tribute to the ,kantean philosophy3     
,from the opponents of the new          
philosophy ,i expect not that tolerance 
which is shown to every other system no 
better seen into than this2 for ,kant's 
philosophy itself1 in its leading       
points1 practises no tolerance1 and     
bears much too rigorous a character to  

leave any room for accommodation4 ,but  
in my eyes this does it honor1 proving  
how little it can endure to have truth  
tampered with4 ,such a philosophy will  
not be shaken to pieces by a mere shake 
of the head4 ,in the open1 clear1       
accessible field of inquiry it builds up
 its system1 seeks no shade1 makes no   
reservation1 but even as it treats its  
neighbors1 so it requires to be treated1
 and may be forgiven for lightly        
esteeming everything but proofs4 ,nor am
 ,i terrified to think that the law of  
change1 from which no human and no      
divine work finds grace1 will operate on
 this philosophy as on every other1 and 
one day its form will be destroyed1 but 
its foundations will not have this fate 
to fear1 for ever since mankind has     
existed1 and any reason among mankind1  
these same first principles have been   
admitted1 and on the whole1 acted on4   
,of ,richter he writes3 ,richter's      
philosophy1 a matter of no ordinary     
interest1 both as it agrees with the    

common philosophy of ,germany1 and      
disagrees with it1 must not be touched  
on for the present4 ,one only           
observation we shall make3 it is not    
mechanical or sceptical2 it springs not 
from the forum or the laboratory1 but   
from the depths of the human spirit1 and
 yields as its fairest product a noble  
system of morality1 and the firmest     
conviction of religion4 ,an intense and 
continual faith in man's immortality and
 native grandeur accompanies him2 from  
amid the vortices of life he looks up to
 a heavenly loadstar2 the solution of   
what is visible and transient1 he finds 
in what is invisible and eternal4 ,he   
has doubted1 he denies1 yet he believes4
  ,of ,novalis1 scarcely more than a    
name to ,americans1 the same oracle     
speaks thus3 ,the aim of ,novalis' whole
 philosophy is to preach and establish  
the majesty of reason1 in the strict    
philosophical sense2 to conquer for it  
all provinces of human thought1 and     
everywhere resolve its vassal           

understanding into fealty1 the right and
 only useful relation for it4 ,how      
deeply these and the like principles    
7those of the ,kantean philosophy7 had  
impressed themselves on ,novalis1 we see
 more and more the further we study his 
writings4 ,naturally a deep1 religious1 
contemplative spirit1 purified also by  
harsh affliction1 and familiar in the   
',sanctuary of ,sorrow1' he comes before
 us as the most ideal of all idealists4 
,for him the material creation is but an
 appearance1 a typical shadow in which  
the ,deity manifests himself to man4    
,not only has the unseen world a        
reality1 but the only reality2 the rest 
being not metaphorically1 but literally 
and in scientific strictness1 'a show2' 
in the words of the poet3      ',sound  
and smoke overclouding the splendor of  
heaven6'  ,the invisible world is near  
us2 or rather1 it is here1 in us and    
about us2 were the fleshly coil removed 
from our soul1 the glories of the unseen
 were even now around us1 as the        

ancients fabled of the spheral music4   
,thus1 not in word only1 but in truth   
and sober belief he feels himself       
encompassed by the ,godhead2 feels in   
every thought that 'in ,him he lives1   
moves1 and has his being4'  ,these      
declarations from a man who was becoming
 prominent in the world of literature1  
and whose papers were widely and        
enthusiastically read1 had great weight 
with people to whom the ,german was an  
unknown tongue4 ,but it was not an      
unknown tongue to all1 and they who had 
mastered it were active communicators of
 its treasures4 ,carlyle's efforts at   
interesting ,english readers through his
 remarkable translation of ,wilhelm     
,meister1 and the ,specimens of ,german 
,romance1 which contained pieces by     
,tieck1 ,jean ,paul1 ,hoffmann1 and     
,musaeus1 published in #ahbg1 were      
seconded here by ,f4 ,h4 ,hedge1 ,c4 ,t4
 ,brooks1 ,j4 ,s4 ,dwight1 and others1  
who made familiar to the ,american      
public the choicest poems of the most   

famous ,german bards4 ,richter became   
well known by his ,autobiography1       
,quintus ,fixlein1 ,flower1 ,fruit1 and 
,thorn ,pieces1 ,hesperus1 ,titan1 ,the 
,campaner ,thal1 the writings and       
versions of ,madame de ,stael4 ,the     
third volume of the ,dial1 ,july1 #ahda1
 opened with a remarkable paper on      
,goethe1 by ,margaret ,fuller4 ,the     
pages of the ,dial abounded in          
references to ,goethe's ideas and       
writings4 ,no author occupied the       
cultivated ,new ,england mind as much as
 he did4 ,none of these writers taught  
formally the doctrines of the           
transcendental philosophy1 but they     
reflected one or another aspect of it4  
,they assumed its cardinal principles in
 historical and literary criticism1 in  
dramatic art1 in poetry and romance4    
,they conveyed its spirit of aspiration 
after ideal standards of perfection4    
,they caught from it their judgments on 
society and religion4 ,they communicated
 its aroma1 and so imparted the         

quickening breath of its soul to people 
who would have started back in alarm    
from its doctrines4  ,the influence of  
the transcendental philosophy on ,german
 literature was fully conceded by       
,menzel1 who1 however1 found little     
trace of it in ,goethe4 ,of the author  
of the philosophy he wrote3 ,kant was   
very far from assenting to ,french      
infidelity and its immoral consequences4
 ,he directed man to himself1 to the    
moral law in his own bosom2 and the     
fresh breath of life of the old ,grecian
 dignity of man penetrates the whole of 
his luminous philosophy4 ,of ,goethe he 
wrote3 ,if he ever acknowledged         
allegiance to a good spirit1 to great   
ideas1 to virtue1 he did it only because
 they had become the order of the day1  
for1 on the other hand1 he has1 again1  
served every weakness1 vanity and folly1
 if they were but looked on with favor  
at the time2 in short1 like a good      
player1 he has gone through all the     
parts4 ,menzel's book was translated by 

a man who had no sympathy with          
,transcendentalism--,prof4 ,c4 ,c4      
,felton2 was admired by people of his   
own school1 and was sharply criticised1 
especially in the portions relating to  
,goethe1 by the transcendentalists1 who 
accepted ,carlyle's view4 ,he and they  
put the most generous interpretations on
 the masterpieces of the poet1 passed by
 as incidental1 did not see1 or in their
 own mind transfigured1 the             
objectionable features that ,menzel     
seized on4 ,too little was ascribed to  
the foreign ,french element that reached
 the literature of ,germany through     
,prussia--to ,rousseau1 ,voltaire1      
,diderot--whose ideas fell in with the  
unworthier sceptical tendencies of the  
,kantean system1 and polluted the waters
 of that clear1 cold stream2 too much   
was ascribed to the noble idealism that 
was credited with power to glorify all  
it touched1 and redeem even low things  
from degradation4 ,if therefore they    
apologized for what the sensational     

moralists blamed1 they did it in good   
faith1 not as excusing the indecency1   
but as surmounting it4 ,what they       
admired was the art1 and the aspiration 
it expressed4 ,the devotees of the      
,french spirit1 in its frivolity and    
meretricious beauty1 they turned away   
from with disdain4 ,there was enough of 
the nobler kind to engage them4 ,when   
they went to ,france they went for what 
,france had in common with ,germany--an 
idealism of the wholesome1 ethical and  
spiritual type1 which1 whether ,german1 
,french or ,english1 bore always the    
same characteristics of beauty and      
nobleness4 ,much that was unspiritual1  
all that was merely speculative1 they   
passed by4 ,with an appetite for the    
generous and inspiring only1 they sought
 the really earnest teachers1 of whom in
 ,france there were a few4 ,the         
influence of those few was great in     
proportion to their fewness probably1   
quite as much as to their merit as      
philosophers4     ,,iv4                 

,,transcendentalism ,,in ,,france4      
,from the time of ,malebranche1 who died
 in #agae1 to ,maine de ,biran1         
,royer-,collard1 ,ampere and ,cousin1 a 
period of about a century1 philosophy in
 ,france had not borne an honorable     
name4 ,the ,french mind was active2     
philosophy was a profession2 the        
philosophical world was larger than in  
,germany1 where it was limited to the   
,universities4 ,but ,france took no lead
 in speculation1 it waited to receive   
impulse from other lands2 and even then1
 instead of taking up the impulse and   
carrying it on with original and        
sympathetic force1 it was content to    
exhibit and reproduce it4 ,the office of
 expositor1 made easy by the            
perspicacity of its intellect and the   
flexibility of its language1 was        
accepted and discharged with a          
cleverness that was recognized by all   
,europe4 ,its histories of philosophy1  
translations1 expositions1              
reproductions1 were admirable for       

neatness and clearness4 ,the most       
obscure systems became intelligible in  
that limpid and lucid speech1 which     
reported with faultless dexterity the   
agile movements of the ,gallic mind1 and
 made popular the most abstruse         
doctrines of metaphysics4 ,german       
philosophy in its original dress was    
outlandish1 even to practised students  
in ,german4 ,the readers of ,french were
 many in ,england and the ,united       
,states1 and the readers of ,french1    
without severe labor on their part1 were
 put in possession of the essential     
ideas of the deep thinkers of the race4 
,the best accounts of human speculation 
are in ,french4 ,barthelemy ,saint      
,hilaire interprets ,aristotle1 and     
throws important light on ,indian       
,philosophy2 ,bouillet translates       
,plotinus2 ,emil ,saisset translates    
,spinoza2 ,tissot and ,jules ,barni     
perform the same service for ,kant2     
,jules ,simon and ,etienne ,vacherot    
undertake to make intelligible the      

,school of ,alexandria2 ,paul ,janet    
explains the dialectics of ,plato2      
,adolphe ,franck deals with the ,jewish 
,kabbala2 ,charles de ,remusat with     
,anselm1 ,abelard and ,bacon2 ,,mm4     
,haureau and ,rousselot with the        
philosophy of the middle age2 ,m4       
,chauvet with the theories of the human 
understanding in antiquity4 ,cousin     
published unedited works of ,proclus1   
analyzed the commentaries of            
,olympiodorus on the ,platonic          
dialogues1 made a complete translation  
of ,plato1 admirable for clearness and  
strength1 and proposed to present1 not  
of course with his own hand1 but by the 
hands of friendly fellow-workers1 and   
under his own direction1 examples of    
whatever was best in every philosophical
 system4 ,the philosophical work of     
,france is ably summed up in the report 
on ,philosophy in ,france in the        
nineteenth century1 presented by ,felix 
,ravaisson1 member of the ,institute1   
and published in #ahfh1 under the       

auspices of the ,ministry of ,public    
,instruction4  ,the ideas of ,locke were
 brought from ,london to ,paris by      
,voltaire1 who became acquainted with   
them during a residence in ,england1 and
 found them effective in his warfare    
against the ecclesiastical institutions 
of his country4 ,through his brilliant  
interpretations and keen applications1  
they gained currency1 became fashionable
 among the wits1 were domesticated with 
people of culture and elegance1 and     
worked their way into the religion and  
politics of the time4 ,it is needless to
 say that in his hands full justice was 
done to their external and material     
aspects4  ,the system found a more exact
 and methodical expounder in ,condillac1
 who reduced it to greater simplicity by
 eliminating from it what in the        
original marred its unity1 namely       
reflection1 the bent of the mind back on
 itself1 whereby it took cognizance of  
impressions made by the outer world4    
,taking what remained of the system1 the

 notion that all knowledge came         
primarily through the senses1 and       
drawing the conclusion that the mind    
itself was a product of sensation1      
,condillac fashioned a doctrine which   
had the merit1 such as it was1 of utter 
intelligibleness to the least instructed
 mind2 a system of materialism naked and
 unadorned4 ,if he himself forbore to   
push his principle to its extreme       
results1 declining to assert that we    
were absolutely nothing else than       
products of sensation1 and surmising    
that beneath the layers of intelligence 
and reason there might lurk a principle 
that sensation could not account for1   
something stable in the midst of the    
ceaseless instability1 something        
absolute below everything relative1     
which might be called action or will1   
the popular interpretation of his       
philosophy took no account of such      
subtleties4 ,in vain did his disciple   
,destutt de ,tracy declare that the     
principle of movement is the will1 and  

that the will is the person1 the man    
himself4 ,the fascination of simplicity 
proved more than a match for nicety of  
distinction1 and both were ranked among 
materialists4  ,cabanis was at no pains 
to conceal the most repulsive features  
of the system4 ,in his work1 ,the       
,relations of the ,physical and the     
,moral in ,man1 he maintained bluntly   
the theory that there was no spiritual  
being apart from the body2 that mind had
 no substance1 no separate existence of 
its own1 but was in all its parts and   
qualities a product of the nervous      
system2 that sensibility of every kind1 
sentimental1 intelligent1 moral1        
spiritual1 including the whole domain of
 conscious and unconscious vitality1 was
 a nervous manifestation2 that man was  
capable of sensation because he had     
nerves2 that he was what he was because 
of the wondrous character of the        
mechanism of sensation2 that1 in a word1
 the perfection of organization was the 
perfection of humanity4 ,it was ,cabanis

 who said the brain secretes thought as 
the liver secretes bile4 ,cabanis       
modified his philosophy before his      
death1 but without effect to break the  
force of his cardinal positions4 ,the   
results of such teaching appeared in a  
morality of selfishness1 tending to     
self-indulgence--a morality destitute of
 nobleness and sweetness1 summing up its
 lessons in the maxims that good is good
 to eat2 that the pleasurable thing is  
right1 the painful thing wrong2 that    
success is the measure of rectitude2    
that the aim of life is the attainment  
of happiness1 and that happiness means  
physical enjoyment2 that virtue and vice
 are names for prudence and for         
folly1--,virtue being conformity with   
the ways of the world1 ,vice being      
non-conformity with the ways of the     
world2 no ideal standard being          
recognized for the one1 no law of       
rectitude being confessed for the other4
 ,conscience was regarded as an         
artificial habit created by custom or   

acquiesced in from tradition2 the       
categorical imperative was pronounced   
the dogmatism of the fanatic4  ,from    
such principles atheism naturally       
proceeded4 ,atheism not of opinion      
merely1 but of sentiment and feeling2   
for at that time the potencies of matter
 impressed no such awe upon the mind as 
they have done since2 the mystery of    
matter was unfelt2 physiology was an    
unexplored region2 the materialist      
simply denied spirit1 putting a blank   
where believers in religion had been    
used to find a soul2 and had no         
alternative but to run sensationalism   
into sensualism1 and to give the senses 
the flavor of the ground4 ,with us the  
sensational philosophy has become       
refined into a philosophy of experience1
 and the materialist finds himself in a 
region where to distinguish between     
matter and spirit is difficult1 to say  
the least4 ,but a hundred years ago     
matter was clod1 and the passion it     
engendered smelt of the charnel-house4  

,the morbid insanities of the           
revolution1 the orgies in which blood   
and wine ran together1 the savage glee1 
the delirium that ensued when the       
uncertainty of life acting on the       
impulse to enjoy life while it lasted1  
made men ferocious in clutching at      
immediate pleasure1 attest the          
consequences that ensued from such frank
 adoption of the sensational philosophy 
as was practised among the ,french4     
,locke was a man of piety1 which even   
his warmest apologists will hardly claim
 for ,voltaire4 ,the ,english mind1     
grave and thoughtful1 trained by        
religious institutions in religious     
beliefs1 was less inclined than the     
,french to drive speculative theories to
 extreme conclusions4 ,the philosophy of
 sensationalism culminated1 not in the  
,french ,revolution1 as has been        
vulgarly asserted1 but in the unbelief  
and sensual extravagance that marked one
 phase of it4  ,in this there was       
nothing original2 there was no          

originality in the reaction that        
followed1 and gave to modern philosophy 
in ,france its spiritual character4     
,laromiguiere1 educated in the school of
 ,condillac1 improved on the suggestion 
that ,condillac had given1 and deepened 
into a chasm the scratch he had made to 
indicate a distinction between the      
results of sensation and the faculties  
of the mind4 ,in his analysis of the    
mental constitution he came upon two    
facts that denoted an original activity 
in advance of sensation--namely1        
attention and desire3 the former the    
root of the intellectual1 the latter of 
the moral powers2 both at last          
resolvable into one                     
principle--attention4 ,this discovery   
met with wide and cordial welcome1 the  
popularity of ,laromiguiere's lectures1 
delivered in #ahaa1 #ahab1 #ahac1       
revealing the fact that thoughtful      
people were prepared for a new          
metaphysical departure4  ,maine de      
,biran1 who more than the rest deserves 

the name of an original investigator1 a 
severe1 solitary1 independent thinker1  
pupil of no school and founder of none1 
brought into strong relief the activity 
of the intellect4 ,thought1 he          
maintained1 proceeds from will1 which is
 at the base of the personality1 is1 in 
fact1 the essence of personality4 ,the  
primary fact is volition4 ,descartes    
said1 ,i think1 therefore ,i am4 ,maine 
de ,biran said1 ,i will1 therefore ,i   
am4 ,in every one of my determinations1 
he declared1 ,i recognize myself as     
being a cause anterior to its effect and
 capable of surviving it4 ,i behold     
myself as outside of the movement ,i    
produce1 and independent of time2 for   
this reason1 strictly speaking1 ,i do   
not become1 ,i really and absolutely am4
 ,to be1 to act1 to will1 are the same  
thing under different names4 ,will as   
the seat of activity2 will as the core  
of personality2 will as the soul of     
causation3 here is the corner-stone for 
a new structure to replace the old one  

of the ,cyclopaedists4 ,important       
deductions followed from such a first   
principle2 the dignity of the moral     
being1 freedom of the moral will1 the   
nobility of existence1 the persistency  
of the individual as a ground for       
continuous effort and far-reaching hope1
 the spirituality of man and his        
destiny4 ,to recover the will from the  
mass of sensations that had buried it   
out of sight1 was the achievement of    
this philosopher4 ,it was an achievement
 by which philosophy was disengaged from
 physics1 and sent forth on a more      
cheerful way4  ,the next steps were     
taken by disciples of the ,scotch       
school--,royer-,collard1 ,victor ,cousin
 and ,theodore ,jouffroy4 ,the last     
translated ,reid and ,stewart from      
,english into ,french2 the two former   
lectured on them4 ,the three1 being     
masters of clear and persuasive speech1 
made their ideas popular in ,france4    
,cousin's lectures on the ,scotch       
school1 including ,reid1 were delivered 

in #ahai4 ,the lectures on ,kant were   
given in #ahbj4 ,both courses were full 
and adequate4 ,cousin committed himself 
to neither1 but freely criticised both1 
laying stress on the sceptical aspect of
 the transcendental system as expounded 
by ,kant4  ,cousin's own system was the 
once famous1 now discarded eclecticism1 
under cover of which another phase of   
idealism was presented which found favor
 in ,america4 ,the cardinal principle of
 eclecticism was that truth was         
contained in no system or group of      
systems1 but in all together2 that each 
had its portion and made its            
contribution2 and that the true         
philosophy would be reached by a process
 of intellectual distillation by which  
the essential truth in each would be    
extracted4 ,a method like this would    
have nothing to recommend it but its    
generosity1 if there were no criterion  
by which truths could be tested1 no     
philosophical principle1 in short1 to   
govern the selection of materials4      

,eclecticism must have a philosophy     
before proceeding to make one1 must have
 arrived at its conclusion before       
entering on its process4 ,and this it   
did4 ,it will be seen by the following  
extracts from his writings what the     
fundamental ideas of ,m4 ,cousin were1  
and in what respect they aided the      
process of rationalism4  ,the quotations
 are from his exposition of eclecticism3
       ,facts are the point of          
departure1 if not the limit of          
philosophy4      ,now facts1 whatever   
they may be1 exist for us only as they  
come to      our consciousness4 ,it is  
there alone that observation seizes them
      and describes them1 before        
committing them to induction1 which     
forces them to reveal the consequences  
which they contain in their      bosom4 
,the field of philosophical observation 
is consciousness2      there is no      
other2 but in this nothing is to be     
neglected2      everything is important1
 for everything is connected2 and if one

      part be wanting1 complete unity is
 unattainable4 ,to return within        
our consciousness1 and scrupulously to  
study all the phenomena1      their     
differences and their relations--this is
 the primary study of      philosophy4  
,its scientific name is psychology4     
,psychology is then      the condition  
and1 as it were1 the vestibule of       
philosophy4 ,the      psychological     
method consists in completely retiring  
within the      world of consciousness1 
in order to become familiar in that     
sphere      where all is reality1 but   
where the reality is so various and so  
delicate2 and the psychological talent  
consists in placing      ourselves at   
will within this interior world1 in     
presenting the      spectacle there     
displayed to ourselves1 and in          
reproducing freely      and distinctly  
all the facts which are accidentally and
 confusedly      brought to our notice  
by the circumstances of life4444        
,the first duty of the psychological    

method is to retire within the          
field of consciousness1 where there is  
nothing but phenomena1 that      are all
 capable of being perceived and judged  
by observation4 ,now      as no         
substantial existence falls under the   
eye of consciousness1      it follows   
that the first effect of a rigid        
application of method      is to        
postpone the subject of ontology4 ,it   
postpones it1 ,i say1 but      does not 
destroy it4 ,it is a fact1 indeed1      
attested by observation1      that in   
this same consciousness1 in which there 
is nothing but      phenomena1 there are
 found notions1 whose regular           
development      passes the limits of   
consciousness and attains the knowledge 
of      actual existences4 ,would you   
stop the development of these notions8  
,you would then arbitrarily limit the   
compass of a fact1 you would      attack
 this fact itself1 and thus shake the   
authority of all other      facts4 ,we  
must either call in question the        

authority of      consciousness in      
itself1 or admit this authority without 
reserve      for all the facts attested 
by consciousness4 ,the reason is no less
      certain and real than the will or 
the sensibility2 its certainty      once
 admitted we must follow it wherever it 
rigorously conducts1      though it be  
even into the depths of ontology4 ,for  
example1 it is a      rational fact     
attested by consciousness1 that in the  
view of      intelligence1 every        
phenomenon which is presented supposes a
 cause4      ,it is a fact1 moreover1   
that this principle of causality is     
marked      with the characteristics of 
universality and necessity4 ,if it be   
universal and necessary1 to limit it    
would be to destroy it4 ,now in      the
 phenomenon of sensation1 the principle 
of causality intervenes      universally
 and necessarily1 and refers this       
phenomenon to a cause2      and our     
consciousness testifying that this cause
 is not the      personal cause which   

the will represents1 it follows that the
      principle of causality in its     
irresistible application conducts to    
an impersonal cause1 that is to say1 to 
an external cause1 which                
subsequently1 and always irresistibly1  
the principle of causality      enriches
 with the characteristics and laws1 of  
which the aggregate      is the         
,universe4 ,here then is an existence2  
but an existence      revealed by a     
principle which is itself attested by   
consciousness4      ,here is a primary  
step in ontology1 but by the path of    
psychology1      that is to say1 of     
observation4 ,we are led by similar     
processes to      the ,cause of all     
causes1 to the substantial ,cause1 to   
,god2 and not      only to a ,god of    
,power1 but to a ,god of ,justice1 a    
,god of ,holiness2      so that this    
experimental method1 which1 applied to a
 single order      of phenomena1        
incomplete and exclusive1 destroyed     
ontology and the      higher elements of

 consciousness1 applied with fidelity1  
firmness      and completeness1 to all  
the phenomena1 builds up that which it  
had      overthrown1 and by itself      
furnishes ontology with a sure and      
legitimate instrument4 ,thus1 having    
commenced with modesty1 we can      end 
with results whose certainty is equalled
 by their      importance4444           
,what physical inquirer1 since ,euler1  
seeks anything in nature but      forces
 and laws8 ,who now speaks of atoms8    
,and even molecules1 the      old atoms 
revived--who defends them as anything   
but an hypothesis8      ,if the fact be 
incontestable1 if modern physics be now 
employed      only with forces and laws1
 ,i draw the rigorous conclusion from   
it1      that the science of ,physics1  
whether it know it or not1 is no        
longer material1 and that it became     
spiritual when it rejected      every   
other method than observation and       
induction1 which can never      lead to 
aught but forces and laws4 ,now what is 

there material in      forces and laws8 
,the physical sciences1 then1 themselves
 have      entered into the broad path  
of an enlightened spiritualism2 and     
they have only to march with a firm     
step1 and to gain a more and      more  
profound knowledge of forces and laws1  
in order to arrive at      more         
important generalizations4 ,let us go   
still further4 ,as it is a      law     
already recognized of the same reason   
which governs humanity      and nature1 
to refer every finite cause and every   
multiple      law--that is to say1 every
 phenomenal cause and every phenomenal  
law--to something absolute1 which leaves
 nothing to be sought      beyond it in 
relation to existence1 that is to say1  
to a substance2      so this law refers 
the external world composed of forces   
and laws      to a substance1 which must
 needs be a cause in order to be the    
subject of the causes of this world1    
which must needs be an      intelligence
 in order to be the subject of its laws2

 a substance1      in fine1 which must  
needs be the identity of activity and   
intelligence4 ,we have thus arrived     
accordingly1 for the second      time1  
by observation and induction in the     
external sphere1 at      precisely the  
same point to which observation and     
induction have      successively        
conducted us in the sphere of           
personality and in that      of reason2 
consciousness in its triplicity is      
therefore one2 the      physical and    
moral world is one1 science is one1 that
 is to say1 in      other words1 ,god is
 ,one4444       ,having gained these    
heights1 philosophy becomes more        
luminous as      well as more grand2    
universal harmony enters into human     
thought1      enlarges it1 and gives it 
peace4 ,the divorce of ontology and     
psychology1 of speculation and          
observation1 of science and             
common-sense1 is brought to an end by a 
method which arrives at      speculation
 by observation1 at ontology by         

psychology1 in order      then to       
confirm observation by speculation1     
psychology by ontology1      and which  
starting from the immediate facts of    
consciousness1 of      which the        
common-sense of the human race is       
composed1 derives from      them the    
science which contains nothing more than
 common-sense1 but      which elevates  
that to its purest and most rigid form1 
and enables      it to comprehend       
itself4 ,but ,i here approach a         
fundamental point4       ,if every fact 
of consciousness contains all the human 
faculties1      sensibility1 free       
activity1 and reason1 the me1 the       
not-me1 and      their absolute         
identity2 and if every fact of          
consciousness be      equal to itself1  
it follows that every man who has the   
consciousness of himself possesses and  
cannot but possess all the      ideas   
that are necessarily contained in       
consciousness4 ,thus every      man1 if 
he knows himself1 knows all the rest1   

nature and ,god at the      same time   
with himself4 ,every man believes in his
 own existence1      every man therefore
 believes in the existence of the world 
and of      ,god2 every man thinks1     
every man therefore thinks ,god1 if we  
may so      express it2 every human     
proposition1 reflecting the             
consciousness1      reflects the idea of
 unity and of being that is essential to
      consciousness2 every human        
proposition therefore contains ,god2    
every man who speaks1 speaks of ,god1   
and every word is an act of      faith  
and a hymn4 ,atheism is a barren        
formula1 a negation without             
reality1 an abstraction of the mind     
which cannot assert itself      without 
self-destruction2 for every assertion1  
even though      negative1 is a judgment
 which contains the idea of being1 and1 
consequently1 ,god in ,his fulness4     
,atheism is the illusion of a few       
sophists1 who place their liberty in    
opposition to their reason1      and are

 unable even to give an account to      
themselves of what they      think2 but 
the human race1 which is never false to 
its      consciousness and never places 
itself in contradiction to its laws1    
possesses the knowledge of ,god1        
believes in him1 and never ceases       
to proclaim ,him4 ,in fact1 the human   
race believes in reason and      cannot 
but believe in it1 in that reason which 
is manifested in      consciousness1 in 
a momentary relation with the me--the   
pure though      faint reflection of    
that primitive light which flows from   
the bosom      of the eternal substance1
 which is at once substance1 cause1     
intelligence4 ,without the manifestation
 of reason in our      consciousness1   
there could be no knowledge--neither    
psychological1      nor1 still less1    
ontological4 ,reason is1 in some sort1  
the bridge      between psychology and  
ontology1 between consciousness and     
being2      it rests at the same time on
 both2 it descends from ,god and        

approaches man2 it makes its appearance 
in the consciousness1 as a      guest   
who brings intelligence of an unknown   
world of which it at      once presents 
the idea and awakens the want4 ,if      
reason were      personal1 it would have
 no value1 no authority1 beyond the     
limits      of the individual subject4  
,if it remained in the condition of     
primitive substance1 without            
manifestation1 it would be the same     
for the me which would not know itself1 
as if it were not4 ,it is      necessary
 therefore that the intelligent         
substance should manifest      itself2  
and this manifestation is the appearance
 of reason in the      consciousness4   
,reason then is literally a revelation1 
a necessary      and universal          
revelation1 which is wanting to no man  
and which      enlightens every man on  
his coming into the world3 illuminat    
omnem      hominem venientem in hunc    
mundum4 ,reason is the necessary        
mediator      between ,god and man1 the 

,greek3 logos of ,pythagoras and ,plato1
      the ,word made flesh which serves 
as the interpreter of ,god and the      
teacher of man1 divine and human at the 
same time4 ,it is not1      indeed1 the 
absolute ,god in his majestic           
individuality1 but his                  
manifestation in spirit and in truth2 it
 is not the ,being of      beings1 but  
it is the revealed ,god of the human    
race4 ,as ,god is      never wanting to 
the human race and never abandons it1 so
 the      human race believes in ,god   
with an irresistible and unalterable    
faith1 and this unity of faith is its   
own highest unity4444       ,if these   
convictions of faith be combined in     
every act of      consciousness1 and if 
consciousness be one in the whole human 
race1      whence arises the prodigious 
diversity which seems to exist between  
man and man1 and in what does this      
diversity consist8 ,in truth1      when 
we perceive at first view so many       
apparent differences between      one   

individual and another1 one country and 
another1 one epoch of      humanity and 
another1 we feel a profound emotion of  
melancholy1 and      are tempted to     
regard an intellectual development so   
capricious1      and even the whole of  
humanity1 as a phenomenon without       
consistency1 without grandeur1 and      
without interest4 ,but it is            
demonstrated by a more attentive        
observation of facts1 that no man       
is a stranger to either of the three    
great ideas which constitute            
consciousness1 namely1 personality or   
the liberty of man1      impersonality  
or the necessity of nature1 and the     
providence of      ,god4 ,every man     
comprehends these three ideas           
immediately1 because      he found them 
at first and constantly finds them again
 within      himself4 ,the exceptions to
 this fact1 by their small number1 by   
the      absurdities which they involve1
 by the difficulties which they         
create1 serve only to exhibit1 in a     

still clearer light1 the                
universality of faith in the human race1
 the treasure of good sense             
deposited in truth1 and the peace and   
happiness that there are for      a     
human soul in not discarding the        
convictions of its kind4 ,leave      out
 the exceptions which appear from time  
to time in certain      critical periods
 of history1 and you will perceive that 
the masses      which alone have true   
existence1 always and everywhere live in
 the      same faith1 of which the forms
 only vary4  ,these somewhat too copious
 extracts have been purposely taken from
 the first volume of the ,specimens of  
,foreign ,standard ,literature1 edited  
by ,george ,ripley in #ahch1 rather than
 from the collected writings of ,cousin1
 because they show what a leading ,new  
,england transcendentalist thought most 
important in the teaching of the ,french
 school4 ,his own estimate of the       
philosophy and his expectations from it 
may be learned from the closing passages

 of the introduction to that volume3    
,the objects at which ,mr4 ,coleridge   
aims1 it seems to me1 are in a          
great measure accomplished by the       
philosophy of ,cousin4 ,this            
philosophy demolishes1 by one of the    
most beautiful specimens of             
scientific analysis that is anywhere to 
be met with1 the system of              
sensation1 against which ,mr4 ,coleridge
 utters such eloquent and      pathetic 
denunciations4 ,it establishes on a rock
 the truth of the      everlasting      
sentiments of the human heart4 ,it      
exhibits to the      speculative        
inquirer1 in the rigorous forms of      
science1 the reality      of our        
instinctive faith in ,god1 in virtue1 in
 the human soul1 in      the beauty of  
holiness1 and in the immortality of man4
       ,such a philosophy1 ,i cannot but
 believe1 will ultimately find a        
cherished abode in the youthful         
affections of this nation1 in whose     
history1 from the beginning1 the love of

 freedom1 the love of      philosophical
 inquiry1 and the love of religion have 
been combined      in a thrice holy     
bond4 ,we need a philosophy like this to
 purify and      enlighten our politics1
 to consecrate our industry1 to cheer   
and      elevate society4 ,we need it   
for our own use in the hours of mental  
misgiving and gloom2 when the mystery of
 the universe presses      heavily upon 
our souls2 when the fountains of the    
great deep are      broken up1 and the  
,intellectual power      ,goes sounding 
on1 a dim and perilous way1       over  
the troubled waters of the stormy sea4  
,we need it for the use      of our     
practical men1 who1 surrounded on every 
side with the      objects of sense1    
engrossed with the competitions of      
business1 the      rivalries of public  
life1 or the cares of professional duty1
 and      accustomed to look at the     
immediate and obvious utility of        
everything which appeals to their       
notice1 often acquire a distaste        

for all moral and religious inquiries1  
and as an almost inevitable             
consequence1 lose their interest1 and   
often their belief1 in the      moral   
and religious faculties of their nature4
 ,we need it for the      use of our    
young men1 who are engaged in the active
 pursuits of      life1 or devoted to   
the cultivation of literature4 ,how many
 on the      very threshold of manly    
responsibility1 by the influence of a   
few      unhappy mistakes1 which an     
acquaintance with their higher nature1  
as unfolded by a sound religious        
philosophy1 would have prevented1       
have consigned themselves to disgrace1  
remorse1 and all the evils      of a    
violated conscience6 ,how many have     
become the dupes of the      sophists'  
eloquence1 or the victims of the        
fanatics' terrors1 for      whom the    
spirit of a true philosophy--a          
philosophy 'baptized in the      pure   
fountain of eternal love1' would have   
preserved the charm and      beauty of  

life4  ,cousin's ,history of            
,philosophy1 translated by ,h4 ,g4      
,linberg1 was published in #ahcb4 ,the  
,elements of ,psychology1 by ,c4 ,s4    
,henry1 appeared in #ahcd4 ,thus ,cousin
 was early introduced and recommended1  
and his expositions of the ,german      
schools were received4 ,the volume from 
which passages have been cited had an   
important influence on ,new ,england    
thought4     ,v4  ,,transcendentalism   
,,in ,,england4   ,the prophet of the   
new philosophy in ,england was ,samuel  
,taylor ,coleridge2 in the early part of
 the present century1 perhaps the most  
conspicuous figure in our literary      
world2 the object of more admiration1   
the centre of more sympathy1 the source 
of more intellectual life than any      
individual of his time2 the criticism1  
the censure1 the manifold animadversion 
he was made the mark for1 better attest 
his power than the ovations he received 
from his worshippers4 ,the believers in 
his genius lacked words to express their

 sense of his greatness4 ,he was the    
eternal youth1 the divine child4 ,the   
brilliant men of his period acknowledged
 his surpassing brilliancy2 the deep men
 confessed his depth2 the spiritual men 
went to him for inspiration4 ,his mind1 
affluent and profuse1 contained within  
no barriers of conventional form1 poured
 an abounding flood of thoughts over the
 whole literary domain4 ,he was         
essayist1 journalist1 politician1 poet1 
dramatist1 metaphysician1 philosopher1  
theologian1 divine1 critic1 expositor1  
dreamer1 soliloquizer2 in all eloquent1 
in all intense4 ,the effect he produced 
on the minds of his contemporaries will 
scarcely be believed now4 ,at present he
 is little more than a name3 his books  
are pronounced unreadable2 his opinions 
are not quoted as authority2 his force  
is spent4 ,but in #ahea1 ,thomas        
,carlyle1 then past the years of his    
enthusiasm1 and verging on the scornful 
epoch of his intellectual career1 spoke 
of him1 in the ,life of ,sterling1 as ,a

 sublime man1 who1 alone in those dark  
days1 had saved his crown of spiritual  
manhood2 escaping from the black        
materialisms and revolutionary deluges1 
with ,god1 freedom1 immortality still   
his2 a king of men4 ,the practical      
intellects of the world did not much    
heed him1 or carelessly reckoned him a  
metaphysical dreamer2 but to the rising 
spirits of the young generation he had  
this dusky1 sublime character1 and sat  
there as a kind of ,magus1 girt in      
mystery and enigma1 his ,dodona oak     
grove 7,mr4 ,gillman's house at         
,highgate7 whispering strange things1   
uncertain whether oracles or jargon4 ,to
 the man himself1 ,nature had given in  
high measure the seeds of a noble       
endowment1 and to unfold it was         
forbidden him4 ,a subtle1 lynx-eyed     
intellect1 tremulous1 pious sensibility 
to all good and all beautiful2 truly a  
ray of empyrean light1--but imbedded in 
such weak laxity of character1 in such  
indolences and esuriences1 as made      

strange work with it4 ,once more1 the   
tragic story of a high endowment with an
 insufficient will4  ,the abatement is  
painfully just2 but while ,coleridge    
lived1 this very indolence and moral    
imbecility added to the interest he     
excited1 and gave a mystic splendor as  
of a divine inspiration to his mental   
performances4 ,the distinction between  
unhealthiness and inspiration has never 
been clearly marked1 and the voluble    
utterances of the feebly outlined and   
loosely jointed soul easily passed for  
oracles4 ,thus his moral deficiencies   
aided his influence4 ,his wonderful     
powers of conversation or rather of     
effusion in the midst of admiring       
friends helped the illusion and the     
fascination4 ,he really seemed inspired 
while he talked2 and as his talk ranged 
through every domain1 the listeners     
carried away and communicated the       
impression of a superhuman wisdom4  ,the
 impression that ,coleridge made on     
minds of a very different order from    

,carlyle's1 is given in the following   
lines by ,aubrey de ,vere3      ,no     
loftier1 purer soul than his hath ever  
,with awe revolved the planetary page   
,from infancy to age1      ,of          
knowledge1 sedulous and proud to give   
her      ,the whole of his great heart1 
for her own sake2      ,for what she is3
 not what she does1 or what can make4   
,and mighty voices from afar came to    
him2      ,converse of trumpets held by 
cloudy forms            ,and speech of  
choral storms4      ,spirits of night   
and noontide bent to woo him2      ,he  
stood the while lonely and desolate     
,as ,adam when he ruled a world1 yet    
found no mate4       ,his loftiest      
thoughts were but as palms uplifted2    
,aspiring1 yet in supplicating guise--  
,his sweetest songs were sighs4         
,adown ,lethean streams his spirit      
drifted1      ,under ,elysian shades    
from poppied bank1      ,with amaranths 
massed in dark luxuriance dank4         
,coleridge1 farewell6 ,that great and   

grave transition      ,which may not    
king or priest or conqueror spare4      
,and yet a babe can bear1      ,has come
 to thee4 ,through life a goodly vision 
,was thine2 and time it was thy rest to 
take4      ,soft be the sound ordained  
thy sleep to break2      ,when thou art 
waking1 wake me1 for thy ,master's sake4
  ,in ,may1 #agif1--;he was then        
twenty-four years old1--,coleridge wrote
 to a friend1 ,i am studying ,german1   
and in about six weeks shall be able to 
read that language with tolerable       
fluency4 ,now ,i have some thoughts of  
making a proposal to ,robinson1 the     
great ,london bookseller1 of translating
 all the works of ,schiller1 which would
 make a portly quarto1 on condition that
 he should pay my journey and my wife's 
to and from ,jena1 a cheap ,german      
,university where ,schiller resides1 and
 allow me two guineas each quarto sheet1
 which would maintain me4 ,if ,i could  
realize this scheme1 ,i should there    
study chemistry and anatomy1 and bring  

over with me all the works of ,semler   
and ,michaelis1 the ,german theologians1
 and of ,kant1 the great ,german        
metaphysician4 ,in ,september1 #agih1 in
 company with ,wordsworth and his       
sister1 and at the expense of his       
munificent friends ,josiah and ,thomas  
,wedgewood1 he went to ,germany and     
spent fourteen months in hard study4    
,there he attended the lectures of      
,eichhorn and ,blumenbach1 made the     
acquaintance of ,tieck1 dipped quite    
deeply into philosophy and general      
literature1 and took by contagion the   
speculative ideas that filled his       
imagination with visions of intellectual
 discovery4 ,schelling's ,transcendental
 ,idealism1 with which ,coleridge was   
afterwards most in sympathy1 was not    
published till #ahjj4 ,the ,philosophy  
of ,nature was published in #agig1 the  
year before ,coleridge's visit4 ,in     
#ahag1 he tells the readers of the      
,biographia ,literaria that he had been 
able to procure only two of ,schelling's

 books--the first volume of his         
,philosophical ,writings1 and the       
,system of ,transcendental ,idealism2   
these and a small pamphlet against      
,fichte1 the spirit of which was1 to my 
feelings1 painfully incongruous with the
 principles1 and which displayed the    
love of wisdom rather than the wisdom of
 love4  ,the philosophical ideas of     
,schelling commended themselves at once 
to ,coleridge1 who was a born idealist1 
of audacious genius1 speculative1       
imaginative1 original1 capable of any   
such abstract achievement as the ,german
 undertook4       ,in ,schelling's      
,natur ,philosophie and the ,system des 
,transcendentalen ,idealismus1 ,i first 
found a genial coincidence      with    
much that ,i had toiled out for myself1 
and a powerful      assistance in what  
,i had yet to do4 ,all the main and     
fundamental      ideas were born and    
matured in my mind before ,i had ever   
seen a      single page of the ,german  
philosopher2 and ,i might indeed affirm 

with truth1 before the more important   
works of ,schelling had been            
written1 or at least made public4 ,nor  
is this at all to be wondered      at4  
,we had studied in the same school2 been
 disciplined by the same                
preparatory philosophy1 namely1 the     
writings of ,kant2 we had both          
equal obligations to the polar logic and
 dynamic philosophy of      ,giordano   
,bruno2 and ,schelling has lately1 and1 
as of recent      acquisition1 avowed   
that same affectionate reverence for the
 labors      of ,behmen and other       
mystics which ,i had formed at a much   
earlier      period4 ,god forbid that ,i
 should be suspected of a wish to enter 
into a rivalry with ,schelling for the  
honors so unequivocally his      right1 
not only as a great original genius1 but
 as the founder of      the ,philosophy 
of ,nature1 and as the most successful  
improver of      the ,dynamic system1   
which1 begun by ,bruno1 was reintroduced
 7in a      more philosophical form1 and

 freed from all its impurities and      
visionary accompaniments7 by ,kant1 in  
whom it was the native and              
necessary growth of his own system4     
,kant's followers1 however1 on      whom
 7for the greater part7 their master's  
cloak had fallen1      without1 or with 
a very scanty portion of his spirit1 had
 adopted      his dynamic ideas1 only as
 a more refined species of mechanics4   
,with exception of one or two           
fundamental ideas which cannot be       
withheld from ,fichte1 to ,schelling we 
owe the completion and the      most    
important victories of this revolution  
in philosophy4 ,to me it      will be   
happiness and honor enough1 should ,i   
succeed in rendering      the system    
itself intelligible to my countrymen1   
and in the      application of it to the
 most awful of subjects for the most    
important of purposes4 ,whether a work  
is the offspring of a man's      own    
spirit and the product of original      
thinking1 will be discovered      by    

those who are its sole legitimate       
judges1 by better tests than      the   
mere reference to dates4  ,the question 
of ,coleridge's alleged plagiarism from 
,schelling does not concern us here4    
,whether the philosophy he taught was   
the product of his own thinking1 or     
whether he was merely the medium for    
communicating the system of ,schelling  
to his countrymen1 is of no moment to   
us4 ,for us it is sufficient to know    
that the ,english-speaking people on    
both shores of the ,atlantic received   
them chiefly through the ,englishman4   
,those who are interested in the other  
matter will find ,coleridge's reputation
 vindicated in a long and elaborate     
introduction to the ,biographia         
,literaria1 edition of #ahdg1 by the    
poet's son4  ,coleridge was a pure      
,transcendentalist1 of the ,schelling   
school4 ,the transcendental phrases came
 over and over in book and conversation1
 reason and understanding1 intuition1   
necessary truths1 consciousness1 and the

 rest that were used to describe the    
supersensual world and the faculties by 
which it was made visible4 ,he shall    
speak for himself4 ,the following       
passage from the ,biographia ,literaria1
 ,chapter ,,xii41 will be sufficiently  
intelligible to those who have read the 
previous chapters1 or enough of them to 
comprehend their cardinal ideas3        
,the criterion is this3 if a man        
receives as fundamental facts1 and      
therefore of course indemonstratable and
 incapable of further      analysis1 the
 general notions of matter1 spirit1     
soul1 body1      action1 passiveness1   
time1 space1 cause and effect1          
consciousness1      perception1 memory  
and all these1 and is satisfied if only 
he can      analyze all other notions   
into some one or more of these supposed 
elements1 with plausible subordination  
and apt arrangement2 to such      a mind
 ,i would as courteously as possible    
convey the hint1 that for      him this 
chapter was not written4444 ,for        

philosophy1 in its highest      sense1  
as the science of ultimate truths1 and  
therefore scientia      scientiarum1    
this mere analysis of terms is          
preparative only1      though as a      
preparative discipline indispensable4   
,still less dare a favorable perusal be 
anticipated from the      proselytes of 
that compendious philosophy which1      
talking of mind1      but thinking of   
brick and mortar1 or other images       
equally      abstracted from body1      
contrives a theory of spirit by         
nicknaming      matter1 and in a few    
hours can qualify its dullest disciples 
to      explain the omne scibile by     
reducing all things to impressions1     
ideas1 and sensations4       ,but it is 
time to tell the truth2 though it       
requires some courage      to avow it in
 an age and country in which            
disquisitions on all      subjects not  
privileged to adopt technical terms or  
scientific      symbols1 must be        
addressed to the public4 ,i say1 then1  

that it is      neither possible nor    
necessary for all men1 nor for many1 to 
be      philosophers4 ,there is a       
philosophic consciousness which lies    
beneath or 7as it were7 behind the      
spontaneous consciousness      natural  
to all reflecting beings4 ,as the elder 
,romans distinguished      their        
northern provinces into ,cis-,alpine and
 ,trans-,alpine1 so may      we divide  
all the objects of human knowledge into 
those on this      side and those on the
 other side of the spontaneous          
consciousness4      ,the latter is      
exclusively the domain of pure          
philosophy1 which is      therefore     
properly entitled transcendental1 in    
order to      discriminate it at once1  
both from mere reflection and           
re-presentation on the one hand1 and on 
the other from those      flights of    
lawless speculation which1 abandoned by 
all distinct      consciousness1 because
 transgressing the bounds and purposes  
of our      intellectual faculties1 are 

justly condemned as transcendent4       
,the first range of hills that encircles
 the scanty vale of human      life is  
the horizon for the majority of its     
inhabitants4 ,on its      ridges the sun
 is born and departs4 ,from them the    
stars rise1 and      touching them they 
vanish4 ,by the many1 even this range1  
the      natural limit and bulwark of   
the vale1 is but imperfectly known4     
,its higher ascents are too often hidden
 in mists and clouds from               
uncultivated swamps which few have      
courage or curiosity to      penetrate4 
,to the multitude below these vapors    
appear1 now as the      dark haunts of  
terrific agents1 on which none may      
intrude with      impunity2 and now all 
aglow1 with colors not their own1 they  
are      gazed at as the splendid       
palaces of happiness and power4 ,but in 
all      ages there have been a few who1
 measuring and sounding the rivers      
of the vale at the feet of their        
farthest inaccessible falls1 have       

learned that the sources must be far    
higher and far inward2 a few      who1  
even in the level streams1 have detected
 elements which      neither the vale   
itself nor the surrounding mountains    
contained or      could supply4 ,how and
 whence to these thoughts1 these strong 
probabilities1 the ascertaining vision1 
the intuitive knowledge may      finally
 supervene1 can be learned only by the  
fact4 ,i might oppose      to the       
question the words with which ,plotinus 
supposes ,nature to      answer a       
similar difficulty3 ',should any one    
interrogate her how      she works1 if  
graciously she vouchsafe to listen and  
speak1 she      will reply1 it behooves 
thee not to disquiet me with            
interrogatories1 but to understand in   
silence1 even as ,i am silent1      and 
work without words4'       ,they and    
they only can acquire the philosophic   
imagination1 the      sacred power of   
self-intuition1 who within themselves   
can interpret      and understand the   

symbol1 that the wings of the air-sylph 
are      forming within the skin of the 
caterpillar2 those only1 who feel in    
their own spirits the same instinct     
which impels the chrysalis of      the  
horned fly to leave room in its         
involucrum for antennae yet      to     
come4 ,they know and feel that the      
potential works in them1 even      as   
the actual works in them6 ,in short1 all
 the organs of sense are      framed for
 a corresponding world of sense2 and we 
have it4 ,all the      organs of spirit 
are framed for a correspondent world of 
spirit2      though the latter organs   
are not developed in all alike4 ,but    
they      exist in all1 and their first 
appearance discloses itself in the      
moral being4 ,how else could it be that 
even worldlings1 not wholly             
debased1 will contemplate the man of    
simple and disinterested      goodness  
with contradictory feelings of pity and 
respect4 ',poor      man1 he is not made
 for this world4' ,oh1 herein they utter

 a      prophecy of universal           
fulfilment1 for man must either rise or 
sink4       ,it is the essential mark of
 the true philosopher to rest satisfied 
with no imperfect light1 as long as the 
impossibility of attaining      a fuller
 knowledge has not been demonstrated4   
,that the common      consciousness     
itself will furnish proofs by its own   
direction that      it is connected with
 master currents below the surface1 ,i  
shall      merely assume as a postulate 
pro tempore4444 ,on the ,,immediate     
which dwells in every man1 and on the   
original intuition or      absolute     
affirmation of it 7which is likewise in 
every man1 but      does not in every   
man rise into consciousness71 all the   
certainty      of our knowledge depends2
 and this becomes intelligible to no man
      by the ministry of mere words from
 without4 ,the medium by which          
spirits understand each other is not the
 surrounding air1 but the      freedom  
which they possess in common1 as the    

common ethereal      element of their   
being1 the tremulous reciprocations of  
which      propagate themselves even to 
the inmost of the soul4 ,where the      
spirit of a man is not filled with the  
consciousness of freedom      7were it  
only from its restlessness1 as of one   
struggling in      bondage7 all         
spiritual intercourse is interrupted1   
not only with      others1 but even with
 himself4 ,no wonder1 then1 that he     
remains      incomprehensible to himself
 as well as to others4 ,no wonder that  
in      the fearful desert of his       
consciousness he wearies himself out    
with      empty words to which no       
friendly echo answers1 either from his  
own      heart or the heart of a        
fellow-being2 or bewilders himself in   
the      pursuit of notional phantoms1  
the mere refractions from unseen        
and distant truths through the          
distorting medium of his own            
unenlivened and stagnant understanding6 
,to remain unintelligible to      such a

 mind1 exclaims ,schelling on a like    
occasion1 is honor and a      good name 
before ,god and man4       ,philosophy  
is employed on objects of the inner     
sense1 and      cannot1 like geometry1  
appropriate to every construction a     
corresponding outward intuition4444 ,now
 the inner sense has its      direction 
determined for the greater part only by 
an act of      freedom4 ,one man's      
consciousness extends only to the       
pleasant or      unpleasant sensations  
caused in him by external impressions2  
another enlarges his inner sense to a   
consciousness of forms and              
quantity2 a third1 in addition to the   
image1 is conscious of the              
conception or notion of the thing2 a    
fourth attains to a notion of      his  
notions--he reflects on his own         
reflections2 and thus we may      say   
without impropriety1 that the one       
possesses more or less inner      sense 
than the other4444       ,the postulate 
of philosophy1 and at the same time the 

test of      philosophical capacity1 is 
no other than the heaven-descended      
,,know      ,,thyself4 ,and this at once
 practically and speculatively4 ,for as 
philosophy is neither a science of the  
reason or understanding      only1 nor  
merely a science of morals1 but the     
science of ,,being      altogether1 its 
primary ground can be neither merely    
speculative      nor merely practical1  
but both in one4 ,all knowledge rests   
upon the      coincidence of an object  
with a subject4 ,for we can know only   
that which is true2 and the truth is    
universally placed in the               
coincidence of the thought with the     
thing1 of the representation      with  
the object represented4  ,coleridge then
 puts and argues the two alternatives4  
#a4 ,either the ,objective is taken as  
primary1 and then we have to account for
 the supervention of the ,subjective    
which coalesces with it1 which natural  
philosophy supposes4 #b4 ,or the        
,subjective is taken as primary1 and    

then we have to account for the         
supervention of the objective1 which    
spiritual philosophy supposes4 ,the     
,transcendentalist accepts the latter   
alternative4       ,the second position1
 which not only claims but necessitates 
the      admission of its immediate     
certainty1 equally for the scientific   
reason of the philosopher as for the    
common-sense of mankind at      large1  
namely1 ,i ,,am1 cannot properly be     
entitled a prejudice4 ,it is            
groundless indeed2 but then in the very 
idea it precludes all      ground1 and1 
separated from the immediate            
consciousness1 loses its      whole     
sense and import4 ,it is groundless2 but
 only because it is      itself the     
ground of all other certainty4 ,now the 
apparent      contradiction1 that the   
first position--namely1 that the        
existence      of things without us1    
which from its nature cannot be         
immediately      certain--should be     
received as blindly and as independently

 of all      grounds as the existence of
 our own being1 the transcendental      
philosopher can solve only by the       
supposition that the former is          
unconsciously involved in the latter2   
that it is not only coherent1      but  
identical1 and one and the same thing   
with our own immediate                  
self-consciousness4 ,to demonstrate this
 identity is the office and      object 
of his philosophy4       ,if it be said 
that this is idealism1 let it be        
remembered that it      is only so far  
idealism1 as it is at the same time and 
on that very      account the truest and
 most binding realism4  ,to follow the  
exposition further is unnecessary for   
the present purpose1 which is to state  
the fundamental principles of the       
philosophy1 not to give the processes of
 reasoning by which they are            
illustrated4 ,had ,coleridge been merely
 a philosopher1 his influence on his    
generation1 by this means1 would have   
been insignificant2 for his expositions 

were fragmentary2 his thoughts were too 
swift and tumultuous in their flow to be
 systematically arranged2 his style1    
forcible and luminous in passages1 is   
interrupted by too frequent episodes1   
excursions and explanatory parentheses1 
to be enjoyed by the inexpert4 ,besides 
being a philosopher1 he was a           
theologian4 ,his deepest interest was in
 the problems of theology4 ,his mind was
 perpetually turning over the questions 
of trinity1 incarnation1 ,holy ,ghost1  
sin1 redemption1 salvation4 ,he         
meditated endless books on these themes1
 and1 in special1 one ,on the ,logos1   
which was to remove all difficulties and
 reconcile all contradictions4 ,on the  
whole1 those dead churches1 this dead   
,english church especially1 must be     
brought to life again4 ,why not8 ,it was
 not dead2 the soul of it1 in this      
parched-up body1 was tragically asleep  
only4 ,atheistic philosophy was1 true1  
on its side2 and ,hume and ,voltaire    
could1 on their own ground1 speak       

irrefragably for themselves against any 
church3 but lift the church and them    
into a higher sphere of argument1 they  
died into inanition1 the church         
revivified itself into pristine florid  
vigor1 became once more a living ship of
 the desert1 and invincibly bore you    
over stock and stone4  ,the philosophy  
was accepted as a basis for the         
theology1 and apparently only so far as 
it supplied the basis4 ,mrs4 ,coleridge 
declares1 in a note to ,chapter ,,ix4 of
 the ,biographia ,literaria1 that her   
husband1 soon after the composition of  
that work1 became dissatisfied with the 
system of ,schelling1 considered as a   
fundamental and comprehensive scheme    
intended to exhibit the relations of    
,god to the world and man4 ,he objected 
to it1 she insists1 as essentially      
pantheistic1 radically inconsistent with
 a belief in ,god as himself moral and  
intelligent1 as beyond and above the    
world1 as the supreme mind to which the 
human mind owes homage and              

fealty--inconsistent with any just view 
and deep sense of the moral and         
spiritual being of man4 ,he was mainly  
concerned with the construction of a    
philosophical system1 in which          
,christianity1--based on the triune     
being of ,god1 and embracing a primal   
fall and universal redemption1 7to use  
,carlyle's words7 ,christianity1 ideal1 
spiritual1 eternal1 but likewise and    
necessarily historical1 realized and    
manifested in time1--should be shown    
forth as accordant1 or rather as one    
with ideas of reason1 and the demands of
 the spiritual and of the speculative   
mind1 of the heart1 conscience1 reason1 
which should all be satisfied and       
reconciled in one bond of peace4  ,this 
explains the interest which young and   
enthusiastic minds in the ,english      
,church took in ,coleridge1 the verses  
just quoted from ,aubrey de ,vere1 one  
of the new school of believers1 the     
admiring discipleship of ,frederick     
,denison ,maurice1 the hearty allegiance

 of the leaders of the spiritual        
reformation in ,england4 ,coleridge was 
the real founder of the ,broad ,church1 
which attempted to justify creed and    
sacrament1 by substituting the ideas of 
the spiritual philosophy for the formal 
authority of traditions which the reason
 of the age was discarding4  ,the men   
who sympathized with the same movement  
in ,america felt the same gratitude to  
their leader4 ,already in #ahbi ,the    
,aids to ,reflection were republished by
 ,dr4 ,james ,marsh4 ,caleb ,sprague    
,henry1 professor of philosophy and     
history in the ,university of ,new ,york
 in #ahci1 and before that a resident of
 ,cambridge1 an enthusiastic thinker and
 eloquent talker1 loved to dilate on the
 genius of the ,english philosopher1 and
 was better than a book in conveying    
information about him1 better than many 
books in awakening interest in his      
thought4 ,the name of ,coleridge was    
spoken with profound reverence1 his     
books were studied industriously1 and   

the terminology of transcendentalism was
 as familiar as commonplace in the      
circles of divines and men of letters4  
,at present ,hegel is the prophet of    
these believers1 ,schelling is obsolete1
 and ,coleridge1 the ,english           
,schelling1 has had his day4 ,the change
 is marked by an all but entire absence 
of the passionate enthusiasm1 the       
imaginative glow and fervor1 that       
characterized the transcendental phase  
of the movement4 ,coleridge was a vital 
thinker2 his mind was a flame2 his      
thoughts burned within him1 and issued  
from him in language that trembled and  
throbbed with the force of the ideas    
committed to it4 ,he was a divine1 a    
preacher of most wonderful eloquence4   
,at the age of three or four and forty  
,serjeant ,talfourd heard him talk4     
,at first his tones were conversational3
 he seemed to dally with      the       
shallows of the subject and with        
fantastic images which      bordered it2
 but gradually the thought grew deeper1 

and the voice      deepened with the    
thought2 the stream gathering strength  
seemed to      bear along with it all   
things which opposed its progress1 and  
blended them with its current2 and      
stretching away among regions           
tinted with ethereal colors1 was lost at
 airy distance in the      horizon of   
fancy4 ,at five-and-twenty ,william     
,hazlitt heard him      preach4         
,it was in ,january1 #agih1 that ,i rose
 one morning before daylight1      to   
walk ten miles in the mud1 to hear this 
celebrated person      preach4 ,never1  
the longest day ,i have to live1 shall  
,i have such      another walk as this  
cold1 raw1 comfortless one1 in the      
winter of      the year #agih4 ,il y a  
des impressions que ni le temps ni les  
circonstances peuvent effacer4 ,dusse je
 vivre des siecles entiers1      le doux
 temps de ma jeunesse ne peut renaitre  
pour moi1 ni      s'effacer jamais dans 
ma memoire4 ,when ,i got there the organ
 was      playing the hundredth psalm1  

and when it was done ,mr4 ,coleridge    
rose and gave out his text4 ',he        
departed again into a mountain          
himself alone4' ,as he gave out this    
text his voice 'rose like a      stream 
of rich distilled perfumes2' and when he
 came to the last      two words1 which 
he pronounced loud1 deep1 and distinct1 
it seemed      to me1 who was then      
young1 as if the sounds had echoed from 
the      bottom of the human heart1 and 
as if that prayer might have floated    
in solemn silence through the universe4 
,the idea of ,st4 ,john came      into  
my mind1 of one crying in the           
wilderness1 who had his loins      girt 
about1 and whose food was locusts and   
wild honey4 ,the preacher      then     
launched into his subject1 like an eagle
 dallying with the      wind4 ,the      
sermon was upon peace and war1 upon     
church and state1 not      their        
alliance1 but their separation2 on the  
spirit of the world      and the spirit 
of ,christianity1 not as the same1 but  

as opposed to      one another4 ,he     
talked of those who had inscribed the   
cross of      ,christ on banners        
dripping with human gore4 ,he made a    
poetical and      pastoral excursion1   
and to show the effects of war1 drew a  
striking      contrast between the      
simple shepherd boy1 driving his team   
afield1      or sitting under the       
hawthorn1 piping to his flock as though 
he      should never be old2 and the    
same poor country lad1 crimped1         
kidnapped1 brought into town1 made drunk
 at an ale-house1 turned      into a    
wretched drummer-boy1 with his hair     
sticking on end with      powder and    
pomatum1 a long cue at his back1 and    
tricked out in the      finery of the   
profession of blood4      ',such were   
the notes our once loved poet sung2'    
and for myself ,i could not have been   
more delighted if ,i had heard      the 
music of the spheres4 ,poetry and       
,philosophy had met together1           
,truth and ,genius had embraced1 under  

the eye and with the sanction      of   
,religion4 ,this was even beyond my     
hopes4 ,i returned home well            
satisfied4  ,the influence of ,coleridge
 was greatly assisted by contemporary   
magazines1 which helped by their furious
 efforts to crush him1 and won sympathy 
for him by their attempts to laugh and  
hoot him down4 ,jeffrey handled the     
,biographia ,literaria in the ,edinburgh
 ,review1 ,august1 #ahag2 as favorable  
to the book as could be expected1 the   
editor quietly says4 ,the numberless    
varieties of judgment were represented  
in the ,dublin ,university ,magazine1   
,british and ,foreign ,quarterly1       
,fraser1 ,blackwood1 ,christian         
,quarterly1 ,spectator1 ,monthly        
,review1 ,eclectic1 ,westminster1 most  
of which contained several articles on  
different aspects of the subject4 ,in   
,america1 ,geo4 ,b4 ,cheever wrote in   
the ,north ,american ,review1 ,f4 ,h4   
,hedge in the ,christian ,examiner1 ,d4 
,n4 ,lord in ,lord's ,theological       

,journal1 ,h4 ,t4 ,tuckerman in the     
,southern ,literary ,messenger1 ,noah   
,porter in the ,bibliotheca ,sacra4 ,the
 ,new ,york ,review1 the ,american      
,quarterly1 ,american ,whig ,review1 all
 made contributions to the ,coleridgian 
literature1#b and exhibited the         
extensive reaches of his power4 ,the    
readers of ,lamb1 ,hazlitt1 ,wordsworth1
 ,southey and the brilliant essayists   
that made so fascinating the ,english   
literature of the first third of our    
century must perforce be introduced to  
,coleridge4 ,the ,ancient ,mariner and  
,christabel1 which lay on every table1  
excited interest in the man from whom   
such astonishing pieces proceeded2 so   
that many who understood little or      
nothing of his philosophical ideas1     
appropriated something of the spirit and
 tone of them4 ,he had disciples who    
never heard him speak even in print1 and
 followers who never saw his form even  
as sketched by critics4 ,his thoughts   
were in the air2 the mental atmosphere  

of theological schools was modified by  
them4 ,they insensibly transplanted     
establishments and creeds from old to   
new regions4  #b ,see for references4   
,poole's ,index to ,periodical          
,literature4  ,in #ahea1 ,thomas        
,carlyle burlesqued ,coleridge1 took off
 his solemn oracular manner1 made fun of
 his plaintive snuffle and sing-song1   
his om-m-ject and sum-m-ject1 his talk  
not flowing anywhither like a river1 but
 spreading everywhither in inextricable 
currents and regurgitations like a lake 
or sea2 terribly deficient in definite  
goal or aim1 nay often in logical       
intelligibility2 what you were to       
believe or do1 on any earthly or        
heavenly thing1 obstinately refusing to 
appear from it1 so that1 most times1 you
 felt logically lost2 swamped near to   
drowning in this tide of ingenious      
vocables spreading out boundless as if  
to submerge the world4 ,but in his      
earlier days the windy harangues and    
dizzying metaphysics had their charm for

 him too2 the philosophy of the         
,highgate sage was in essence and fruit 
his own4 ,he explained at some length   
and with considerable frequency1 as well
 as much eloquence1 the distinction     
between understanding1 the faculty that 
observed1 generalized1 inferred1 argued1
 concluded1 and reason1 the faculty that
 saw the ideal forms of truth face to   
face1 and beheld the inmost reality of  
things4 ,he dilated with a disciple's   
enthusiasm on the principles of the     
transcendental philosophy1 painted in   
gorgeous colors the promises it held    
forth1 prophesied earnestly respecting  
the better time for literature1 art1    
social ethics and religious faith it    
would bring in1 preached tempestuously  
against shams in church and state1 from 
the mount of vision that it disclosed4  
,we have already seen how he could speak
 of ,kant1 ,fichte1 ,novalis1 of ,goethe
 and ,jean ,paul4 ,thirty-five years ago
 ,carlyle was the high priest of the new
 philosophy4 ,emerson edited his        

miscellanies1 and the dregs of his      
ink-bottle were welcomed as the precious
 sediment of the fountain of            
inspiration4 ,in #ahbg he defended the  
,kritik of ,pure ,reason against stupid 
objectors from the sensational side1 as1
 in the opinion of the most competent   
judges1 distinctly the greatest         
intellectual achievement of the century 
in which it came to light1 and affirmed 
as by authority1 that the seeker for    
pure truth must begin with intuition and
 proceed outward by the light of the    
revelation thence derived4 ,in #ahca he 
carried this principle to the extreme of
 maintaining that a complete surrender  
to the informing genius1 a surrender so 
entire as to amount to the abandonment  
of definite purpose and will1 was       
evidence of perfect wisdom2 for such is 
the interpretation we give to the       
paradoxical doctrine of unconsciousness 
which implied that in order to save the 
soul it must be forgotten2 that         
consciousness was a disease2 that in    

much wisdom was much grief4  ,had       
,carlyle been more of a philosopher and 
less of a preacher1 more a thinker and  
less a character1 more a patient toiler 
after truth1 and less a man of letters1 
his first intellectual impulse might    
have lasted4 ,as it was1 the reaction   
came precisely in middle life1 and the  
apostle of transcendental ideas became  
the champion of ,force4 ,his            
,transcendentalism seems to have been a 
thing of sentiment rather than of       
conviction4 ,a man of tremendous        
strength of feeling1 his youth1 as is   
the case with men of feeling1 was       
romantic1 enthusiastic1 hopeful1        
exuberant2 his manhood1 as is also the  
case with men of feeling1 was wilful and
 overbearing1 with sadness deepening    
into moroseness and unhopefulness       
verging towards despair4  ,the era of   
despair had not set in at the period    
when the mind of ,new ,england was      
fermenting with the ideas of the new    
philosophy4 ,then all was brave1 humane1

 aspiring4 ,the denunciations of        
materialism in philosophy1 formalism in 
religion and utilitarianism in personal 
and social ethics1 rang through the     
land2 the superb vindications of soul   
against sense1 spirit against letter1   
faith against rite1 heroism and         
nobleness against the petty expediencies
 of the market1 kindled all earnest     
hearts4 ,the emphatic declarations that 
wonder and reverence are the conditions 
of insight and the source of strength2  
that faith is prior to knowledge and    
deeper too2 that empirical science can  
but play on the surface of unfathomable 
mysteries2 that in the order of reality 
the ideal and invisible are the world's 
true adamant1 and the laws of material  
appearance only its alluvial growths2   
that in the inmost thought of men there 
is a thirst to which the springs of     
nature are a mere mirage1 and which     
presses on to the waters of eternity1   
fell like refreshing gales from the     
hills on the children of men imprisoned 

in custom and suffocated by tradition4  
,the infinitely varied illustrations of 
the worth of beauty1 the grandeur of    
truth1 the excellence of simple1 devout 
sincerity in nature1 literature1        
character2 the burning insistance on the
 need of fresh inspiration from the     
region of serene ideas1 seemed to       
proceed from a soul newly awakened1 if  
not especially endowed with the seer's  
vision4 ,it was better than philosophy2 
it was philosophy made vital with       
sentiment and purpose4  ,carlyle early  
learned the ,german language1 as        
,coleridge did1 and drank deep from the 
fountains of its best literature4 ,to   
him it opened a new world of thought1   
which the ordinary ,englishman had no   
conception of4 ,coleridge found himself 
at home there by virtue of his natural  
genius1 and also by the introduction    
given him by ,wm4 ,law1 ,john ,pordage1 
,richard ,saumarez1 and ,jacob ,behmen1 
so that the suddenly discovered         
continent broke on him with less        

surprise2 but ,carlyle was as one taken 
wholly unawares1 fascinated1 charmed1   
intoxicated with the sights and sounds  
about him4 ,being unprepared by previous
 reflection and overpowered by the      
gorgeousness of color1 the wealth was   
too much for him2 it palled at last on  
his appetite1 and he experienced a      
reaction similar to that of the         
sensualist whose delirium first         
persuades him that he has found his     
soul1 and then makes him fear that he   
has lost it4  ,with the reactionary     
stage of ,carlyle's career when1 as a   
frank critic observes1 he flung away    
with a shriek the problems his youth    
entertained1 as the fruit by which      
paradise was lost2 repented of all      
knowledge of good and evil2 clapped a   
bandage round the open eyes of morals1  
religion1 art1 and saw no salvation but 
in spiritual suicide by plunging into   
the currents of instinctive nature that 
sweep us we know not whither--we are not
 concerned4 ,his interest for us ceases 

with his moral enthusiasm4  ,a more     
serene and beneficent influence         
proceeded from the poet ,wordsworth1    
whose fame rose along with that of      
,coleridge1 struggled against the same  
opposition1 and obtained even a steadier
 lustre4 ,there was a kindred between   
them which ,wordsworth did not          
acknowledge1 but which ,coleridge more  
than suspected and tried to divulge4    
,one chapter in the first volume of the 
,biographia ,literaria and four chapters
 in the second volume are devoted to the
 consideration of ,wordsworth's poetry1 
and effort is made1 not quite           
successfully1 to bring ,wordsworth's    
psychological faith into sympathy with  
his own4  ,wordsworth's genius has      
furnished critics with materials for    
speculation that must be sought in their
 proper places4 ,we have no fresh       
analysis to offer4 ,that the secret of  
his power over the ingenuous and        
believing minds of his age is to be     
found in the sentiment with which he    

invested homely scenes and characters is
 a superficial conjecture4 ,what led him
 to invest homely scenes and characters 
with sentiment1 and what made this      
circumstance interesting to precisely   
that class of minds8 ,what1 but the same
 latent idealism that came to deliberate
 and formal expression in ,coleridge1   
and suggested in the one what was       
proclaimed by the other8 ,for           
,wordsworth was a metaphysician1 though 
he did not clearly suspect it2 at least1
 if he did1 he was careful not to betray
 himself by the usual signs4 ,the       
philosophers recognized him and paid to 
him their acknowledgments4  ,in the     
,dial1 ,wordsworth is mentioned with    
honor2 not discussed as ,goethe was1 but
 pleasantly talked about as a well-known
 friend4 ,the third volume of that      
magazine1 ,april1 #ahdc1 contains an    
article on ,europe and ,european ,books 
in which occurs the following tribute to
 ,wordsworth3       ,the capital merit  
of ,wordsworth is that he has done more 

for the      sanity of this generation  
than any other writer4 ,early in life1  
at      a crisis1 it is said1 in his    
private affairs1 he made his election   
between assuming and defending some     
legal rights with the chances      of   
wealth and a position in the world--and 
the inward promptings of      his       
heavenly genius2 he took his part2 he   
accepted the call to be a      poet1 and
 sat down1 far from cities1 with coarse 
clothing and plain      fare to obey the
 heavenly vision4 ,the choice he had    
made in his      will manifested itself 
in every line to be real4 ,we have poets
 who      write the poetry of society1  
of the patricians and conventional      
,europe1 as ,scott and ,moore2 and      
others1 who1 like ,byron or ,bulwer1    
write the poetry of vice and disease4   
,but ,wordsworth threw himself      into
 his place1 made no reserves or         
stipulations2 man and writer      were  
not to be divided4 ,he sat at the foot  
of ,helvellyn and on the      margin of 

,windermere1 and took their lustrous    
mornings and their      sublime         
midnights1 for his theme1 and not       
,marlowe nor ,massinger1      nor       
,horace1 nor ,milton nor ,dante4 ,he    
once for all forsook the      styles and
 standards and modes of thinking of     
,london and ,paris and      the books   
read there1 and the aims pursued1 and   
wrote ,helvellyn and      ,windermere   
and the dim spirits which these haunts  
harbored4 ,there      was not the least 
attempt to reconcile these with the     
spirit of      fashion and selfishness1 
nor to show1 with great deference to the
      superior judgment of dukes and    
earls1 that although ,london was the    
home for men of great parts1 yet        
,westmoreland had these                 
consolations for such as fate had       
condemned to the country life2      but 
with a complete satisfaction he pitied  
and rebuked their false      lives1 and 
celebrated his own with the religion of 
a true priest4      ,hence the          

antagonism which was immediately felt   
between his poetry      and the spirit  
of the age1 that here not only criticism
 but      conscience and will were      
parties2 the spirit of literature1 and  
the      modes of living1 and the       
conventional theories of the conduct of 
life were called in question on wholly  
new grounds1 not from      ,platonism1  
nor from ,christianity1 but from the    
lessons which the      country muse     
taught a stout pedestrian climbing a    
mountain1 and      following a river    
from its parent rill down to the sea4   
,the      ,cannings and ,jeffreys of the
 capital1 the ,court ,journals and      
,literary ,gazettes were not well       
pleased1 and voted the poet a bore4     
,but that which rose in him so high as  
to the lips1 rose in many      others as
 high as to the heart4 ,what he said1   
they were prepared to      hear and to  
confirm4 ,the influence was in the air1 
and was wafted      up and down into    
lone and populous places1 resisting the 

popular      taste1 modifying opinions  
which it did not change1 and soon came  
to      be felt in poetry1 in criticism1
 in plans of life1 and at last in       
legislation4 ,in this country it very   
early found a stronghold1 and      its  
effect may be traced on all the poetry  
both of ,england and      ,america4     
,this is truly and well said1 though    
quite inadequate4 ,the slighting        
allusion to ,platonism might have been  
omitted1 for possibly ,wordsworth had   
caught something of the philosophy that 
was in the air4 ,mr4 ,emerson1 in       
,thoughts on ,modern ,literature1 in the
 second number of the ,dial1 ,oct4      
#ahdj1 touched a deeper chord4          
,the fame of ,wordsworth he says1 is a  
leading fact in modern      literature1 
when it is considered how hostile his   
genius at first      seemed to the      
reigning taste1 and with what feeble    
poetic talents      his great and       
steadily growing dominion has been      
established4 ,more      than any poet   

his success has been not his own1 but   
that of the      idea which he shared   
with his coevals1 and which he has      
rarely      succeeded in adequately     
expressing4 ,the ,excursion awakened in 
every      lover of nature the right    
feeling4 ,we saw the stars shine1 we    
felt      the awe of mountains1 we heard
 the rustle of the wind in the grass1   
and knew again the ineffable secret of  
solitude4 ,it was a great      joy4 ,it 
was nearer to nature than any thing we  
had before4 ,but the      interest of   
the poem ended almost with the narrative
 of the      influences of nature on the
 mind of the ,boy1 in the first book4   
,obviously for that passage the poem was
 written1 and with the      exception of
 this and a few strains of like         
character in the      sequel1 the whole 
poem was dull4 ,here was no poem1 but   
here was      poetry1 and a sure index  
where the subtle muse was about to pitch
      her tent and find the argument of 
her song4 ,it was the human soul      in

 these last ages striving for a just    
publication of itself4 ,add      to     
this1 however1 the great praise of      
,wordsworth1 that more than      any    
other contemporary bard he is pervaded  
with a reverence of      somewhat higher
 than 7conscious7 thought4 ,there is in 
him that      property common to all    
great poets--a wisdom of humanity1 which
 is      superior to any talents which  
they exert4 ,it is the wisest part of   
,shakespeare and ,milton1 for they are  
poets by the free course which      they
 allow to the informing soul1 which     
through their eyes      beholdeth again 
and blesseth the things which it hath   
made4 ,the      soul is superior to its 
knowledge1 wiser than any of its works4 
,in the general ,preface to his poems1  
where ,wordsworth discusses the         
principles of the poetic art1 he wrote3 
,the imagination is conscious of an     
indestructible dominion2 the soul may   
fall away1 from its not being able to   
sustain its grandeur1 but if once felt  

and acknowledged1 by no act of any other
 faculty of the mind can it be relaxed1 
impaired or diminished4 ,fancy is given 
to quicken and to beguile the temporal  
part of our nature2 ,imagination to     
incite and support the eternal4 ,and in 
the appendix3 ,faith was given to man   
that his affections1 detached from the  
treasures of time1 might be inclined to 
settle on those of eternity3 the        
elevation of his nature1 which this     
habit produces on earth1 being to him a 
presumptive evidence of a future state  
of existence1 and giving him a title to 
partake of its holiness4 ,the religious 
man values what he sees1 chiefly as an  
'imperfect shadowing forth' of what he  
is incapable of seeing4 ,was this an    
echo from the ,german ,jacobi1 whose    
doctrine of ,faith had been some time   
abroad in the intellectual world8  ,the 
ode ,intimations of ,immortality from   
,recollections of ,early ,childhood1 was
 a clear reminiscence of ,platonism4    
,this famous poem was the favorite above

 all other effusions of ,wordsworth with
 the ,transcendentalists1 who held it to
 be the highest expression of his       
genius1 and most characteristic of its  
bent4 ,emerson in his last discourse on 
,immortality1 calls it the best modern  
essay on the subject4 ,many passages in 
the ,excursion attest the transcendental
 character of the author's faith4       
,coleridge quotes the following lines3  
,for ,i have learned     ,to look on    
nature1 not as in the hour     ,of      
thoughtless youth1 but hearing          
oftentimes     ,the still sad music of  
humanity1     ,nor harsh nor grating1   
though of ample power     ,to chasten   
and subdue4 ,and ,i have felt     ,a    
presence that disturbs me with the joy  
,of elevated thoughts2 a sense sublime  
,of something far more deeply           
interfused1     ,whose dwelling is the  
light of setting suns1     ,and the     
round ocean and the living air1     ,and
 the blue sky1 and in the mind of man2  
,a motion and a spirit that impels      

,all thinking things1 all objects of all
 thought1     ,and rolls through all    
things4  ,the passage quoted next       
suggests the very language of ,fichte in
 his ,bestimmung des ,menschen1 ,in der 
,liebe nur ist das ,leben1 ohne ,sie ist
 ,tod und ,vernichtung4      ,this is   
the genuine course1 the aim1 the end1   
,of prescient ,reason2 all conclusions  
else     ,are abject1 vain1 presumptuous
 and perverse1     ,the faith partaking 
of those holy times4      ,life1 ,i     
repeat1 is energy of ,love1     ,divine 
or human2 exercised in pain1     ,in    
strife and tribulation2 and ordained1   
,if so approved and sanctified1 to pass 
,through shades and silent rest1 to     
endless joy4  ,another extract recalls  
the pantheism of ,schelling4            
,thou--who didst wrap the cloud     ,of 
infancy around us1 that ,thyself        
,therein with our simplicity awhile     
,might'st hold1 on earth1 communion     
undisturbed1     ,who from the anarchy  
of dreaming sleep1     ,or from its     

death-like void1 with punctual care1    
,and touch as gentle as the morning     
light1     ,restorest us1 daily1 to the 
powers of sense     ,and reason's       
steadfast rule1--,thou1 thou alone      
,art everlasting1 and the blessed       
,spirits1     ,which ,thou includest1 as
 the ,sea her ,waves4     ,for adoration
 ,thou endurest2 endure     ,for        
consciousness the motions of ,thy will2 
,for apprehension those transcendent    
truths     ,of the pure ,intellect1 that
 stand as laws2     ,submission         
constituting strength and power1        
,even to ,thy ,being's infinite majesty6
  ,having before me a copy of           
,wordsworth's poems1 once the possession
 of an earnest ,transcendentalist1 ,i   
find these1 and many lines of similar   
import1 underlined2 showing how dear the
 ,english poet was to the ,american     
reader4  ,there were others who held and
 enunciated the new faith that came from
 ,germany1 the transfigured             
protestantism of the land of ,luther4   

,but these three names will suffice to  
indicate the wealth of ,england's       
contribution to the spiritual life of   
the ,new ,world--,coleridge1 ,carlyle1  
,wordsworth--the philosopher1 the       
preacher1 the poet2 the man of thought1 
the man of letters1 the man of          
imagination4 ,these embrace all the     
methods by which the fresh enthusiasm   
for the soul communicated its power4    
,these three were everywhere read1 and  
everywhere talked of4 ,they occupied    
prominent places in the public eye4     
,they sank into the shadow only when the
 faith that glorified them began to     
decline4  ,it is remarkable that        
,emerson in the paper just quoted1      
written in #ahdj1 passes from           
,wordsworth to ,landor2 while the author
 of the other paper1 written in #ahdc1  
passes1 and almost with an expression of
 relief1 from ,wordsworth to ,tennyson1 
the new poet whose breaking glory       
threatened the morning star with        
eclipse4 ,by this time                  

,transcendentalism was on the wane4 ,the
 ,dial marked for one year longer the   
hours of the great day1 and then was    
removed from its place1 and the         
scientific method of measuring progress 
was introduced4 ,wordsworth from year to
 year had a diminishing proportion of   
admirers3 from year to year the admirers
 of ,tennyson increased4 ,as early as   
#ahdc the passion for music1 color1 and 
external polish was manifest4           
,tennyson's elegance and subtlety1 his  
rich fancy1 his mastery of language1 his
 metrical skill1 his taste for the      
sumptuous and gorgeous1 were winning    
their way to popularity4 ,the critic in 
the ,dial has misgivings3 ,in these     
boudoirs of damask and alabaster one is 
further off from stern nature and human 
life than in ,lalla ,rookh and ,the     
,loves of the ,angels4 ,amid swinging   
censers and perfumed lamps1 amidst      
velvet and glory1 we long for rain and  
frost4 ,otto of roses is good1 but wild 
air is better4 ,but the sweets have been

 tasted1 and have spoiled the relish for
 the old homeliness4 ,for the man who   
loved him the charm of ,wordsworth was  
idyllic2 for the few who bent the head  
to him it was mystical and prophetic4   
,the idyllic sentiment palled on the    
taste4 ,it was a reaction from          
artificial forms of sensibility1 and    
having enjoyed its day1 submitted to the
 law of change that called it into      
being4 ,the moral earnestness1 the      
mystic idealism became unpopular along  
with the school of philosophy from which
 it sprung1 and gave place to the       
realism of the ,victorian bards1 who    
expressed the sensuous spirit of a more 
external age4 ,transcendentalism lurks  
in corners of ,england now4 ,the high   
places of thought are occupied by men   
who approach the great problems from the
 side of nature1 and through matter feel
 after mind2 by means of the senses     
attempt the heights of spirit4     ,,vi4
  ,,transcendentalism ,,in ,,new        
,,england4   ,the title of this ,chapter

 is in a sense misleading4 ,for with    
some truth it may be said that there    
never was such a thing as               
,transcendentalism out of ,new ,england4
 ,in ,germany and ,france there was a   
transcendental philosophy1 held by      
cultivated men1 taught in schools1 and  
professed by many thoughtful and earnest
 people2 but it never affected society  
in its organized institutions or        
practical interests4 ,in old ,england1  
this philosophy influenced poetry and   
art1 but left the daily existence of men
 and women untouched4 ,but in ,new      
,england1 the ideas entertained by the  
foreign thinkers took root in the native
 soil and blossomed out in every form of
 social life4 ,the philosophy assumed   
full proportions1 produced fruit        
according to its kind1 created a new    
social order for itself1 or rather      
showed what sort of social order it     
would create under favoring conditions4 
,its new heavens and new earth were made
 visible1 if but for a moment1 and in a 

wintry season4 ,hence1 when we speak of 
,transcendentalism1 we mean ,new        
,england ,transcendentalism4  ,new      
,england furnished the only plot of     
ground on the planet1 where the         
transcendental philosophy had a chance  
to show what it was and what it         
proposed4 ,the forms of life there were1
 in a measure1 plastic4 ,there were no  
immovable prejudices1 no fixed and      
unalterable traditions4 ,laws and usages
 were fluent1 malleable at all events4  
,the sentiment of individual freedom was
 active2 the truth was practically      
acknowledged1 that it takes all sorts of
 people to make a world1 and the many   
minds of the many men were respected4   
,no orders of men1 no aristocracies of  
intellect1 no privileged classes of     
thought were established4 ,the old world
 supplied such literature as there was1 
in science1 law1 philosophy1 ethics1    
theology2 but an astonishing            
intellectual activity seized upon it1   
dealt with it in genuine democratic     

fashion1 classified it1 accepted it1    
dismissed it1 paying no undue regard to 
its foreign reputation4 ,experiments in 
thought and life1 of even audacious     
description1 were made1 not in defiance 
of precedent--for precedent was hardly  
respected enough to be defied--but in   
innocent unconsciousness of precedent4  
,a feeling was abroad that all things   
must be new in the new world4 ,there was
 call for immediate application of ideas
 to life4 ,in the old world1 thoughts   
remained cloistered a generation before 
any questioned their bearing on public  
or private affairs4 ,in the new world1  
the thinker was called on to justify    
himself on the spot by building an      
engine1 and setting something in motion4
 ,the test of a truth was its           
availability4 ,the popular faith in the 
capacities of men to make states1 laws1 
religions for themselves1 supplied a    
ground work for the new philosophy4 ,the
 philosophy of sensation1 making great  
account1 as it did1 of circumstances1   

arrangements1 customs1 usages1 rules of 
education and discipline1 was alien and 
disagreeable to people who1 having just 
emancipated themselves from political   
dependence on the mother country1 were  
full of confidence in their ability to  
set up society for themselves4 ,the     
philosophy that laid its foundations in 
human nature1 and placed stress on the  
organic capacities and endowments of the
 mind1 was as congenial as the opposite 
system was foreign4 ,every native ,new  
,englander was at heart1 whether he     
suspected it or not1 radically and      
instinctively a disciple of ,fichte or  
,schelling1 of ,cousin or ,jouffroy4    
,the religion of ,new ,england was      
,protestant and of the most intellectual
 type4 ,romanism had no hold on the     
thinking people of ,boston4 ,none beside
 the ,irish laboring and menial classes 
were ,catholics1 and their religion was 
regarded as the lowest form of          
ceremonial superstition4 ,the           
,congregational system favored          

individuality of thought and action4    
,the orthodox theology1 in spite of its 
arbitrary character and its fixed type  
of supernaturalism1 exercised its       
professors severely in speculative      
questions1 and furnished occasions for  
discernment and criticism which made    
reason all but supreme over faith4 ,this
 theology too had its purely spiritual  
side--nay1 it was essentially spiritual4
 ,its root ran back into ,platonism1 and
 its flower was a mysticism which1 on   
the intellectual side1 bordered closely 
on ,transcendentalism4 ,the charge that 
the ,trinitarian system1 in its         
distinguishing features1 was of         
,platonic1 and not of ,jewish origin1   
was a confession that it was born of the
 noblest idealism of the race4 ,so in   
truth it was1 and so well-instructed    
,trinitarians will confess that it was4 
,the ,platonic philosophy being         
transcendental in its essence and       
tendency1 communicated this character to
 ,christian speculation4 ,the skeletons 

of ancient polemics were buried deep    
beneath the soil of orthodoxy1 and were 
not supposed to be a part of the        
structure of modern beliefs1 but there  
nevertheless they were4 ,the living     
faith of ,new ,england1 in its spiritual
 aspects1 betrayed its ancestry4 ,the   
speculation had become ,christian1 the  
powers claimed by pagan philosophers for
 the mind were ascribed to the          
influences of the ,holy ,spirit and the 
truths revealed in consciousness were   
truths of the ,gospel2 but the fact of  
immediate communication between the soul
 of the believer and its ,christ was so 
earnestly insisted on1 the sympathy was 
represented as being of so kindred and  
organic a nature1 that in reading the   
works of the masters of ,new ,england   
theology1 it requires an effort to      
forget that the speculative basis of    
their faith was not the natural basis of
 the philosopher1 but the supernatural  
one of the believer4 ,the spiritual     
writings of ,jonathan ,edwards1 the     

,treatise on the ,religious ,affections 
especially1 breathe the sweetest spirit 
of idealism4 ,indeed1 whenever orthodoxy
 spread its wings and rose into the     
region of faith1 it lost itself in the  
sphere where the human soul and the     
divine were in full concurrence4        
,transcendentalism simply claimed for   
all men what ,protestant ,christianity  
claimed for its own elect4  ,that       
adherents of the sensuous philosophy    
professed the orthodox doctrines1 is a  
circumstance that throws the above      
statement into bolder relief4 ,for these
 people gave to the system the hard1    
external1 dogmatical character which in 
,new ,england provoked the ,unitarian   
reaction4 ,the beliefs in scripture     
inspiration1 incarnation1 atonement1    
election1 predestination1 depravity1    
fall1 regeneration1 redemption1 deprived
 of their interior meaning1 became      
ragged heaps of dogmatism1 unbeautiful1 
incredible1 hateful4 ,assault came      
against them from the quarter of common 

intelligence and the rational           
understanding4 ,the sensuous philosophy 
associated with the school of           
,locke1--which ,edwards and the like of 
him scorned1--fell upon the fallen      
system and plucked it unmercifully4     
,never was easier work than that of the 
early ,unitarian critics4 ,the body of  
orthodoxy having lost its soul1 was a   
very unsightly carcass1--so evidently1  
to every sense1 a carcass1 that they who
 had respected it as a celestial        
creation1 and could not be persuaded    
that this was all they respected1       
allowed the scavengers to take it away1 
only protesting that the thing disposed 
of was not the revealed gospel1 or      
anything but a poor effigy of it4  ,the 
,unitarians as a class belonged to the  
school of ,locke1 which discarded the   
doctrine of innate ideas1 and its       
kindred beliefs4 ,unitarianism from the 
beginning showed affinity with this     
school1 and avowed it more distinctly   
than idealists avowed ,trinitarianism4  

,paul of ,samosata1 ,arius1 ,pelagius1  
,socinus1 the ,swiss1 ,polish1 ,english 
advocates of the same general theology  
and christology were1 after their       
several kinds1 disciples of the same    
philosophical system4 ,unitarianism1 it 
was remarked1 has rarely1 if ever1 been 
taught or held by any man of eminence in
 the church who was a ,platonist4 ,the  
,unitarians of ,new ,england1 good      
scholars1 careful reasoners1 clear and  
exact thinkers1 accomplished men of     
letters1 humane in sentiment1 sincere in
 moral intention1 belonged1 of course   
with individual exceptions1 to the class
 which looked without for knowledge1    
rather than within for inspiration4 ,the
 ,unitarian in religion was a whig in   
politics1 a conservative in literature1 
art and social ethics4 ,the ,unitarian  
divine was more familiar with ,tillotson
 than with ,cudworth1 and more in love  
with ,william ,paley than with ,joseph  
,butler4 ,he was strong in the ,old     
,english classics1 and though a         

confessed devotee to no school in       
philosophy1 was addicted to the         
prevailing fashion of intelligent1      
cultivated good sense4 ,the ,unitarian  
was disquieted by mysticism1 enthusiasm 
and rapture4 ,henry ,more was           
unintelligible to him1 and ,robert      
,fludd disgusting4 ,he had no sympathy  
with ,helvetius1 ,d',holbach1 ,diderot  
or ,voltaire1 those fierce disturbers of
 intellectual peace2 he had as little   
with ,william ,law and ,coleridge1      
dreamers and visionaries1 who           
substituted vapor for solid earth4 ,the 
,unitarian leaders were distinguished by
 practical wisdom1 sober judgment1 and  
balanced thoughtfulness1 that weighed   
opinions in the scale of evidence and   
argument4 ,even ,dr4 ,channing clung to 
the philosophical traditions that were  
his inheritance from ,england4 ,the     
splendid things he said about the       
dignity of human nature1 the divinity of
 the soul1 the moral kinship with       
,christ1 the inspiration of the moral   

sentiment1 the power of moral intuition1
 habitual and characteristic as they    
were1 scarcely justify the ascription to
 him of sympathy with philosophical     
idealism4 ,his tenacious adherence to   
the record of miracle as attesting the  
mission of the ,christ1 and his constant
 exaltation of the ,christ above        
humanity1 suggest that the first        
principles of the transcendental        
philosophy had not been distinctly      
accepted1 even if they were distinctly  
apprehended4 ,the following extract from
 a letter written in #ahai1 expresses   
,dr4 ,channing's feeling toward ,christ1
 a feeling never essentially altered3   
,jesus ,christ existed before he came   
into the world1 and in a state of great 
honor and felicity4 ,he was known1      
esteemed1 beloved1 revered in the family
 of heaven4 ,he was entrusted with the  
execution of the most sublime purposes  
of his ,father4 ,about the same time he 
wrote3 ,jesus ever lives1 and is ever   
active for mankind4 ,he is ,mediator1   

,intercessor1 ,lord1 and ,saviour2 ,he  
has a permanent and constant connection 
with mankind4 ,he is through all time1  
now as well as formerly1 the active and 
efficient friend of the human race4 ,the
 writer of such words was certainly not 
a ,transcendentalist in philosophy4 ,his
 biographer1 himself a brilliant        
,transcendentalist1 admits as much4 ,his
 soul he says1 was illuminated with the 
idea of the absolute immutable glory of 
the ,moral ,good2 and reverence for     
conscience is the key to his whole      
doctrine of human destiny and duty4     
,many difficult metaphysical points he  
passed wholly by1 as being out of the   
sphere alike of intuition and of        
experience4 ,he believed1 to be sure1 in
 the possibility of man's gaining some  
insight of ,universal ,order1 and       
respected the lofty aspiration which    
prompts men to seek a perfect knowledge 
of the ,divine laws2 but he considered  
pretensions to absolute science as quite
 premature2 saw more boastfulness than  

wisdom in ancient and modern schemes of 
philosophy1 and was not a little amused 
at the complacent confidence with which 
quite evidently fallible theorists      
assumed to stand at the centre1 and to  
scan and depict the panorama of         
existence4 ,in a letter of #ahdj1       
referring to the doctrines of ,mr4      
,parker and that school of thinkers1 he 
writes3 ,i see and feel the harm done by
 this crude speculation1 whilst ,i also 
see much nobleness to bind me to its    
advocates4 ,in its opinions generally ,i
 see nothing to give me hope4 ,i am     
somewhat disappointed that this new     
movement is to do so little for the     
spiritual regeneration of society4 ,a   
year later1 he tells ,james ,martineau  
that the spiritualists 7meaning the     
,transcendentalists7 in identifying     
themselves a good deal with ,cousin's   
crude system1 have lost the life of an  
original movement4 ,they are anxious to 
defend the soul's immediate connection  
with ,god1 and are in danger of         

substituting private inspiration for    
,christianity4 ,what he knew of ,kant1  
,schelling and ,fichte1 through ,mad4 de
 ,stael and ,coleridge1 he welcomed as  
falling in with his own conceptions of  
the grandeur of the human mind and will2
 but his acquaintance with them was     
never complete1 and if it had been1 he  
would perhaps have been repelled by the 
intellectual1 as strongly as he was     
attracted by the moral teaching4  ,in   
this matter the sentiment of ,channing  
went beyond his philosophy4 ,the        
following extracts taken at random from 
a volume of discourses edited in #ahgc  
by his nephew1 under the title ,the     
,perfect ,life1 show that ,channing was 
a ,transcendentalist in feeling1        
whatever he may have been in thought4   
,the religious principle1 is1 without   
doubt1 the noblest working of      human
 nature4 ,this principle ,god implanted 
for ,himself4 ,through      this the    
human mind corresponds to the ,supreme  
,divinity4       ,the idea of ,god is   

involved in the primitive and most      
universal      idea of ,reason2 and is  
one of its central principles4       ,we
 have1 each of us1 the spiritual eye to 
see1 the mind to know1      the heart to
 love1 the will to obey ,god4       ,a  
spiritual light1 brighter than that of  
noon1 pervades our daily      life4 ,the
 cause of our not seeing is in          
ourselves4       ,the great lesson is1  
that there is in human nature an element
      truly ,divine1 and worthy of all  
reverence2 that the ,infinite which     
is mirrored in the outward universe1 is 
yet more brightly imaged in      the    
inward spiritual world4       ,they who 
assert the greatness of human nature1   
see as much of      guilt as the man of 
worldly wisdom4 ,but amidst the passions
 and      selfishness of men they see   
another element--a ,divine element--a   
spiritual principle4       ,this moral  
principle--the supreme law in man--is   
the ,law of the      ,universe1 the very
 ,law to which the highest beings are   

subject1 and      in obeying which they 
find their elevation and their joy4     
,the ,soul itself1--in its powers and   
affections1 in its      unquenchable    
thirst and aspiration for unattained    
good1 gives signs      of a ,nature made
 for an interminable progress1 such as  
cannot be      now conceived4  ,the debt
 which ,transcendentalism owed to       
,unitarianism was not speculative2      
neither was it immediate or direct4 ,the
 ,unitarians1 clergy as well as laity1  
so far as the latter comprehended their 
position1 acknowledged themselves to be 
friends of free thought in religion4    
,this was their distinction4 ,they      
disavowed sympathy with dogmatism1      
partly because such dogmatism as there  
was existed in the minds of their       
theological foes1 and was felt in such  
persecution as society permitted2 and   
partly because they honestly respected  
the human mind1 and valued thought for  
its own sake4 ,they had no creed1 and no
 system of philosophy on which a creed  

could be1 by common consent1 built4     
,rather were they open inquirers1 who   
asked questions and waited for rational 
answers1 having no definite apprehension
 of the issue to which their            
investigations tended1 but with room    
enough within the accepted theology to  
satisfy them2 and work enough on the    
prevailing doctrines to keep them       
employed4 ,under these circumstances1   
they honestly but incautiously professed
 a principle broader than they were able
 to stand by1 and avowed the absolute   
freedom of the human mind as their      
characteristic faith2 instead of a      
creed1 the right to judge all creeds2   
instead of a system1 authority to try   
every system by rules of evidence4 ,the 
intellectual among them were at liberty 
to entertain views which an orthodox    
mind instinctively shrank from2 to read 
books which an orthodox believer would  
not have touched with the ends of his   
fingers4 ,the literature on their tables
 represented a wide mental activity4    

,their libraries contained authors never
 found before on ministerial shelves4   
,skepticism throve by what it fed on2   
and1 before they had become fully aware 
of the possible results of their        
diligent study1 their powers had        
acquired a confidence that encouraged   
ventures beyond the walls of ,zion4     
,this profession of free inquiry1 and   
the practice of it within the extensive 
area of ,protestant theology1 opened the
 door to the new speculation which      
carried unlooked-for heresies in its    
bosom2 and before the gates could be    
closed the insidious enemy had          
penetrated to the citadel4  ,there was  
idealism in ,new ,england prior to the  
introduction of ,transcendentalism4     
,idealism is of no clime or age4 ,it has
 its proportion of disciples in every   
period and in the apparently most       
uncongenial countries2 a full proportion
 might have been looked for in ,new     
,england4 ,but when ,emerson appeared1  
the name of ,idealism was legion4 ,he   

alone was competent to form a school1   
and as soon as he rose1 the scholars    
trooped about him4 ,by sheer force of   
genius ,emerson anticipated the results 
of the transcendental philosophy1       
defined its axioms and ran out their    
inferences to the end4 ,without help    
from abroad1 or with such help only as  
none but he could use1 he might have    
domesticated in ,massachusetts an       
idealism as heroic as ,fichte's1 as     
beautiful as ,schelling's2 but it would 
have lacked the dialectical basis of the
 great ,german systems4                 
,transcendentalism1 properly so called1 
was imported in foreign packages4 ,few  
read ,german1 but most read ,french4 ,as
 early as #ahjd1 ,degerando lectured on 
,kant's philosophy1 in ,paris2 and as   
early as #ahac ,mad4 de ,stael gave an  
account of it4 ,the number of copies of 
the original works of either ,kant1     
,fichte1 ,jacobi or ,schelling1 that    
found their way to the ,united ,states1 
was inconsiderable4 ,half a dozen eager 

students obtained isolated books of     
,herder1 ,schleiermacher1 ,de ,wette and
 other theological and biblical writers1
 read them1 translated chapters from    
them1 or sent notices of them to the    
,christian ,examiner4 ,the works of     
,coleridge made familiar the leading    
ideas of ,schelling4 ,the foreign       
reviews reported the results and        
processes of ,french and ,german        
speculation4 ,in #ahbg1 ,thomas ,carlyle
 wrote1 in the ,edinburgh ,review1 his  
great articles on ,richter and the      
,state of ,german ,literature2 in #ahbh 
appeared his essay on ,goethe4 ,mr4     
,emerson presented these and other      
papers as ,carlyle's ,miscellanies to   
the ,american public4 ,in #ahch ,george 
,ripley began the publication of the    
,specimens of ,foreign ,standard        
,literature1 a series which extended to 
fourteen volumes2 the first and second  
comprising philosophical miscellanies by
 ,cousin1 ,jouffroy and ,constant1      
translated with introductions by ,mr4   

,ripley himself2 the third devoted to   
,goethe and ,schiller1 with elaborate   
and discriminating prefaces by ,john ,s4
 ,dwight2 the fourth giving ,eckermann's
 ,conversations with ,goethe1 done into 
,english by ,margaret ,fuller2 the three
 next containing ,menzel's ,german      
,literature1 by ,prof4 ,c4 ,c4 ,felton2 
the eighth and ninth introducing ,wm4   
,h4 ,channing's version of ,jouffroy's  
,introduction to ,ethics2 the tenth and 
eleventh1 ,de,wette's ,theodor1 by      
,james ,freeman ,clarke2 the twelfth and
 thirteenth1 ,de,wette's ,ethics1 by    
,samuel ,osgood2 and the last offering  
samples of ,german ,lyrics1 by ,charles 
,t4 ,brooks4 ,these volumes1 which were 
remarkably attractive1 both in form and 
contents1 brought many readers into a   
close acquaintance with the teaching and
 the spirit of writers of the new       
school4  ,the ,philosophical            
,miscellanies of ,cousin were much      
noticed by the press1 ,george ,bancroft 
in especial sparing no pains to commend 

them and the views they presented4 ,the 
spiritual philosophy had no more fervent
 or eloquent champion than he4 ,no      
reader of his ,history of the ,united   
,states1 has forgotten the noble tribute
 paid to it under the name of           
,quakerism1 or the striking parallel    
between the two systems represented in  
the history by ,john ,locke and ,wm4    
,penn1 both of whom framed constitutions
 for the new world4 ,for keenness of    
apprehension and fullness of statement  
the passages deserve to be quoted here4 
,they occur in the ,,xvi4 chapter of the
 ,history4       ,the elements of       
humanity are always the same1 the inner 
light      dawns upon every nation1 and 
is the same in every age2 and the       
,french revolution was a result of the  
same principles as those of      ,george
 ,fox1 gaining dominion over the mind of
 ,europe4 ,they are      expressed in   
the burning and often profound eloquence
 of ,rousseau2      they reappear in the
 masculine philosophy of ,kant4 ,the    

professor of      ,koenigsberg1 like    
,fox and ,barclay and ,penn1 derived    
philosophy from      the voice in the   
soul2 like them1 he made the oracle     
within the      categorical rule of     
practical morality1 the motive to       
disinterested      virtue2 like them1 he
 esteemed the ,inner ,light1 which      
discerns      universal and necessary   
truths1 an element of humanity2 and     
therefore his philosophy claims for     
humanity the right of ever      renewed 
progress and reform4 ,if the ,quakers   
disguised their      doctrine under the 
form of theology1 ,kant concealed it for
 a      season under the jargon of a    
nervous but unusual diction4 ,but       
,schiller has reproduced the great idea 
in beautiful verse2      ,chateaubriand 
avowed himself its advocate2 ,coleridge 
has repeated      the doctrine in misty 
language2 it beams through the poetry of
      ,lamartine and ,wordsworth2 while 
in the country of beautiful prose1      
the eloquent ,cousin1 listening to the  

same eternal voice which      connects  
humanity with universal reason1 has     
gained a wide fame for      the divine  
principle1 and in explaining the harmony
 between that      light and the light  
of ,christianity1 has often             
unconsciously      borrowed the         
language1 and employed the arguments of 
,barclay and      ,penn4  ,a few pages  
later is the brilliant passage          
describing the essential difference     
between this philosophy and that of     
,locke3       ,locke1 like ,william     
,penn1 was tolerant2 both loved freedom1
 both      cherished truth in sincerity4
 ,but ,locke kindled the torch of       
liberty at the fires of tradition2 ,penn
 at the living light in the      soul4  
,locke sought truth through the senses  
and the outward world2      ,penn looked
 inward to the divine revelations in    
every mind4 ,locke      compared the    
soul to a sheet of white paper1 just as 
,hobbes had      compared it to a slate 
on which time and chance might scrawl   

their      experience4 ,to ,penn the    
soul was an organ which of itself       
instinctively breathes divine harmonies1
 like those musical      instruments    
which are so curiously and perfectly    
formed1 that when      once set in      
motion1 they of themselves give forth   
all the melodies      designed by the   
artist that made them4 ,to ,locke1      
conscience is      nothing else than our
 own opinion of our own actions2 to     
,penn1 it      is the image of ,god and 
his oracle in the soul4444 ,in studying 
the      understanding ,locke begins    
with the sources of knowledge2 ,penn    
with      an inventory of our           
intellectual treasures4444 ,the system  
of ,locke      lends itself to          
contending factions of the most opposite
 interests      and purposes2 the       
doctrine of ,fox and ,penn1 being but   
the common      creed of humanity1      
forbids division and insures the highest
 moral      unity4 ,to ,locke1 happiness
 is pleasure1 and things are good and   

evil only in reference to pleasure and  
pain2 and to inquire after      the     
highest good is as absurd as to dispute 
whether the best relish      be in      
apples1 plums or nuts4 ,penn esteemed   
happiness to lie in the      subjection 
of the baser instincts to the instinct  
of ,deity in the      breast2 good and  
evil to be eternally and always as      
unlike as truth      and falsehood2 and 
the inquiry after the highest good to   
involve      the purpose of existence4  
,locke says plainly that1 but for       
rewards      and punishments beyond the 
grave1 'it is certainly right to eat and
      drink1 and enjoy what we delight  
in4' ,penn1 like ,plato and ,fenelon1   
maintained the doctrine so terrible to  
despots1 that ,god is to be      loved  
for ,his own sake1 and virtue to be     
practised for its      intrinsic        
loveliness4 ,locke derives the idea of  
infinity from the      senses1 describes
 it as purely negative1 and attributes  
it to      nothing but space1 duration  

and number2 ,penn derived the idea from 
the soul1 and ascribed it to truth and  
virtue and ,god4 ,locke      declares   
immortality a matter with which reason  
has nothing to do2      and that        
revealed truth must be sustained by     
outward signs and      visible acts of  
power2 ,penn saw truth by its own light 
and summoned      the soul to bear      
witness to its own glory4  ,the justice 
of the comparison1 in the first part of 
the above extract1 of ,quakerism with   
,transcendentalism1 may be disputed4    
,some may be of opinion that inasmuch as
 ,quakerism traces the source of the    
,inner ,light to the supernatural       
illumination of the ,holy ,spirit1 while
 ,transcendentalism regards it as a     
natural endowment of the human mind1 the
 two are fundamentally opposed while    
superficially in agreement4 ,however    
this may be1 the practical issues of the
 two coincide1 and the truth of the     
contrast presented between the          
philosophies1 designated by the name of 

,locke on the one side1 and of ,penn on 
the other1 will not be disputed4 ,mr4   
,bancroft's statement1 though dazzling1 
is exact4 ,it was made in #ahcg4 ,the   
third edition from which the above      
citation was made1 was published in     
#ahch1 the year of ,mr4 ,emerson's      
address to the ,divinity students at    
,cambridge4  ,mr4 ,emerson had shown his
 hand plainly several years before4 ,in 
#ahcb he raised the whole issue in the  
epoch making sermon1 in which he        
advanced the view of the communion      
service that led to his resignation of  
the ,christian ministry4 ,his elder     
brother1 ,william1 returning from his   
studies in ,germany1 was turned from the
 profession of the church which he had  
purposed entering1 to the law1 by       
similar scruples4 ,in #ahcd1 ,james     
,walker printed in the ,christian       
,examiner an address1 which was the same
 year published as a tract1 by the      
,american ,unitarian ,association1      
entitled ,the ,philosophy of ,man's     

,spiritual ,nature in regard to the     
foundations of ,faith1 wherein he took  
frankly the transcendental ground1      
contending3       ,that the existence of
 those spiritual faculties and          
capacities      which are assumed as the
 foundation of religion in the soul of  
man1      is attested1 and put beyond   
controversy by the revelations of       
consciousness2 that religion in the     
soul1 consisting as it does1 of      a  
manifestation and development of these  
spiritual faculties and      capacities1
 is as much a reality in itself1 and    
enters as      essentially into our idea
 of a perfect man1 as the corresponding 
manifestation and development of the    
reasoning faculties1 a sense      of    
justice1 or the affections of sympathy  
and benevolence2 and      that from the 
acknowledged existence and reality of   
spiritual      impressions or           
perceptions1 we may and do assume the   
existence and      reality of the       
spiritual world2 just as from the       

acknowledged      existence and reality 
of sensible impressions or perceptions1 
we      may and do assume the existence 
and realities of the sensible           
world4  ,in this discourse1 for         
originally it was a discourse1 the worst
 species of infidelity is charged to the
 ,sensational philosophy1 and at the    
close1 the speaker in impressive        
language1 said3       ,let us hope that 
a better philosophy than the degrading  
sensualism      out of which most forms 
of infidelity have grown1 will prevail1 
and      that the minds of the rising   
generation will be thoroughly imbued    
with it4 ,let it be a philosophy which  
recognizes the higher nature      of    
man1 and aims1 in a chastened and       
reverential spirit1 to unfold      the  
mysteries of his higher life4 ,let it be
 a philosophy which      comprehends the
 soul1 a soul susceptible of religion1  
of the      sublime principle of faith1 
of a faith which 'entereth into that    
within the veil4' ,let it be a          

philosophy which continually reminds    
us of our intimate relations to the     
spiritual world2 which opens to      us 
new sources of consolation in trouble1  
and new sources of life      in         
death--nay1 which teaches us that what  
we call death is but      the dying of  
all that is mortal1 that nothing but    
life may remain4  ,in #ahdj1 the same   
powerful advocate of the transcendental 
doctrine1 in a discourse before the     
alumni of the ,cambridge ,divinity      
,school1 declared that the return to a  
higher order of ideas1 to a living faith
 in ,god1 in ,christ1 and in the church1
 had been promoted by such men as       
,schleiermacher and ,de ,wette2 gave his
 opinion that the religious community   
had reason to look with distrust and    
dread on a philosophy which limited the 
ideas of the human mind to the          
information imparted by the senses1 and 
denied the existence of spiritual       
elements in the nature of man2 and again
 welcomed the philosophy taught in      

,england by ,butler1 ,reid and          
,coleridge2 in ,germany1 by ,kant1      
,jacobi and ,schleiermacher2 in ,france1
 by ,cousin1 ,jouffroy and ,degerando4  
,such words from ,james ,walker1 always 
a favorite teacher with young men1 a    
mind of judicial authority in the       
liberal community1 and at that time     
,professor of ,moral ,philosophy at     
,harvard ,college1 made a deep          
impression4 ,when he said3 ,men may put 
down ,transcendentalism if they can1 but
 they must first deign to comprehend its
 principles1 the most conservative began
 to surmise that there must be something
 in ,transcendentalism4  ,but before    
this the movement was well under way4   
,in #ahcf1 ,emerson's ,nature broke     
through the shell of accepted opinions  
on a very essential subject3 true1 but  
five hundred copies were sold in twelve 
years2 critics and philosophers could   
make nothing of it2 but those who read  
it recognized signs of a new era1 even  
if they could not describe them2 and    

many who did not read it felt in the    
atmosphere the change it introduced4    
,the idealism of the little book was    
uncompromising4       ,in the presence  
of ideas we feel that the outward       
circumstance is      a dream and a      
shade4 ,whilst we wait in this ,olympus 
of gods1 we      think of nature as an  
appendix to the soul4 ,we ascend into   
their      region1 and know that these  
are the thoughts of the ,supreme        
,being4444 ,idealism is an hypothesis to
 account for nature by      other       
principles than those of carpentry and  
chemistry4 ,it      acquaints us with   
the total disparity between the evidence
 of our      own being1 and the evidence
 of the world's being4 ,the world is a  
divine dream1 from which we may         
presently awake to the glories and      
certainties of day4  ,the same year1    
,george ,ripley reviewed in the         
,christian ,examiner1 ,martineau's      
,rationale of ,religious ,enquiry4 ,the 
article was furiously assailed in the   

,boston ,daily ,advertiser4 ,mr4 ,ripley
 replied in the paper of the next day1  
vindicating the ideas of the review and 
of the book as being strictly in        
consonance with the principles of       
liberal ,christianity4  ,in #ahch came  
the wonderful address before the        
,cambridge ,divinity ,school1 which     
stirred the soul of aspiring young men1 
and1 wakened the wrath of sedate old    
ones4 ,it was idealism in its full      
blaze1 and it made the germs of         
,transcendentalism struggle in the sods4
  ,the next year ,andrews ,norton       
attacked the new philosophy in a        
discourse before the same audience1 on  
,the ,latest ,form of ,infidelity4 ,the 
doctrine of that discourse was          
,sensationalism in its boldest aspect4  
,christ was commissioned by ,god to     
speak to us in ,his name1 and to        
make known to us1 on ,his authority1    
those truths which it most      concerns
 us to know2 and there can be no greater
 miracle than this4      ,no proof of   

,his divine commission could be afforded
 but through      miraculous displays of
 ,god's power4 ,nothing is left that can
 be      called ,christianity1 if its   
miraculous character be denied4 ,its    
essence is gone2 its evidence is        
annihilated4444 ,to the demand      for 
certainty let it come from whom it may1 
,i answer that ,i know of      no       
absolute certainty beyond the limit of  
momentary consciousness2      a         
certainty that vanishes the instant it  
exists1 and is lost in the      region  
of metaphysical doubt4444 ,there can be 
no intuition1 no      direct perception 
of the truth of ,christianity1 no       
metaphysical      certainty4444 ,of the 
facts on which religion is founded1 we  
can      pretend to no assurance except 
that derived from the testimony of      
,god from the ,christian revelation4  ,a
 pamphlet defending the discourse       
contained passages like the following3  
,the doctrine that the mind possesses a 
faculty of intuitively discovering the  

truths of religion1 is not only utterly 
untenable1 but the proposition is of    
such a character that it cannot well    
bear the test of being distinctly       
stated4 ,the question respecting the    
existence of such a faculty is not      
difficult to be decided4 ,we are not    
conscious of possessing any such        
faculty2 and there can be no other proof
 of its existence4 ,its defenders shrink
 from presenting it in broad daylight4  
,they are disposed to keep it out of    
view behind a cloud of words4444        
,consciousness or intuition can inform  
us of nothing but what exists in our own
 minds1 including the relations of our  
own ideas4 ,it is therefore not an      
intelligible error1 but a mere absurdity
 to maintain that we are conscious1 or  
have an intuitive knowledge of the being
 of ,god1 of our own immortality1 of the
 revelation of ,god through ,christ1 or 
of any other fact of religion4444 ,the  
religion of which they 7the             
,transcendentalists7 speak1 therefore1  

exists merely1 if it exist at all1 in   
undefined and unintelligible feelings1  
having reference1 perhaps1 to certain   
imaginations1 the result of impressions 
communicated in childhood or produced by
 the visible signs of religious belief  
existing around us1 or awakened by the  
beautiful and magnificent spectacles    
which nature presents4  ,mr4 ,norton    
spoke with biting severity of the       
masters of ,german philosophy1          
criticism1 and literature1 and exhausted
 his sarcasm on the address of ,mr4     
,emerson delivered the previous year4   
,to ,mr4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,ripley made     
prompt and earnest1 though temperate1   
reply in three long and powerful        
letters1 devoted mainly to a refutation 
of his adversary's accusations against  
,spinoza1 ,schleiermacher1 ,de ,wette1  
and the philosophic theologians of      
,germany4 ,not till the end does he take
 issue with the fundamental positions of
 ,mr4 ,norton's philosophy2 then he     
brands as revolting the doctrine that   

there can be no intuition1 no direct    
perception of the truth of              
,christianity2 that the feeling or      
direct perception of religious truth is 
an imaginary faculty2 and affirms his   
conviction that the principle that the  
soul has no faculty to perceive         
spiritual truth1 is contradicted by the 
universal consciousness of man4         
,does the body see1 he asks1 and is the 
spirit blind8 ,no1 man has      the     
faculty for feeling and perceiving      
religious truth4 ,so far from      being
 imaginary1 it is the highest reality of
 which the pure soul      is conscious4 
,can ,i be more certain that ,i am      
capable of looking      out and admiring
 the forms of external beauty1 'the     
frail and weary      weed in which ,god 
dresses the soul that he has called into
 time1'      than that ,i can also look 
within1 and commune with the fairer     
forms      of truth and holiness which  
plead for my love1 as visitants from    
,heaven8  ,the controversy was taken up 

by other pens4 ,in #ahdj1 ,theodore     
,parker1 speaking as a plain man under  
the name of ,levi ,blodgett1 moved and  
handled the ,previous ,question after a 
fashion that betrayed the practised     
thinker and scribe4 ,mr4 ,parker        
occupied substantially the same ground  
that was taken by ,james ,walker in     
#ahcd4       ,the germs of religion1    
both the germs of religious principle   
and      religious sentiment1 must be   
born in man1 or innate1 as our          
preacher says4 ,i reckon that man is by 
nature a religious being1      i4 e4    
that he was made to be religious1 as    
much as an ox was made      to eat      
grass4 ,the existence of ,god is a fact 
given in our nature3      it is not     
something discovered by a process of    
reasoning1 by a long      series of     
deductions from facts2 nor yet is it the
 last      generalization from phenomena
 observed in the universe of mind or    
matter4 ,but it is a truth fundamental  
in our nature2 given outright      by   

,god2 a truth which comes to light as   
soon as self-consciousness      begins4 
,still further1 ,i take a sense of      
dependence on ,god to be a      natural 
and essential sentiment of the soul1 as 
much as feeling1      seeing and hearing
 are natural sensations of the body4    
,here1 then1      are the religious     
instincts which lead man to ,god and    
religion1      just as naturally as the 
intellectual instincts lead him to      
truth1      and animal instincts to his 
food4 ,as there is light for the eye1   
sound for the ear1 food for the palate1 
friends for the affections1      beauty 
for the imagination1 truth for the      
reason1 duty for      conscience--so    
there is ,god for the religious         
sentiment or sense of      dependence on
 ,him4 ,now all these presuppose one    
another1 as a want      essential to the
 structure of man's mind or body        
presupposes      something to satisfy   
it4 ,and as the sensation of hunger     
presupposes      food to satisfy it1 so 

the sense of dependence on ,god         
presupposes      his existence and      
character4  ,from these premises ,mr4   
,parker proceeds to discuss the         
questions about miracles1 inspiration1  
revelation1 the character and functions 
of ,jesus1 the ,christ1 and kindred     
matters belonging to the general        
controversy4 ,the year following1 he    
preached the sermon on the ,transient   
and ,permanent in ,christianity1 which  
brought out the issues between the      
,sensationalists and the                
,transcendentalists1 and was the        
occasion of detaching the latter from   
the original body4  ,the first series of
 ,emerson's ,essays containing ,self    
,reliance1 ,compensation1 ,spiritual    
,laws1 ,the ,over ,soul1 ,circles1      
,intellect1 was published during that   
year1 and was followed almost           
immediately by ,the ,transcendentalist1 
a lecture read in ,masonic ,temple1     
,boston4 ,in this lecture occurs the    
following allusion to ,kant3       ,the 

,idealism of the present day acquired   
the name of      ,transcendental from   
the use of that term by ,immanuel ,kant 
of      ,koenigsberg1 who replied to the
 skeptical philosophy of ,locke1 which  
insisted that there was nothing in the  
intellect which was not      previously 
in the experience of the senses1 by     
showing that there      was a very      
important class of ideas or imperative  
forms1 which did      not come by       
experience1 but through which experience
 was acquired2      that these were     
intuitions of the mind itself2 and he   
denominated      them ,transcendental   
forms4 ,the extraordinary profoundness  
and      precision of that man's        
thinking have given vogue to his        
nomenclature in ,europe and ,america1 to
 that extent that whatever      belongs 
to the class of intuitive thought is    
popularly called1 at      the present   
day1 ,transcendental4444 ,the           
,transcendentalist adopts      the whole
 connection of spiritual doctrine4 ,he  

believes in      miracles1 in the       
perpetual openness of the human mind to 
new influx      of light and power2 he  
believes in inspiration and ecstasy4 ,he
      wishes that the spiritual         
principle should be suffered to         
demonstrate itself to the end1 in all   
possible applications to the      state 
of man1 without the admission of        
anything unspiritual1 that      is1     
anything positive1 dogmatic1 personal4  
,from what has been said it may be      
inferred that ,transcendentalism in ,new
 ,england was a movement within the     
limits of liberal ,christianity or      
,unitarianism as it was called1 and had 
none but a religious aspect4 ,such an   
inference would be narrow4 ,in #ahch1   
,orestes ,augustus ,brownson started    
,the ,boston ,quarterly ,review1        
instituted for the discussion of        
questions in politics1 art1 literature1 
science1 philosophy and religion4 ,the  
editor who was the principal1 and almost
 the sole writer1 frankly declares that 

he had no creed1 no distinct doctrines  
to support whatever2 that he aimed to   
startle1 and made it a point to be as   
paradoxical and extravagant as he could1
 without doing violence to his own      
reason or conscience4 ,this avowal was  
made in #aheg1 after ,mr4 ,brownson had 
become a ,roman ,catholic4 ,the pages of
 the ,review prove the writer to have   
been a pronounced ,transcendentalist4 ,a
 foreign journal called him the         
,coryphoeus of the sect1 a designation  
which1 at the time1 was meekly accepted4
  ,mr4 ,brownson was a remarkable man1  
remarkable for intellectual force1 and  
equally for intellectual wilfulness4    
,his mind was restless1 audacious1      
swift2 his self assertion was immense2  
his thoughts came in floods2 his        
literary style was admirable for        
freshness1 terseness and vigor4 ,of     
rational stability of principle he had  
nothing1 but was completely at the mercy
 of every novelty in speculation4 ,that 
others thought as he did1 was enough to 

make him think otherwise2 that he       
thought as he had six months before was 
a signal that it was time for him to    
strike his tent and move on4 ,an        
experimenter in systems1 a taster of    
speculations1 he passed rapidly from one
 phase to another1 so that his friends  
ascribed his steadfastness to ,romanism1
 to the fatigue of intellectual         
travelling4 ,mr4 ,brownson was born in  
,stockbridge1 ,vt41 ,sept4 #af1 #ahjc4  
,his education was scanty2 his nurture  
was neglected2 his discipline1 if such  
it can be called1 was to the last degree
 unwise4 ,the child had visions1 fancied
 he had received communications from the
 ,christ1 and held spiritual intercourse
 with the ,virgin ,mary1 ,angels and    
,saints4 ,of a sensitive nature on the  
moral and spiritual side1 interested    
from boyhood in religious speculations1 
he had1 before he reached man's estate1 
asked and answered1 in his own          
passionate way1 all the deepest         
questions of destiny4 ,at the age of    

#ba1 he passed from ,supernaturalism to 
,rationalism2 at #bb became a           
,universalist minister2 at #bh adopted  
what he called ,the ,religion of        
,humanity2 the year following1 joined   
the ,unitarian ministry4 ,at this time  
he studied ,french and ,german1 and     
became fervidly addicted to philosophy4 
,benjamin ,constant's theory of religion
 fascinated him by its brilliant        
generalizations1 and its novel readings 
of ,mythology1 and was immediately      
adopted because it interested him and   
fell in with his mood of mind4 ,in      
#ahcc1 he accepted ,cousin's philosophy 
as he had accepted ,constant's1         
attending to those things that ,i could 
appropriate to my purposes4 ,in #ahcf he
 organized the ,society for ,christian  
,union and ,progress in ,boston1 and    
continued to be its minister till #ahdc4
 ,all this time he was dallying with    
,socialism1 principally in the form of  
,st4 ,simonianism2 thought of himself as
 possibly the precursor of the ,messiah2

 threw out strange heresies on the      
subject of property and the modern      
industrial system2 and was suspected1 he
 declared afterwards unjustly suspected1
 of holding loose opinions on love and  
marriage4 ,new ,views of ,christianity1 
,society and the ,church1 appeared in   
#ahcf1 a little book1 written in answer 
to objections brought against           
,christianity as being a system of      
extravagant spiritualism4 ,this idea    
,mr4 ,brownson combated1 by pointing out
 the true character of the religion of  
,jesus as contrasted with the schemes   
that had borne his name1 exposing the   
corruptions it had undergone1 during the
 succeeding ages1 from ,protestantism as
 well as from ,romanism1 and indicating 
the method and the signs of a return to 
the primeval faith which reconciled ,god
 and man1 spirit and matter1 soul and   
body1 heaven and earth1 in the          
establishment of just relations between 
man and man1 the institution of a simply
 human state of society4  ,charles      

,elwood1 or ,the ,infidel ,converted1   
was published in #ahdj4 ,two or three   
passages from this theological          
discussion1 thinly masked in the guise  
of a novel1 will suffice to class the   
author with ,transcendentalists of the  
advanced school4       ,they who deny to
 man all inherent capacity to know ,god1
 all      immediate perception of       
spiritual truth1 place man out of the   
condition of ever knowing anything of   
,god4444 ,there must be a ,god          
within to recognize and vouch for the   
,god who speaks to us from              
without4444 ,i hold that the ideas or   
conceptions which man      attempts to  
embody or realize in his forms of       
religious faith and      worship1 are   
intuitions of reason4 ,i understand by  
inspiration      the spontaneous        
revelations of the reason2 and ,i call  
these      revelations divine1 because  
,i hold the reason to be divine4 ,its   
voice is the voice of ,god1 and what it 
reveals without any aid from      human 

agency1 is really and truly a divine    
revelation4444 ,this      reason is in  
all men4 ,hence the universal beliefs of
 mankind1 the      universality of the  
belief in ,god and religion4 ,hence1    
too1 the      power of all men to judge 
of supernatural revelations4444 ,all are
      able to detect the supernatural1  
because all have the supernatural       
in themselves4  ,the ,boston ,quarterly1
 was maintained five years1--from #ahch 
to #ahdb inclusive1--and consequently   
covered this period4 ,it would therefore
 be safe to assume1 what the volumes    
themselves attest1 that whatever subject
 was dealt with1--and all conceivable   
subjects were dealt with1--were handled 
by the transcendental method4 ,in the   
,christian ,world1 a short-lived weekly1
 published by a brother of ,dr4 ,w4 ,e4 
,channing1 ,mr4 ,brownson began the     
publication of a series of articles on  
the ,mission of ,jesus4 ,seven were     
admitted2 the eighth was declined as    
being ,romanist in its outlook4 ,in     

#ahdd1 the writer avowed himself a      
,roman ,catholic1 and was confirmed in  
,boston1 ,october #bjth4 ,the ,convert1 
which contains the spiritual biography  
of this extraordinary man1 and from     
which the above facts in his mental     
history are partly taken1 was published 
in #aheg4 ,the ,romanist was at that    
time essentially a ,transcendentalist4  
,truth1 he writes1 is the mind's object1
 and it seeks and accepts it            
intuitively1 as the new-born child seeks
 the mother's breast from which it draws
 its nourishment4 ,the office of proof  
or even demonstration is negative rather
 than affirmative4 ,mr4 ,brownson was   
the most eminent convert to ,romanism of
 this period1 when conversions were     
frequent in ,boston2 and his influence  
was considerable in turning uneasy minds
 to the old faith4 ,he was a powerful   
writer and lecturer1 an occasional      
visitor at ,brook ,farm1 but his mental 
baselessness perhaps repelled nearly as 
many as his ingenuity beguiled4  ,the   

literary achievements of                
,transcendentalism are best exhibited in
 the ,dial1 a quarterly ,magazine for   
,literature1 ,philosophy and ,religion1 
begun ,july1 #ahdj1 and ending ,april1  
#ahdd4 ,the editors were ,margaret      
,fuller and ,r4 ,w4 ,emerson2 the       
contributors were the bright men and    
women who gave voice in literary form to
 the various utterances of the          
transcendental genius4 ,mr4 ,emerson's  
bravest lectures and noblest poems were 
first printed there4 ,margaret ,fuller1 
besides numerous pieces of miscellaneous
 criticism1 contributed the article on  
,goethe1 alone enough to establish her  
fame as a discerner of spirits1 and the 
paper on ,the ,great ,lawsuit2 ,man     
versus ,men--,woman versus ,women1 which
 was afterwards expanded into the book  
,woman in the ,x,i,xth century4 ,bronson
 ,alcott sent in chapters the ,orphic   
,sayings1 which were an amazement to the
 uninitiated and an amusement to the    
profane4 ,charles ,emerson1 younger     

brother of the essayist1 whose premature
 death was bewailed by the admirers of  
intellect and the lovers of pure        
character1 proved by his ,notes from the
 ,journal of a ,scholar1 that genius was
 not confined to a single member of his 
family4 ,george ,ripley1 ,james ,freeman
 ,clarke1 ,theodore ,parker1 ,wm4 ,h4   
,channing1 ,henry ,thoreau1 ,eliot      
,cabot1 ,john ,s4 ,dwight the musical   
critic1 ,c4 ,p4 ,cranch the artist-poet1
 ,wm4 ,e4 ,channing1 were liberal of    
contributions1 all in characteristic    
ways2 and unnamed men and women did     
their part to fill the numbers of this  
most remarkable magazine4 ,the freshest 
thoughts on all subjects were brought to
 the editors' table2 social tendencies  
were noticed2 books were received2 the  
newest picture1 the last concert1 was   
passed upon2 judicious estimates were   
made of reforms and reformers abroad as 
well as at home2 the philosophical      
discussions were able and               
discriminating2 the theological papers  

were learned1 broad and fresh4 ,the four
 volumes are exceedingly rich in poetry1
 and poetry such as seldom finds a place
 in popular magazines4 ,the first year's
 issue contained sixty-six pieces2 the  
second1 thirty-five2 the third1 fifty2  
the fourth1 thirty-three2 among these   
were ,emerson's earliest inspirations4  
,the ,problem1 ,wood-notes1 ,the        
,sphinx1 ,saadi1 ,ode to ,beauty1 ,to   
,rhea1 first appeared in the ,dial4     
,harps that had long been silent1 unable
 to make themselves heard amid the din  
of the later generation1 made their     
music here4 ,for ,transcendentalism was 
essentially poetical and put its        
thoughts naturally into song4 ,the poems
 in the ,dial1 even leaving out the     
famous ones that have been printed since
 with their authors' names1 would make  
an interesting and attractive volume4   
,how surprised would some of those      
writers be if they should now in their  
prosaic days read what then they wrote  
under the spell of that fine frenzy6    

,the following mystic poem1 which might 
have come from an ancient ,egyptian1    
dropped from one who has since become   
distinguished for something very        
different from mysticism4 ,has he seen  
it these many years8 ,can he believe    
that he was ever in the mood to write   
it8 ,it is called  ,,via ,,sacra4       
,slowly along the crowded street ,i go1 
,marking with reverent look each        
passer's face1     ,seeking and not in  
vain1 in each to trace     ,that primal 
soul whereof he is the show4     ,for   
here still move1 by many eyes unseen1   
,the blessed gods that erst ,olympus    
kept4     ,through every guise these    
lofty forms serene     ,declare the     
all-holding life hath never slept1      
,but known each thrill that in man's    
heart hath been1     ,and every tear    
that his sad eyes have wept4     ,alas  
for us6 the heavenly visitants1--       
,we greet them still as most unwelcome  
guests     ,answering their smile with  
hateful looks askance1     ,their sacred

 speech with foolish1 bitter jests2     
,but oh6 what is it to imperial ,jove   
,that this poor world refuses all his   
love8  ,a remarkable feature of the     
,dial were the chapters of ,ethnical    
,scriptures1 seven in all1 containing   
texts from the ,veeshnu ,sarma1 the laws
 of ,menu1 ,confucius1 the ,desatir1 the
 ,chinese ,four ,books1 ,hermes         
,trismegistus1 the ,chaldaean ,oracles4 
,thirty-five years ago1 these           
,scriptures1 now so accessible1 and in  
portions so familiar1 were known to the 
few1 and were esteemed by none but      
scholars1 whose enthusiasm for ancient  
literature got the better of their      
religious faith4 ,to read such things   
then1 showed an enlightened and         
courageous mind2 to print them in a     
magazine under the sacred title of      
,scriptures argued a most extraordinary 
breadth of view4 ,in offering these     
chapters to its readers1 without apology
 and on their intrinsic merits1         
,transcendentalism exhibited its power  

to overpass the limits of all special   
religions1 and do perfect justice to all
 expressions of the religious sentiment4
  ,the creed of ,transcendentalism has  
been sufficiently indicated4 ,it had a  
creed1 and a definite one4 ,in his      
lecture on ,the ,transcendentalist1 read
 in #ahda1 ,mr4 ,emerson seems disposed 
to consider ,transcendentalism merely as
 a phase of idealism4       ,shall we   
say then that ,transcendentalism is the 
,saturnalia or      excess of ,faith2   
the presentiment of a faith proper to   
man in his      integrity1 excessive    
only when his imperfect obedience       
hinders the      satisfaction of his    
wit4 ,nature is ,transcendental1 exists 
primarily1 necessarily1 ever works and  
advances2 yet takes no      thought for 
the morrow4 ,man owns the dignity of the
 life which      throbs around him in   
chemistry1 and tree1 and animal1 and in 
the      involuntary functions of his   
own body2 yet he is balked when he      
tries to fling himself into this        

enchanted circle1 where all is      done
 without degradation4 ,yet genius and   
virtue predict in man the      same     
absence of private ends1 and of         
condescension to      circumstances1    
united with every trait and talent of   
beauty and      power4444 ,this way of  
thinking1 falling on ,roman times1 made 
stoic philosophers2 falling on despotic 
times made patriot ,catos      and      
,brutuses2 falling on superstitious     
times1 made prophets and      apostles2 
on popish times1 made protestants and   
ascetic monks2      preachers of ,faith 
against preachers of ,works2 on         
prelatical times1      made ,puritans   
and ,quakers2 and falling on ,unitarian 
and commercial      times1 makes the    
peculiar shades of ,idealism which we   
know4  ,it is audacious to criticize    
,mr4 ,emerson on a point like this2 but 
candor compels the remark that the above
 description does less than justice to  
the definiteness of the transcendental  
movement4 ,it was something more than a 

reaction against formalism and          
tradition1 though it took that form4 ,it
 was more than a reaction against       
,puritan ,orthodoxy1 though in part it  
was that4 ,it was in a very small degree
 due to study of the ancient pantheists1
 of ,plato and the ,alexandrians1 of    
,plutarch1 ,seneca and ,epictetus1      
though one or two of the leaders had    
drunk deeply from these sources4        
,transcendentalism was a distinct       
philosophical system4 ,practically it   
was an assertion of the inalienable     
worth of man2 theoretically it was an   
assertion of the immanence of divinity  
in instinct1 the transference of        
supernatural attributes to the natural  
constitution of mankind4  ,such a faith 
would necessarily be protean in its     
aspects4 ,philosopher1 ,critic1         
,moralist1 ,poet1 would give it voice   
according to cast of genius4 ,it would  
present in turn all the phases of       
idealism1 and to the outside spectator  
seem a mass of wild opinions2 but       

running through all was the belief in   
the ,living ,god in the ,soul1 faith in 
immediate inspiration1 in boundless     
possibility1 and in unimaginable good4  
,the editors and reviewers of its day   
could make nothing of it4 ,the most     
entertaining part of the present        
writer's task has been the reading of   
articles on ,transcendentalism in the   
contemporaneous magazines4 ,the         
reviewers were unable to resist the     
temptation to make themselves           
ridiculous4 ,the quarterlies and        
monthlies are before me1 looking as if  
they resented the exposure of their     
dusty and musty condition1 and would    
conceal if they could the baldness of   
their wit4 ,it would be cruel to exhume 
those antique judgments1 so honest1 yet 
so imbecile and so mistaken4 ,the doubts
 and misgivings1 the bitternesses and   
the horrors1 the sinkings of heart and  
the revolvings of soul may be estimated 
by any who will consult the numbers of  
the ,christian ,examiner1 the ,biblical 

,repository1 the ,princeton ,review1 the
 ,new ,englander1 the ,whig ,review1    
,knickerbocker1 7,knickerbocker is      
especially facetious71 but we advise    
none to do it who would retain their    
respect for honorable names4 ,the       
writers1 let us hope1 did the best they 
knew1 and it would be unkind to expose  
the theological prejudice1 the polemical
 acrimony1 the narrowness and flippancy 
they would have been ashamed of had they
 been aware of it4  ,a good example of  
the courteous kind of injustice may be  
found in the ,christian ,examiner for   
,january1 #ahcg1 in a review of ,nature 
from the pen of a ,cambridge ,professor1
 who writes in a kindly spirit and with 
an honest intention to be fair to a     
movement with which he had no           
intellectual sympathy3       ,the aim of
 the ,transcendentalists is high4 ,they 
profess to look      not only beyond    
facts1 but1 without the aid of facts1 to
      principles4 ,what is this but     
,plato's doctrine of innate1 eternal    

and immutable ideas on the consideration
 of which all science is      founded8  
,truly1 the human mind advances but too 
often in a circle4      ,the ,new       
,school has abandoned ,bacon1 only to go
 back and wander in      the groves of  
the ,academy1 and to bewilder themselves
 with the      dreams which first arose 
in the fervid imagination of the        
,greeks4      ,without questioning the  
desirableness of this end1 of           
considering      general truths without 
any previous examination of particulars1
 we      may well doubt the power of    
modern philosophers to attain it4       
,again1 they are busy in the enquiry 7to
 adopt their own      phraseology7 after
 the ,real and ,absolute1 as            
distinguished from the      ,apparent4  
,not to repeat the same doubt as to     
their success1 we may      at least     
request them to beware lest they strip  
the truth of its      relation to       
,humanity1 and thus deprive it of its   
usefulness4  ,we quote this passage not 

merely to show how inevitably the best  
intentioned critics of                  
,transcendentalism fell into sarcasm1   
nor to illustrate the species of error  
into which the ,sensational philosophy  
betrayed even candid minds2 but to call 
attention to another point1 namely1 the 
general misconception of the practical  
aims and purposes of the new school4 ,it
 was a common prejudice that            
,transcendentalists were visionaries and
 enthusiasts1 who in pursuit of         
principles neglected duties1 and while  
seeking for ,the ,real and ,the         
,absolute forgot the actual and the     
relative4 ,macaulay puts the case       
strongly in his article on ,lord ,bacon3
       ,to sum up the whole2 we should  
say that the aim of the ,platonic       
philosophy was to exalt man into a ,god4
 ,the aim of the ,baconian              
philosophy was to provide man with what 
he requires while he      continues to  
be man4 ,the aim of the ,platonic       
philosophy was to      raise us far     

above vulgar wants4 ,the aim of the     
,baconian philosophy      was to supply 
our wants4 ,the former aim was noble2   
but the latter      was attainable4     
,plato drew a good bow2 but1 like       
,acestes in ,virgil1      he aimed at   
the stars2 and though there was no want 
of strength and      skill1 the shot was
 thrown away4 ,bacon fixed his eye on a 
mark      which was placed on the earth1
 and within bow shot1 and hit it in     
the white4 ,the philosophy of ,plato    
began in words and ended in             
words--noble words indeed2 words such as
 were to be expected from      the      
finest of human intellects exercising   
boundless control over      the finest  
of human languages4 ,the philosophy of  
,bacon began in      observations and   
ended in arts4 ,the smallest actual good
 is better      than the most           
magnificent promises of impossibilities4
 ,the truth      is1 that in those very 
matters for the sake of which they      
neglected      all the vulgar interests 

of mankind1 the ancient philosophers did
      nothing or worse than             
nothing--they promised what was         
impracticable2 they despised what was   
practicable2 they filled the      world 
with long words and long beards2 and    
they left it as wicked      and as      
ignorant as they found it4  ,substitute 
,idealism for ,platonism1 and           
,transcendentalists for ancient         
philosophers1 and this expresses the    
judgment of sensible men of the last    
generation1 on ,transcendentalism4 ,it  
was not perceived that the two schools  
of philosophy aimed at producing the    
same results1 but by different methods2 
that the ,sensationalist worked up from 
beneath by material processes1 while the
 ,idealist worked downward from above by
 intellectual ones2 that the former     
tried to push men up by mechanical      
appliances1 and the latter endeavored to
 draw them up by spiritual attraction2  
that while the disciples of ,bacon      
operated on man as if he was a complex  

animal1 a creature of nature and of     
circumstances1 who was borne along with 
the material progress of the planet1 but
 had no independent power of flight1 the
 disciples of ,kant and ,fichte assumed 
that man was a creative1 recreative     
force1 a being who had only to be       
conscious of the capacities within him  
to shape circumstances according to the 
pattern shown him on the ,mount4 ,the   
charge of shooting at stars is puerile4 
,the only use they would make of stars  
was to hitch wagons to them4 ,the       
,transcendentalists of ,new ,england    
were the most strenuous workers of their
 day1 and at the problems which the day 
flung down before them4 ,the most       
strenuous1 and the most successful      
workers too4 ,they achieved more        
practical benefit for society1 in       
proportion to their numbers and the     
duration of their existence1 than any   
body of ,baconians of whom we ever      
heard4 ,men and women are healthier in  
their bodies1 happier in their domestic 

and social relations1 more contented in 
their estate1 more ambitious to enlarge 
their opportunities1 more eager to      
acquire knowledge1 more kind and humane 
in their sympathies1 more reasonable in 
their expectations1 than they would have
 been if ,margaret ,fuller and ,ralph   
,waldo ,emerson and ,theodore ,parker   
and ,george ,ripley and ,bronson        
,alcott1 and the rest of their fellow   
believers and fellow workers had not    
lived4 ,it is the fashion of our        
generation to hold that progress is1 and
 must of necessity be1 exceedingly      
gradual2 and that no safe advance is    
ever made except at snail's pace4 ,but  
ever and anon the mind of man refutes   
the notion by starting under the        
influence of a thought1 and leaping over
 long reaches of space at a bound4      
,transcendentalism gave one of these    
demonstrations1 sufficient to refute the
 vulgar prejudice4 ,its brief history   
may have illustrated the truth of       
,wordsworth's lines1      ,that 'tis a  

thing impossible to frame               
,conceptions equal to the ,soul's       
desires2      ,and the most difficult of
 tasks to keep      ,heights which the  
,soul is competent to gain4  ,the       
heights were gained nevertheless1 and   
kept long enough for a view of the land 
of promise2 and ever since1 though the  
ascent is a dim recollection1 and the   
great forms have come to look like      
images in dreams1 and the mighty voices 
are but ghostly echoes1 men and women   
have been happy in laboring for the     
heaven their fathers believed they saw4 
,,vii4  ,,practical ,,tendencies4   ,mr4
 ,emerson--we find ourselves continually
 appealing to him as the finest         
interpreter of the transcendental       
movement--made a confession which its   
enemies were quick to seize on and turn 
to their purpose4       ,it is a sign of
 our times1 conspicuous to the coarsest 
observer1      that many intelligent and
 religious persons withdraw themselves  
from the common labors and competitions 

of the market and the      caucus1 and  
betake themselves to a certain solitary 
and critical      way of living1 from   
which no solid fruit has yet appeared to
      justify their separation4 ,they   
hold themselves aloof2 they feel the    
disproportion between themselves and the
 work offered them1 and      they prefer
 to ramble in the country and perish of 
ennui1 to the      degradation of such  
charities and such ambitions as the city
 can      propose to them4 ,they are    
striking work and crying out for        
somewhat      worthy to do4 ,they are   
lonely2 the spirit of their writing and 
conversation is lonely2 they repel      
influences2 they shun general           
society2 they incline to shut themselves
 in their chamber in the      house2 to 
live in the country rather than in the  
town2 and to find      their tasks and  
amusements in solitude4 ,they are not   
good citizens2      not good members of 
society2 unwillingly they bear their    
part of      the public and private     

burdens2 they do not willingly share in 
the      public charities1 in the public
 religious rites1 in the enterprises    
of education1 of missions1 foreign or   
domestic1 in the abolition of      the  
slave trade1 or in the temperance       
society4 ,they do not even      like to 
vote4 ,the philanthropists inquire      
whether ,transcendentalism      does not
 mean sloth2 they had as lief hear that 
their friend is      dead as that he is 
a ,transcendentalist2 for then is he    
paralyzed1      and can do nothing for  
humanity4  ,this extreme statement must 
not be taken as either complete or      
comprehensive4 ,they who read it in the 
lecture on ,the ,transcendentalist must 
be careful to notice ,mr4 ,emerson's    
qualifications1 that this retirement    
does not proceed from any whim on the   
part of the separators2 that this part  
is chosen both from temperament and from
 principle2 with some unwillingness too1
 and as a choice of the less of two     
evils2 that they are joyous1            

susceptible1 affectionate2 that they    
wish a just and even fellowship or none2
 that what they do is done because they 
are overpowered by the humanities that  
speak on all sides2 that what you call  
your fundamental institutions1 your     
great and holy causes1 seem to them     
great abuses1 and1 when nearly seen1    
paltry matters4 ,but even this apology  
does not quite exonerate his friends4   
,transcendentalism certainly did produce
 its share of idle1 dreamy1 useless     
people--as ,sensationalism produced its 
share of coarse1 greedy1 low-lived and  
bestial ones4 ,but its legitimate fruit 
was earnestness1 aspiration and         
enthusiastic energy4  ,we must begin    
with the philosophy of ,man4 ,the       
,transcendentalist claims for all men as
 a natural endowment what ,evangelical  
,christianity ascribes to the few as a  
special gift of the ,spirit4 ,this faith
 comes to expression continually4 ,the  
numbers of the ,dial are alight with it4
       ,man is a rudiment and embryon of

 ,god3 ,eternity shall develop in       
him the ,divine ,image4       ,the ,soul
 works from centre to periphery1 veiling
 her labors from      the ken of the    
senses4       ,the sensible world is    
spirit in magnitude outspread before the
      senses for their analysis1 but    
whose synthesis is the soul herself1    
whose prothesis is ,god4       ,the time
 may come1 in the endless career of the 
soul1 when the      facts of            
incarnation1 birth1 death1 descent into 
matter1 and      ascension from it1     
shall comprise no part of her history2  
when she      herself shall survey this 
human life with emotions akin to those  
of      the naturalist on examining the 
relics of extinct races of beings4      
,of the perception now fast becoming a  
conscious fact1--that there      is one 
mind1 and that also the powers and      
privileges which lie in      any1 lie in
 all2 that ,i1 as a man1 may claim and  
appropriate      whatever of true or    
fair or good or strong has anywhere been

      exhibited2 that ,moses and        
,confucius1 ,montaigne and ,leibnitz are
 not      so much individuals as they   
are parts of man and parts of me1 and   
my intelligence proves them my          
own1--literature is far the best        
expression4  ,thus ,mr4 ,alcott and ,mr4
 ,emerson4 ,thomas ,t4 ,stone1--a       
modest1 retiring1 deep and interior man1
 a child of the spiritual philosophy1   
which he faithfully lived in and up to1 
and preached with singular fulness and  
richness of power--makes his statement  
thus1 in an article entitled ,man in the
 ,ages1 contributed to the third number 
of the ,dial3       ,man is man1 despite
 of all the lies which would convince   
him he is      not1 despite of all the  
thoughts which would strive to unman    
him4      ,there is a spirit in man1 an 
inspiration from the ,almighty4 ,what   
is1 is4 ,the eternal is eternal2 the    
temporary must pass it by1      leaving 
it to stand evermore4 ,there is now1    
there has been always1      power among 

men to subdue the ages1 to dethrone     
them1 to make them      mere outgoings  
and servitors of man4 ,it is needed only
 that we      assert our                
prerogative1--that man do with hearty   
faith affirm3 ',i      am2 in me being  
is4 ,ages1 ye come and go2 appear and   
disappear2      products1 not life2     
vapors from the surface of the soul1 not
 living      fountain4 ,ye are of me1   
for me1 not ,i of you or for you4 ,not  
with      you my affinity1 but with the 
,eternal4 ,i am2 ,i live2 spirit ,i have
      not2 spirit am ,i4'  ,samuel ,d4  
,robbins1 another earnest prophet of the
 spiritual man1 utters the creed again  
in the way peculiar to himself4         
,there is an infinity in the human soul 
which few have yet      believed1 and   
after which few have aspired4 ,there is 
a lofty power      of moral principle in
 the depths of our nature which is      
nearly      allied to ,omnipotence2     
compared with which the whole force of  
outward nature is more feeble than an   

infant's grasp4 ,there is a             
spiritual insight to which the pure soul
 reaches1 more clear and      prophetic1
 more wide and vast than all telescopic 
vision can      typify4 ,there is a     
faith in ,god1 and a clear perception of
 ,his will      and designs1 and        
providence1 and glory1 which gives to   
its      possessor a confidence and     
patience and sweet composure1 under     
every varied and troubling aspect of    
events1 such as no man can      realize 
who has not felt its influences in his  
own heart4 ,there is      a communion   
with ,god1 in which the soul feels the  
presence of the      unseen ,one1 in the
 profound depths of its being1 with a   
vivid      distinctness and a holy      
reverence such as no word can describe4 
,there is a state of union with ,god1 ,i
 do not say often reached1 yet      it  
has been attained in this world1 in     
which all the past and      present and 
future seem reconciled1 and eternity is 
won and      enjoyed3 and ,god and man1 

earth and heaven1 with all their        
mysteries are apprehended in truth as   
they lie in the mind of the             
,infinite4  ,the poet chimes in with the
 prophet4 ,we marked for quotation      
several passages from the ,dial1 but a  
few detached stanzas must suffice4 ,c4  
,p4 ,cranch opens his lines to the ocean
 thus3      ,tell me1 brothers1 what are
 we8     ,spirits bathing in the sea of 
,deity4     ,half afloat1 and half on   
land1     ,wishing much to leave the    
strand1     ,standing1 gazing with      
devotion1     ,yet afraid to trust the  
ocean1         ,such are we4  ,and thus 
he closes lines to the ,aurora          
,borealis3      ,but a better type thou 
art     ,of the strivings of the heart1 
,reaching upwards from the earth     ,to
 the ,soul that gave it birth4     ,when
 the noiseless beck of night            
,summons out the inner light     ,that  
hath hid its purer ray     ,through the 
lapses of the day1--     ,then like     
thee1 thou ,northern ,morn1             

,instincts which we deemed unborn       
,gushing from their hidden source       
,mount upon their heavenward course1    
,and the spirit seeks to be     ,filled 
with ,god's eternity4  ,that a          
philosophy like this will impel to      
aspiration need not be said2 aspiration 
is the soul of it4 ,the                 
,transcendentalist was constantly on the
 wing4       ,on all hands men's        
existence is converted into a           
preparation for      existence4 ,we do  
not properly live1 in these days2 but   
everywhere      with patent inventions  
and complex arrangements are getting    
ready      to live4 ,the end is lost in 
the means1 life is smothered in         
appliances4 ,we cannot get to ourselves1
 there are so many external             
comforts to wade through4 ,consciousness
 stops half way4 ,reflection      is    
dissipated in the circumstances of our  
environment4 ,goodness is      exhausted
 in aids to goodness1 and all the vigor 
and health of the      soul is expended 

in quack contrivances to build it up4444
 ,what the      age requires is not     
books1 but example1 high1 heroic        
example2 not      words but deeds2 not  
societies but men--men who shall have   
their      root in themselves1 and      
attract and convert the world by the    
beauty      of their fruits4 ,all truth 
must be living1 before it can be        
adequately known or taught4 ,men are    
anterior to systems4 ,great             
doctrines are not the origin1 but the   
product of great lives4 ,the      ,cynic
 practice must precede the ,stoic       
philosophy1 and out of      ,diogenes's 
tub came forth in the end the wisdom of 
,epictetus1 the      eloquence of       
,seneca1 and the piety of ,antonine4444 
,the religious man lives for one great  
object2 to perfect himself1      to     
unite himself by purity with ,god1 to   
fit himself for heaven by               
cherishing within him a heavenly        
disposition4 ,he has discovered         
that he has a soul2 that his soul is    

himself2 that he changes not      with  
the changing things of life1 but        
receives its discipline from      them2 
that man does not live by bread alone1  
but that the most real      of all      
things1 inasmuch as they are the most   
enduring1 are the      things which are 
not seen2 that faith and love and virtue
 are the      sources of his life1 and  
that one realises nothing1 except he lay
      fast hold on them4 ,he extracts a 
moral lesson1 a lesson of      endurance
 or of perseverance for himself1 or a   
new evidence of ,god      and of his own
 immortal destiny1 from every day's hard
 task4  ,that last strain came from the 
man who for many years has been known as
 the foremost musical critic of ,new    
,england1 if not of ,america1 ,john ,s4 
,dwight4 ,another writes3       ,the    
soul lies buried in a ruined city1      
struggling to be free and      calling  
for aid4 ,the worldly trafficker in     
life's caravan hears its      cries1 and
 says1 it is a prisoned maniac4 ,but one

 true man stops      and with painful   
toil lifts aside the crumbling          
fragments2 till at      last he finds   
beneath the choking mass a mangled form 
of exceeding      beauty4 ,dazzling is  
the light to eyes long blind2 weak are  
the      limbs long prisoned2 faint is  
the breath long pent4 ,but oh6 that     
mantling flush1 that liquid eye1 that   
elastic spring of renovated             
strength4 ,the deliverer is folded to   
the breast of an angel4  ,the duty of   
self-culture is made primary and is     
eloquently preached4 ,the piece from    
which this extract is taken1 entitled   
,the ,art of ,life is anonymous1 but    
supposed to be from ,emerson's pen3     
,the work of life1 so far as the        
individual is concerned1 and that       
to which the scholar is particularly    
called1 is ,self-,culture1      the     
perfect unfolding of our individual     
nature4 ,to this end above      all     
others1 the art of which ,i speak       
directs our attention and      points   

our endeavor4 ,there is no man1 it is   
presumed1 to whom this      object is   
wholly indifferent1 who would not       
willingly possess this      too1 along  
with other prizes1 provided the         
attainment of it were      compatible   
with personal ease and worldly good4    
,but the business of      self-culture  
admits of no compromise4 ,either it must
 be made a      distinct aim or wholly  
abandoned4  ,but it is time wasted to   
speak on this point4 ,it has been       
objected to ,transcendentalism that it  
made self-culture too important1        
carrying it to the point of selfishness1
 sacrificing in its behalf1 sympathy1   
brotherly love1 sentiments of           
patriotism1 personal fidelity and honor1
 and rejoicing in the production of a   
mountainous ,me fed at the expense of   
life's sweetest humanities2 and ,goethe 
is straightway cited as the             
,transcendental apostle of the gospel of
 heartless indifference4 ,but allowing  
the charge against ,goethe to rest      

unrefuted1 it must be made against him  
as a man1 not as a ,transcendentalist2  
and even were it true of him as a       
,transcendentalist1 it was not true of  
,kant or ,fichte1 of ,schleiermacher or 
,herder2 of ,jean ,paul or ,novalis2 of 
,coleridge1 ,carlyle or ,wordsworth2 and
 who ever intimated that it was true of 
,emerson1 who has been one of the most  
industrious teachers of his generation1 
and one of the most earnest worshippers 
of the genius of his native land2--of   
,margaret ,fuller1 whose life was a     
quickening flood of intellectual        
influence2--of ,bronson ,alcott1 who1   
every winter for years1 has carried his 
seed corn to the far ,west1 seeking only
 a receptive furrow for his treasured   
being2--of ,theodore ,parker1 who       
sacrificed precious days of study1 his  
soul's passion for knowledge1 his       
honorable ambition to achieve a         
scholar's fame1 in order that his       
country1 in her time of trial1 might not
 want what he was able to give2--of ,wm4

 ,henry ,channing1 to whom the thought  
of humanity is an inspiration1 and      
sacrifice an all sufficing joy2--of     
,george ,ripley1 who offered himself1   
all that he had and was1 that the       
experiment of an honest friendly society
 might be fairly tried8 ,by self-culture
 these and the rest of their brotherhood
 meant the culture of that nobler self  
which includes heart1 and conscience1   
sympathy and spirituality1 not as       
incidental ingredients1 but as essential
 qualities4 ,self-hood they never       
identified with selfishness2 nor did    
they ever confound or associate its     
attainment with the acquisition of      
place1 power1 wealth1 or eminent repute2
 the person was more to them than the   
individual2 they sought no reward except
 for service2 and the consciousness of  
serving faithfully was their best       
reward4  ,to ,transcendentalism belongs 
the credit of inaugurating the theory   
and practice of dietetics which is      
preached so assiduously now by          

enlightened physiologists4 ,the people  
who regarded man as a soul1 first taught
 the wisdom that is now inculcated by   
people who regard man as a body4 ,the   
doctrine that human beings live on air  
and light2 that food should be simple   
and nutritious2 that coarse meats should
 be discarded and fiery liquors         
abolished2 that wines should be         
substituted for spirits1 light wines for
 heavy1 and pure water for wines2--has  
in all ages been taught by mystics and  
idealists4 ,the ancient master of it was
 ,pythagoras4 ,their idea was1 that as  
the body was1 for the time being1 the   
dwelling-place of the soul1 its lodging 
and home1 its prison or its palace1 its 
organ1 its instrument1 its box of tools1
 the medium of its activity1 it must be 
kept in perfect condition for these high
 offices4 ,they honored the flesh in the
 nobility of their care of it4 ,no sour 
ascetics they1 but generous feeders on  
essences and elixirs2 no mortifiers of  
matter1 but purifiers and refiners of   

it2 regarding it as too exquisitely     
mingled and tempered a substance to be  
tortured and imbruted4 ,the materialist 
prescribes temperance1 continence1      
sobriety1 in order that life may be     
long1 and comfortable1 and free from    
disease4 ,the idealist prescribes them1 
in order that life may be intellectual1 
serene1 pacific1 beneficent4  ,the chief
 mystic of the transcendental band has  
been the chief prophet of this innocent 
word4 ,the ,new ,ideas1 wrote ,mr4      
,alcott1 bear direct on all the         
economies of life4 ,they will revise old
 methods1 and institute new cultures4 ,i
 look with special hope to their effect 
on the regimen of the land4 ,our present
 modes of agriculture exhaust the soil1 
and must1 while life is made thus       
sensual and secular2 the narrow         
covetousness which prevails in trade1 in
 labor1 in exchanges1 ends in depraving 
the land2 it breeds disease1 decline1 in
 the flesh1--debauches and consumes the 
heart4 ,the ,soul's ,banquet is an art  

divine4 ,to mould this statue of flesh  
from chaste materials1 kneading it into 
comeliness and strength1 this is        
,promethean2 and this we practise1 well 
or ill1 in all our thoughts1 acts1      
desires4 ,i would abstain from the      
fruits of oppression and blood1 and am  
seeking means of entire independence4   
,this1 were ,i not holden by penury     
unjustly1 would be possible4 ,one       
miracle we have wrought nevertheless1   
and shall soon work all of them2--our   
wine is water1--flesh1 bread2--drugs1   
fruits2--and we defy1 meekly1 the satyrs
 all1 and ,esculapius4  ,it was the     
doctrine of the ,samian ,sage1 that     
whatsoever food obstructs divination1 is
 prejudicial to purity and chastity of  
mind and body1 to temperance1 health1   
sweetness of disposition1 suavity of    
manners1 grace of form and dignity of   
carriage1 should be shunned4 ,especially
 should those who would apprehend the   
deepest wisdom1 and preserve through    
life the relish for elegant studies and 

pursuits1 abstain from flesh1 cherishing
 the justice which animals claim at     
men's hands1 nor slaughtering them for  
food or profit4 ,a purer civilization   
than ours can yet claim to be1 is to    
inspire the genius of mankind with the  
skill to deal dutifully with soils and  
souls1 exalt agriculture and manculture 
into a religion of art2 the freer       
interchange of commodities which the    
current world-wide intercourse promotes1
 spreads a more various1 wholesome1     
classic table1 whereby the race shall be
 refined of traits reminding too plainly
 of barbarism and the beast4 ,said      
,timotheus of ,plato1 they who dine with
 the philosopher have nothing to        
complain of the next morning4 ,that the 
doctrine has its warm1 glowing side1    
appears in a characteristic poem in the 
little volume called ,tablets4  ,the    
anchorite's plea was not always as good 
as his practice4 ,arguing the point once
 with a sagacious man of the world1 he  
urged as a reason for abstinence from   

animal food that one thereby distanced  
the animal4 ,for the eating of beef     
encouraged the bovine quality1 and the  
pork diet repeats the trick of ,circe1  
and changes men into swine4 ,but1       
rejoined the friend1 if abstinence from 
animal food leaves the animal out1 does 
not partaking of vegetable food put the 
vegetable in8 ,i presume the potato diet
 will change man into a potato4 ,and    
what if the potatoes be small6 ,the     
philosopher's reply is not recorded4    
,but in his case the beast did          
disappear1 and the leek has never become
 prominent4 ,in his case health1        
strength1 agility1 sprightliness1       
cheerfulness1 have been wholly          
compatible with disuse of animal food4  
,few men have preserved the best uses of
 body and mind so long unimpaired4 ,few 
have lost so few days2 have misused so  
few2 are able to give a good account of 
so many4 ,the vegetarian of seventy-six 
shames many a cannibal of forty4  ,the  
,transcendentalist was by nature a      

reformer4 ,he could not be satisfied    
with men as they were4 ,his doctrine of 
the capacities of men1 even in its most 
moderate statement1 kindled to          
enthusiasm his hope of change4 ,however 
his disgust may have kept him aloof for 
a time1 his sympathy soon brought him   
back1 and his faith sent him to the     
front of the battle4 ,in beginning his  
lecture on ,man ,the ,reformer1 ,mr4    
,emerson does not dissemble his hope    
that each person whom he addresses has  
felt his own call to cast aside all evil
 customs1 timidities and limitations1   
and to be in his place a free and       
helpful man1 a reformer1 a benefactor1  
not content to slip through the world   
like a footman or a spy1 escaping by his
 nimbleness and apologies as many knocks
 as he can1 but a brave and upright man1
 who must find or cut a straight path to
 everything excellent in the earth1 and 
not only go honorably himself1 but make 
it easier for all who follow him1 to go 
in honor and with benefit4 ,the power1  

he declares1 which is at once spring and
 regulator in all efforts of reform1 is 
the conviction that there is an infinite
 worthiness in man1 which will appear at
 the call of worth1 and that all        
particular reforms are the removing of  
some impediment4 ,is it not the highest 
duty that man should be honored in us8  
,in the history of the world the same   
great teacher remarks1 the doctrine of  
,reform had never such scope as at the  
present hour4 ,lutherans1               
,herrnhuetters1 ,jesuits1 ,monks1       
,quakers1 ,knox1 ,wesley1 ,swedenborg1  
,bentham1 in their accusations of       
society1 all respected                  
something1--church or state1 literature 
or history1 domestic usages1 the market 
town1 the dinner table1 coined money4   
,but now all these and all things else  
hear the trumpet and must rush to       
judgment1--,christianity1 the laws1     
commerce1 schools1 the farm1 the        
laboratory3 and not a kingdom1 town1    
statute1 rite1 calling1 man1 or woman   

but is threatened by the new spirit4    
,let me feel that ,i am to be a lover4  
,i am to see to it that the world is the
 better for me1 and to find my reward in
 the act4 ,love would put a new face on 
this weary old world in which we dwell  
as pagans and enemies too long1 and it  
would warm the heart to see how fast the
 vain diplomacy of statesmen1 the       
impotence of armies1 and navies1 and    
lines of defence1 would be superseded by
 this unarmed child4  ,the method of    
reform followed from the principle4 ,it 
was the method of individual awakening  
and regeneration1 and was to be         
conducted through the simplest          
ministries of family1 neighborhood1     
fraternity1 quite wide of associations  
and institutions4 ,the true reformer1 it
 was proclaimed1 initiates his labor in 
the precincts of private life1 and makes
 it1 not a set of measures1 not an      
utterance1 not a pledge merely1 but a   
life2 and not an impulse of a day1 but  
commensurate with human existence3 a    

tendency towards perfection of being4   
,the ,transcendentalist might easily    
become an enthusiast from excess of     
faith2 but a fanatic1 with a tinge of   
melancholy in his disposition1 a drop of
 malignity in his blood1 he could not   
be4 ,he was less a reformer of human    
circumstance than a regenerator of the  
human spirit1 and he was never a        
destroyer except as destruction         
accompanied the process of regeneration4
  ,this fine positive purpose appeared  
in all he undertook4 ,with movements    
that did not start from this primary    
assumption of individual dignity1 and   
come back to that as their goal1 he had 
nothing to do4 ,was he an anti-slavery  
man--and he was certain to be one at    
heart--the ,transcendentalists were     
glowing friends of that reform1--he was 
so because his philosophy compelled him 
to see in the slave the same humanity   
that appeared in the master2 in the     
,african the same possibilities that    
were confessed in the ,frank1 the       

,anglo-,saxon1 and the ,celt4 ,did he   
take up the cause of education1 it was  
as a believer in the latent capacity of 
every child1 boy or girl2 as an earnest 
wisher that such capacity might be      
stimulated by the best methods1 and     
directed to the best ends4 ,what he     
effected1 or tried to effect in this way
 will be understood by the reader of the
 record of ,mr4 ,alcott's school2 that  
bold and original attempt at educating1 
leading or drawing out young minds1     
which showed such remarkable promise1   
and would have achieved such remarkable 
results had more faithful trial of its  
method been possible4 ,was he a reformer
 of society1 it was as a vitalizer1 not 
as a machinist4  ,in no respect does the
 ,transcendentalist's idea of social    
reform stand out more conspicuously than
 in this4 ,with an incessant and        
passionate aspiration after a pure      
social state1--deeply convinced of the  
mistakes1 profoundly sensible of the    
miseries of the actual condition1 he    

would not be committed to experiments   
that did not assume his first           
principle--the supreme dignity of the   
individual man4 ,the systems of ,french 
socialism he distrusted from the first2 
for they proceeded on the ground that   
man is not a self determined being1 but 
a creature of circumstance4 ,mr4 ,albert
 ,brisbane's attempt to domesticate     
,fourierism among us was cordially      
considered1 but not cordially welcomed4 
,he seemed to have no spiritual depth of
 foundation2 his proposition to imprison
 man in a ,phalanx1 was rejected2 his   
omission of moral freedom in the scheme 
was resented2 no sincerity1 no keenness 
of criticism1 no exposure of existing   
evils or indignation of protest against 
them1 disarmed the jealousy of endeavors
 to reconstruct society1 as if human    
beings were piles of brick or lumps of  
mortar4  ,in #ahda a community was      
planned in ,massachusetts1 by ,liberal  
,christians of the ,universalist sect4  
,though never put in operation it did   

not escape the criticism of the ,dial4  
,the good points were recognized and    
commended2 the moral features were      
praised as showing a deep insight into  
the ,christian idea1 and the articles of
 confederation were pronounced admirable
 in judgment and form1 with a single    
exception1 which however was fatal4     
,admittance of members was conditioned  
on pledges of non-resistance1 abolition1
 temperance1 abstinence from voting1 and
 such like4 ,though these conditions    
were easy enough in themselves1 and were
 expressed in the most conciliatory     
spirit1 they were justly regarded as    
giving to the community the character of
 a church or party1 much less than world
 embracing4 ,a true community1 it was   
declared1 can be founded on nothing     
short of faith in the universal man1 as 
he comes out of the hands of the        
,creator1 with no law over his liberty  
but the eternal ideas that lie at the   
foundation of his being4 ,the final     
cause of human society is the unfolding 

of the individual man1 into every form  
of perfection1 without let or hindrance1
 according to the inward nature of each4
  ,when the ,brook ,farm experiment was 
under way at ,west ,roxbury1 its        
initiators were warned against three    
dangers3 the first1 ,organization1 which
 begins by being an instrument and ends 
by being a master2 the second1          
,endowment1 which promises to be a swift
 helper1 and is1 ere long1 a stifling   
encumbrance2 the third1 the spirit of   
,coterie1 which would in no long time1  
shrink their rock of ages to a platform1
 diminish their brotherhood to a clique1
 and reduce their aims to experiences4  
,brook ,farm1 whereof it is not probable
 that a history will ever be written1   
for the reason that there were in it    
slender materials for history1--though  
there were abundant materials for       
thought1--was projected on the purest   
transcendental basis4 ,it was neither   
,european nor ,english1 neither ,french 
nor ,german in its origin4 ,no doubt1   

among the supporters and friends of it  
were some who had made themselves       
acquainted with the writings of ,st4    
,simon and ,chevalier1 of ,proudhon and 
,fourier2 but it does not appear that   
any of these authors shaped or          
prescribed the plan1 or influenced the  
spirit of the enterprise4 ,the          
,constitution which is printed herewith 
explains sufficiently the project1 and  
expresses the spirit in which it was    
undertaken4 ,the jealous regard for the 
rights of the individual is not the     
least characteristic feature of this    
remarkable document4 ,the ,by-,laws1    
which want of space excludes from these 
pages1 simply confirm the provisions    
that were made to guard the person      
against unnecessary infringement of     
independence4        ,,constitution4    
,in order more effectually to promote   
the great purposes of human             
culture2 to establish the external      
relations of life on a basis of         
wisdom and purity2 to apply the         

principles of justice and love to       
our social organization in accordance   
with the laws of ,divine                
,providence2 to substitute a system of  
brotherly cooperation for one      of   
selfish competition2 to secure to our   
children and those who may      be      
entrusted to our care1 the benefits of  
the highest physical1      intellectual 
and moral education1 which in the       
progress of      knowledge the resources
 at our command will permit2 to         
institute an      attractive1 efficient1
 and productive system of industry2 to  
prevent the exercise of worldly anxiety1
 by the competent supply of      our    
necessary wants2 to diminish the desire 
of excessive      accumulation1 by      
making the acquisition of individual    
property      subservient to upright and
 disinterested uses2 to guarantee to    
each      other forever the means of    
physical support1 and of spiritual      
progress2 and thus to impart a greater  
freedom1 simplicity1      truthfulness1 

refinement1 and moral dignity1 to our   
mode of      life2--we the undersigned  
do unite in a voluntary ,association1   
and      adopt and ordain the following 
articles of agreement1 to wit3          
,,article ,i4       ,,name ,,and        
,,membership4       ,,sec4 #a4 ,the name
 of this ,association shall be ,,the    
,,brook-,,farm      ,,association ,,for 
,,industry ,,and ,,education4 ,all      
persons who shall hold      one or more 
shares in its stock1 or whose labor and 
skill shall be      considered an       
equivalent for capital1 may be admitted 
by the vote      of two-thirds of the   
,association1 as members thereof4       
,,sec4 #b4 ,no member of the            
,association shall ever be subjected to 
any      religious test2 nor shall any  
authority be assumed over individual    
freedom of opinion by the ,association1 
nor by one member over      another2 nor
 shall any one be held accountable to   
the ,association1      except for such  
overt acts1 or omissions of duty1 as    

violate the      principles of justice1 
purity1 and love1 on which it is        
founded2      and in such cases the     
relation of any member may be suspended 
or      discontinued1 at the pleasure of
 the ,association4        ,,article     
,,ii4       ,,capital ,,stock4          
,,sec4 #a4 ,the members of this         
,association shall own and manage such  
real and personal estate in joint stock 
proprietorship1 divided      into shares
 of one hundred dollars each1 as may    
from time to time      be agreed on4    
,,sec4 #b4 ,no shareholder shall be     
liable to any assessment whatever       
on the shares held by him2 nor shall he 
be held responsible      individually in
 his private property on account of the 
,association2      nor shall the        
,trustees1 or any officer or agent of   
the ,association1      have any         
authority to do any thing which shall   
impose personal      responsibility on  
any shareholder1 by making any contracts
 or      incurring any debts for which  

the shareholders shall be               
individually or personally responsible4 
,,sec4 #c4 ,the ,association guarantees 
to each shareholder the interest      of
 five per cent4 annually on the amount  
of stock held by him in      the        
,association1 and this interest may be  
paid in certificates of      stock and  
credited on the books of the            
,association2 provided that      each   
shareholder may draw on the funds of the
 ,association for the      amount of    
interest due at the third annual        
settlement from the time      of        
investment4       ,,sec4 #d4 ,the       
shareholders on their part1 for         
themselves1 their heirs      and        
assigns1 do renounce all claim on any   
profits accruing to the                 
,association for the use of their       
capital invested in the stock of        
the ,association1 except five per cent4 
interest on the amount of      stock    
held by them1 payable in the manner     
described in the      preceding section4

        ,,article ,,iii4                
,,guaranties4       ,,sec4 #a4 ,the     
,association shall provide such         
employment for all its      members as  
shall be adapted to their capacities1   
habits1 and      tastes2 and each member
 shall select and perform such          
operations of      labor1 whether       
corporal or mental1 as shall be deemed  
best suited      to his own endowments  
and the benefit of the ,association4    
,,sec4 #b4 ,the ,association guarantees 
to all its members1 their      children 
and family dependents1 house-rent1 fuel1
 food1 and      clothing1 and the other 
necessaries of life1 without charge1 not
      exceeding a certain fixed amount  
to be decided annually by the           
,association2 no charge shall ever be   
made for support during      inability  
to labor from sickness or old age1 or   
for medical or      nursing attendance1 
except in case of shareholders1 who     
shall be      charged therefor1 and also
 for the food and clothing of children1 

to an amount not exceeding the interest 
due to them on settlement2      but no  
charge shall be made to any members for 
education or the use      of library and
 public rooms4       ,,sec4 #c4 ,members
 may withdraw from labor1 under the     
direction of the      ,association1 and 
in that case1 they shall not be entitled
 to the      benefit of the above       
guaranties4       ,,sec4 #d4 ,children  
over ten years of age shall be provided 
with      employment in suitable        
branches of industry2 they shall be     
credited      for such portions of each 
annual dividend1 as shall be decided by 
the ,association1 and on the completion 
of their education in the               
,association at the age of twenty1 shall
 be entitled to a      certificate of   
stock to the amount of credits in their 
favor1 and      may be admitted as      
members of the ,association4            
,,article ,,iv4       ,,distribution    
,,of ,,profits4       ,,sec4 #a4 ,the   
net profits of the ,association1 after  

the payment of      all expenses1 shall 
be divided into a number of shares      
corresponding to the number of days'    
labor2 and every member shall      be   
entitled to one share of every day's    
labor performed by him4       ,,sec4 #b4
 ,a full settlement shall be made with  
every member once a      year1 and      
certificates of stock given for all     
balances due2 but in      case of need1 
to be decided by himself1 every member  
may be      permitted to draw on the    
funds in the ,treasury to an amount not 
exceeding the credits in his favor for  
labor performed4        ,,article ,v4   
,,government4       ,,sec4 #a4 ,the     
government of the ,association shall be 
vested in a      board of ,directors1   
divided into four departments1 as       
follows2 #ast1      ,general ,direction2
 #b;d1 ,direction of ,education2 #c;d1  
,direction of      ,industry2 #dth1     
,direction of ,finance2 consisting of   
three persons      each1 provided that  
the same person may be elected member of

 each      ,direction4       ,,sec4 #b4 
,the ,general ,direction and ,direction 
of ,education shall be      chosen      
annually1 by the vote of a majority of  
the members of the      ,association4   
,the ,direction of ,finance shall be    
chosen annually1 by      the vote of a  
majority of the share-holders and       
members of the      ,association4 ,the  
direction of ,industry shall consist of 
the chiefs      of the three primary    
series4       ,,sec4 #c4 ,the chairman  
of the ,general ,direction shall be the 
,president of the ,association1 and     
together with the ,direction of         
,finance1 shall constitute a board of   
,trustees1 by whom the property      of 
the ,association shall be held and      
managed4       ,,sec4 #d4 ,the ,general 
,direction shall oversee and manage the 
affairs      of the ,association1 so    
that every department shall be carried  
on in      an orderly and efficient     
manner4       ,,sec4 #e4 ,the           
departments of ,education and ,finance  

shall be under the      control each of 
its own ,direction1 which shall select1 
and in      concurrence with the        
,general ,direction1 shall appoint such 
teachers1 officers1 and agents1 as shall
 be necessary to the      complete and  
systematic organization of the          
department4 ,no      ,directors or other
 officers shall be deemed to possess any
 rank      superior to the other members
 of the ,association1 nor shall they    
receive any extra remuneration for their
 official services4       ,,sec4 #f4    
,the department of industry shall be    
arranged in groups and      series1 as  
far as practicable1 and shall consist of
 three primary      series2 to wit1     
,agricultural1 ,mechanical1 and         
,domestic ,industry4      ,the chief of 
each series shall be elected every two  
months by the      members thereof1     
subject to the approval of the general  
,direction4      ,the chief of each     
group shall be chosen weekly by its     
members4        ,,article ,,vi4         

,,miscellaneous4       ,,sec4 #a4 ,the  
,association may from time to time adopt
 such by-laws1      not inconsistent    
with the spirit and purpose of these    
articles1 as      shall be found        
expedient or necessary4       ,,sec4 #b4
 ,in order to secure to the ,association
 the benefits of the      highest       
discoveries in social science1 and to   
preserve its fidelity      to the       
principles of progress and reform1 on   
which it is founded1      any amendment 
may be proposed to this ,constitution at
 a meeting      called for the purpose2 
and if approved by two-thirds of the    
members at a subsequent meeting1 at     
least one month after the date      of  
the first1 shall be adopted4  ,from this
 it appears that the association was    
simply an attempt to return to first    
principles1 to plant the seeds of a new 
social order1 founded on respect for the
 dignity1 and sympathy with the         
aspirations of man4 ,it was open to all 
sects2 it admitted1 welcomed1 nay1      

demanded all kinds and degrees of       
intellectual culture4 ,the most profound
 regard for individual opinion1 feeling 
and inclination1 was professed and      
exhibited4 ,confidence that surrender to
 the spontaneous principle1 with no more
 restriction than might be necessary to 
secure its development1 was wisest1 lay 
at the bottom of the scheme4  ,it was   
felt at this time1 #ahdb1 that1 in order
 to live a religious and moral life in  
sincerity1 it was necessary to leave the
 world of institutions1 and to          
reconstruct the social order from new   
beginnings4 ,a farm was bought in close 
vicinity to ,boston2 agriculture was    
made the basis of the life1 as bringing 
man into direct and simple relations    
with nature1 and restoring labor to     
honest conditions4 ,to a certain extent1
 it will be seen1 the principle of      
community in property was recognized1   
community of interest and cooperation   
requiring it2 but to satisfy the claims 
and insure the rights of the individual1

 members were not required to impoverish
 themselves1 or to resign the fruit of  
their earnings4  ,provisions were either
 raised on the farm or purchased at     
wholesale4 ,meals were eaten in commons4
 ,it was the rule that all should       
labor--choosing their occupations1 and  
the number of hours1 and receiving wages
 according to the hours4 ,no labor was  
hired that could be supplied within the 
community2 and all labor was rewarded   
alike1 on the principle that physical   
labor is more irksome than mental1 more 
absorbing and exacting1 less improving  
and delightful4 ,moreover1 to recognize 
practically the nobility of labor in and
 of itself1 none were appointed to      
special kinds of work4 ,all took their  
turn at the several branches of         
employment4 ,none were drudges or       
menials4 ,the intellectual gave a       
portion of their time to tasks such as  
servants and handmaidens usually        
discharge4 ,the unintellectual were     
allowed a portion of their time for     

mental cultivation4 ,the benefits of    
social intercourse were thrown open to  
all4 ,the aim was to secure as many     
hours as practicable from the necessary 
toil of providing for the wants of the  
body1 that there might be more leisure  
to provide for the deeper wants of the  
soul4 ,the acquisition of wealth was no 
object4 ,no more thought was given to   
this than the exigencies of existence   
demanded4 ,to live1 expand1 enjoy as    
rational beings1 was the never-forgotten
 aim4  ,the community trafficked by way 
of exchange and barter with the outside 
world2 sold its surplus produce2 sold   
its culture to as many as came or sent  
children to be taught4 ,it was hoped    
that from the accumulated results of all
 this labor1 the appliances for         
intellectual and spiritual health might 
be obtained2 that books might be bought1
 works of art1 scientific collections   
and apparatus1 means of decoration and  
refinement1 all of which should be open 
on the same terms to every member of the

 association4 ,the principle of         
cooperation was substituted for the     
principle of competition2 self          
development for selfishness4 ,the faith 
was avowed in every arrangement that the
 soul of humanity was in each man and   
woman4  ,the reputation for genius1     
accomplishment and wit1 which the       
founders of the ,brook ,farm enterprise 
enjoyed in society1 attracted towards it
 the attention of the public1 and       
awakened expectation of something much  
more than ordinary in the way of        
literary advantages4 ,the settlement    
became a resort for cultivated men and  
women who had experience as teachers and
 wished to employ their talent to the   
best effect2 and for others who were    
tired of the conventionalities1 and     
sighed for honest relations with their  
fellow-beings4 ,some took advantage of  
the easy hospitality of the association1
 and came there to live mainly at its   
expense--their unskilled and incidental 
labor being no compensation for their   

entertainment4 ,the most successful     
department was the school4 ,pupils came 
thither in considerable numbers and from
 considerable distances4 ,distinguished 
visitors gave charm and reputation to   
the place4  ,the members were never     
numerous2 the number varied considerably
 from year to year4 ,seventy was a fair 
average2 of these1 fewer than half were 
young persons sent thither to be        
educated4 ,several adults came for      
intellectual assistance4 ,of married    
people there were1 in #ahdd1 but four   
pairs4 ,a great deal was taught and     
learned at ,brook ,farm4 ,classics1     
mathematics1 general literature1        
aesthetics1 occupied the busy hours4    
,the most productive work was done in   
these ideal fields1 and the best result 
of it was a harvest in the ideal world1 
a new sense of life's elasticity and    
joy1 the delight of freedom1 the        
innocent satisfaction of spontaneous    
relations4  ,the details above given    
convey no adequate idea of the ,brook   

,farm fraternity4 ,in one sense it was  
much less than they imply2 in another   
sense it was much more4 ,it was less1   
because its plan was not materially     
successful2 the intention was defeated  
by circumstances2 the hope turned out to
 be a dream4 ,yet1 from another aspect1 
the experiment fully justified itself4  
,its moral tone was high2 its moral     
influence sweet and sunny4 ,had ,brook  
,farm been a community in the accepted  
sense1 had it insisted on absolute      
community of goods1 the resignation of  
opinions1 of personal aims interests or 
sympathies2 had the principle of        
renunciation1 sacrifice of the          
individual to the common weal1 been     
accepted and maintained1 its existence  
might have been continued and its       
pecuniary basis made sure4 ,but         
asceticism was no feature of the        
original scheme4 ,on the contrary1 the  
projectors of it were believers in the  
capacities of the soul1 in the safety1  
wisdom and imperative necessity of      

developing those capacities1 and in the 
benign effect of liberty4 ,had the      
spirit of rivalry and antagonism been   
called in1 the sectarian or party       
spirit1 however generously interpreted1 
the result would probably have been     
different4 ,but the law of sympathy     
being accepted as the law of life1      
exclusion was out of the question2      
inquisition into beliefs was            
inadmissible2 motives even could not be 
closely scanned2 so while some were     
enthusiastic friends of the principle of
 association1 and some were ardent      
devotees to liberty1 others thought     
chiefly of their private education and  
development2 and others still were      
attracted by a desire of improving their
 social condition1 or attaining comfort 
on easy terms4 ,the idea1 however noble1
 true1 and lovely1 was unable to grapple
 with elements so discordant4 ,yet the  
fact that these discordant elements did 
not1 even in the brief period of the    
fraternity's existence1 utterly rend and

 abolish the idea2 that to the last1 no 
principle was compromised1 no rule      
broken1 no aspiration bedraggled1 is a  
confession of the purity and vitality of
 the creative thought4 ,that a mere     
aggregation of persons1 without written 
compact1 formal understanding1 or unity 
of purpose1 men1 women and children1    
should have lived together1 four or five
 years1 without scandal or reproach from
 dissension or evil whisper1 should have
 separated without rancor or bitterness1
 and should have left none but the      
pleasantest savor behind them--is a     
tribute to the ,transcendental ,faith4  
,in #ahdd1 the ,directors of the        
,association1 ,george ,ripley1 ,minot   
,pratt1 and ,charles ,anderson ,dana1   
published a statement1 declaring3 that  
every step had strengthened the faith   
with which they set out2 that their     
belief in a divine order of human       
society had in their minds become an    
absolute certainty2 that1 in their      
judgment1 considering the state of      

humanity and of social science1 the     
world was much nearer the attainment of 
such a condition than was generally     
supposed4 ,they here said emphatically  
that ,fourier's doctrine of universal   
unity commanded their unqualified       
assent1 and that their whole observation
 had satisfied them of the practical    
arrangements which he deduced therefrom1
 of the correspondence of the law of    
groups and series with the law of human 
nature4 ,at this time the farm contained
 two hundred and eight acres1 and could 
be enlarged to any extent necessary4    
,the ,association held property worth   
nearly or quite thirty thousand dollars1
 of which about twenty-two thousand was 
invested1 either in the stock of the    
company or in permanent loans to it at  
six per cent41 which could remain as    
long as the ,association might wish4    
,the organization was pronounced to be  
in a satisfactory working condition2 the
 ,department of ,education1 on which    
much thought had been bestowed1 was     

flourishing4 ,with a view to an ultimate
 expansion into a perfect ,phalanx1 it  
was proposed to organize the three      
primary departments of labor1 namely1   
,agriculture1 ,domestic ,industry1 and  
the ,mechanical ,arts4 ,public meetings 
had awakened an interest in the         
community4 ,appeals for money had been  
generously answered4 ,the numbers had   
been increased by the accession of many 
skilful and enthusiastic laborers in    
various departments4 ,about ten thousand
 dollars had been added by subscription 
to the capital4 ,a work-shop sixty feet 
by twenty-eight had been erected2 a     
,phalanstery1 or unitary dwelling on a  
large scale1 was in process of erection1
 to meet the early needs of the         
preparatory period1 until success should
 authorize the building of a            
,phalanstery with the magnificence and  
permanence proper to such a structure4  
,the prospect was1 or looked1           
encouraging4 ,the experiment had been   
tested by the hard discipline of more   

than two years2 the severest            
difficulties had apparently been        
conquered2 the arrangements had attained
 systematic form1 as far as the limited 
numbers permitted2 the idea was         
respectfully entertained2 socialism was 
spreading2 it embraced persons of every 
station in life2 and in its extent1 and 
influence on questions of importance1 it
 seemed1 to enthusiastic believers1 to  
be fast assuming in the ,united ,states 
a national character4 ,this was in      
,october #ahdd4 ,at this time the ,brook
 ,farm ,associationists connected       
themselves with the ,new ,york          
,socialists who accepted the teachings  
of ,fourier2 and the efforts described  
were put forth in aid of the new and    
more systematic plans that had been     
adopted4 ,but this coalition1 which     
promised so much1 proved disastrous in  
its result4 ,the ,association was unable
 to sustain industrial competition with 
established trades4 ,the expenses were  
more than the receipts4 ,in the spring  

of #ahdg the ,phalanstery was burned    
down2 the summer was occupied in closing
 up the affairs2 and in the autumn the  
,association was broken up4 ,the members
 betook themselves to the world again1  
and engaged in the ordinary pursuits of 
life4 ,the farm was bought by the town  
of ,west ,roxbury1 and afterwards passed
 into private hands4 ,during the civil  
war the government used it for military 
purposes4 ,the main building has since  
been occupied as a hospital4 ,the       
leaders of the ,association removed to  
,new ,york1 and for about a year1 till  
,february #ahdi1 continued their labors 
of propagandism by means of the         
,harbinger1 till that expired3 then     
their dream faded away4  ,the full      
history of that movement can be written 
only by one who belonged to it1 and     
shared its secret3 and it would         
doubtless have been written before this1
 had the materials for a history been   
more solid4 ,aspirations have no        
history4 ,it is pleasant to hear the    

survivors of the pastoral experiment    
talk over their experiences1 merrily    
recall the passages in work or play1    
revive the impressions of country       
rambles1 conversations1 discussions1    
social festivities1 recount the comical 
mishaps1 summon the shadows of friends  
dead1 but unforgotten1 and describe the 
hours spent in study or recreation1     
unspoiled by carefulness4 ,but it is in 
private alone that these confidences are
 imparted4 ,to the public very little   
has been1 or will be1 or can be told4   
,mr4 ,hawthorne was one of the first to 
take up the scheme4 ,he was there a     
little while at the beginning in #ahda1 
and his note-books contain passages that
 are of interest4 ,but ,hawthorne's     
temperament was not congenial with such 
an atmosphere1 nor was his faith clear  
or steadfast enough to rest contented on
 its idea4 ,his1 however1 were observing
 eyes2 and his notes1 being soliloquies1
 confessions made to himself1 convey his
 honest impressions3       ,,brook      

,,farm1 ,april #acth1 #ahda4 ,i have not
 taken yet my first lesson      in      
agriculture1 except that ,i went to see 
our cows foddered1      yesterday       
afternoon4 ,we have eight of our own2   
and the number is      now increased by 
a ,transcendental heifer belonging to   
,miss ,margaret      ,fuller4 ,she is   
very fractious1 ,i believe1 and apt to  
kick over the      milk pail4444 ,i     
intend to convert myself into a         
milk-maid this      evening1 but ,i pray
 ,heaven that ,mr4 ,ripley may be moved 
to assign      me the kindliest cow in  
the herd1 otherwise ,i shall perform my 
duties with fear and trembling4 ,i like 
my brethren in affliction      very     
well1 and could you see us sitting round
 our table at meal      times1 before   
the great kitchen fire1 you would call  
it a cheerful      sight4       ,april  
#ad4 ,i did not milk the cows last      
night1 because ,mr4 ,r4 was      afraid 
to trust them to my hands1 or me to     
their horns1 ,i know not      which4    

,but this morning ,i have done wonders4 
,before breakfast ,i      went out to   
the barn and began to chop hay for the  
cattle1 and with      such righteous    
vehemence1 as ,mr4 ,r4 says1 did ,i     
labor1 that in      the space of ten    
minutes ,i broke the machine4 ,then ,i  
brought wood      and replenished the   
fires2 and finally went down to         
breakfast1 and      ate up a huge mound 
of buckwheat cakes4 ,after breakfast    
,mr4 ,r4 put      a four-pronged        
instrument into my hands1 which he gave 
me to      understand was called a      
pitchfork2 and he and ,mr4 ,farley being
      armed with similar weapons1 we all
 three commenced a gallant attack       
on a heap of manure4 ,this office being 
concluded1 and ,i having      purified  
myself1 ,i sit down to finish this      
letter4 ,miss ,fuller's      cow hooks  
other cows1 and has made herself ruler  
of the herd1 and      behaves in a very 
tyrannical manner4       ,april #afth4  
,i have milked a cow666 ,the herd has   

rebelled against      the usurpation of 
,miss ,fuller's heifer2 and whenever    
they are      turned out of the barn1   
she is compelled to take refuge under   
our      protection4 ,so much did she   
impede my labors by keeping close to    
me1 that ,i found it necessary to give  
her two or three gentle pats      with a
 shovel4 ,she is not an amiable cow2 but
 she has a very      intelligent face1  
and seems to be of a reflective cast of 
character4       ,i have not yet been   
twenty yards from our house and barn2   
but ,i      begin to perceive that this 
is a beautiful place4 ,the scenery is of
      a mild and placid character1 with 
nothing bold in its aspect2 but ,i      
think its beauties will grow upon us1   
and make us love it the more      the   
longer we live here4 ,there is a brook  
so near the house that we      shall be 
able to hear its ripple in the summer   
evenings1--but for      agricultural    
purposes it has been made to flow in a  
straight and      rectangular fashion   

which does it infinite damage as a      
picturesque      object4 ,mr4 ,r4 has   
bought four black pigs4       ,april    
#bbnd4 ,what an abominable hand do ,i   
scribble2 but ,i have been      chopping
 wood and turning a grind-stone all the 
forenoon2 and such      occupations are 
apt to disturb the equilibrium of the   
muscles and      sinews4 ,it is an      
endless surprise to me how much work    
there is to      be done in the world2  
but thank ,god ,i am able to do my share
 of it1      and my ability increases   
daily4 ,what a great1 broad-shouldered1 
elephantine personage ,i shall become by
 and by6       ,i read no newspapers1   
and hardly remember who is ,president1  
and      feel as if ,i had no more      
concern with what other people trouble  
themselves about1 than if ,i dwelt in   
another planet4       ,may #ast4 ,all   
the morning ,i have been at work1 under 
the clear blue      sky1 on a hill side4
 ,sometimes it almost seemed as if ,i   
were at      work in the sky itself1    

though the material in which ,i wrought 
was      the ore from our gold-mine4    
,there is nothing so disagreeable or    
unseemly in this sort of toil as you    
could think4 ,it defiles the      hands 
indeed1 but not the soul4       ,the    
farm is growing very beautiful now1--not
 that we yet see      anything of the   
peas and potatoes which we have planted1
 but the      grass blushes green on the
 slopes and hollows4       ,i do not    
believe that ,i should be so patient    
here if ,i were not      engaged in a   
righteous and heaven-blessed way of     
life4 ,we had some      tableaux last   
evening4 ,they went off very well4      
,may #aath4 ,this morning ,i arose at   
milking time1 in good trim for          
work2 and we have been employed partly  
in an ,augean labor of      clearing out
 a wood-shed1 and partly in carting     
loads of oak4 ,this      afternoon ,i   
hope to have something to do in the     
field1 for these      jobs about the    
house are not at all suited to my taste4

       ,june #ast4 ,i think this present
 life of mine gives me an antipathy     
to pen and ink1 even more than my       
,custom-house experience did4 ,in       
the midst of toil1 or after a hard day's
 work1 my soul obstinately      refuses 
to be poured out on paper4 ,it is my    
opinion that a man's      soul may be   
buried and perish under a dung heap1    
just as well as      under a pile of    
money4       ,august #aeth4 ,even my    
,custom-house experience was not such a 
thraldom and weariness as this4 ,o1     
labor is the curse of the world1        
and nobody can meddle with it1 without  
becoming proportionably      brutified6 
,is it a praiseworthy matter that ,i    
have spent five      golden months in   
providing food for cows and horses8 ,it 
is not so4       ,salem1 ,sept4 #c;d4   
,really ,i should judge it to be twenty 
years since      ,i left ,brook ,farm2  
and ,i take this to be one proof that my
 life      there was an unnatural and   
unsuitable1 and therefore an unreal one4

      ,it already looks like a dream    
behind me4 ,the real ,me was never an   
associate of the community2 there had   
been a spectral ,appearance      there1 
sounding the horn at daybreak1 and      
milking the cows1 and      hoeing the   
potatoes1 and raking hay1 toiling in the
 sun1 and doing      me the honor to    
assume my name4 ,but this spectre was   
not myself4  ,mr4 ,hawthorne was elected
 to high offices1 to those of ,trustee  
of the ,brook ,farm estate1 and         
,chairman of the ,committee of ,finance2
 but he told ,mr4 ,ripley that he could 
not spend another winter there4 ,if we  
could inspect all the note-books of the 
community1 supposing all to be as frank 
as ,hawthorne1 our picture of ,brook    
,farm life would be fascinating4 ,but   
his was1 perhaps1 the only note-book    
kept in the busy brotherhood1 and his   
rather sombre view must be accepted as  
the impression of one peculiar mind4 ,in
 the ,blithedale ,romance1 ,hawthorne   
disclaimed any purpose to describe      

persons or events at ,brook ,farm1 and  
expressed a hope that some one might yet
 do justice to a movement so full of    
earnest aspiration4 ,but he1 himself1   
declined the task4 ,the old and         
affectionately remembered home at ,brook
 ,farm--certainly the most romantic     
episode of his own life--essentially a  
day dream1 and yet a fact--thus offering
 an available foothold between fiction  
and reality1 merely supplied the scenery
 for the romance4 ,more than twenty     
years have passed since ,hawthorne's    
appeal to his associates1 but it has not
 been answered4  ,the characteristic    
nature of transcendental reform was     
exhibited in the temper of its agitation
 for the enfranchisement of women1 and  
the enlargement of her sphere of duty   
and privilege4 ,more definitely than any
 other1 this reform can trace its       
beginnings and the source of its        
inspiration to the disciples of the     
transcendental philosophy4 ,the         
transcendentalists gave it their        

countenance to some extent1 to a man and
 a woman1 conceding the truth of its    
idea even when criticising the details  
of its application4 ,with almost if not 
quite equal unanimity1 the other school 
regarded it with disfavor4 ,the cause of
 woman1 as entertained by the reformers1
 was not likely to commend itself to    
people who consulted custom1 law1 or    
institution2 who accepted the authority 
of tradition1 took history to be        
revelation1 deferred to the decree of   
circumstance1 or1 under any other open  
or disguised form1 bowed to the doctrine
 that might makes right4 ,the           
philosophical conservatives and the     
social conservatives struck hands on    
this2 for both1 the one party in        
deference to established usage1 the     
other party in deference to the opinion 
that mind followed organization1        
defended things as they were1 and hoped 
for a better state of things1 if they   
hoped for it at all1 as a result of     
changes in the social environment4 ,the 

disciples of the same philosophy now    
hold the same view of this particular   
reform4 ,from them comes the charge of  
unsexing women and demoralizing the sex4
 ,in the belief of the                  
transcendentalist1 souls were of no sex4
 ,men and women were alike human beings1
 with human capacities1 longings1 and   
destinies2 and the condition of society 
that doomed them to hopelessness in     
regard to the complete and perfect      
justification of their being1 was1 in   
his judgment--not in his feeling1 or    
sentiment1 but in his judgment--unsound4
  ,the ablest and most judicial         
statement on the question was made by   
,margaret ,fuller in the ,dial of ,july 
#ahdc4 ,the paper entitled the ,great   
,law ,suit was afterwards expanded into 
the little volume called ,woman in the  
,x,i,xth ,century1 which contains all   
that is best worth saying on the        
subject1 has been the storehouse of     
argument and illustration from that time
 to this1 and should be read by all who 

would understand the cardinal points in 
the case4 ,the careful student of that  
book will be amazed at the              
misapprehensions in respect to its      
doctrine that are current even in       
intelligent circles4 ,certainly ,miss   
,fuller does claim everything that may  
fairly be comprehended under woman's    
education2 everything that follows1 or  
may be honestly and rationally held as  
following in the course of her          
intellectual development4 ,but she      
claims it by rigorous fidelity to a     
philosophical idea2 not passionately or 
hastily4 ,not as a demand of sentiment1 
not as a right under liberty1 not as a  
conclusion from ,american institutions1 
but as the spiritual prerogative of the 
spiritual being4 ,her argument moves on 
this high table-land of thought2 and    
moves with a steadiness1 a serenity1 an 
ease that little resemble the heated    
debates on later platforms4 ,miss       
,fuller was thoroughly feminine in her  
intuitions4 ,it was impossible for her  

to treat any subject1 to say nothing of 
a subject so complex and delicate as    
this1 with any but the finest tempered  
tools4 ,her sympathies were with women2 
she attracted women by the power of her 
intelligence and fellow feeling4 ,women 
of feeling and aspiration--pure feeling 
and beautiful aspiration1--came to her4 
,the secrets of the best hearts were    
revealed to her1 as they could not have 
been1 had she failed to reach or attract
 them on their own level4 ,her idea of  
womanly character as displayed in       
sentiment and action was as gracious as 
it was lofty4       ,we would have every
 arbitrary barrier thrown down4 ,we     
would have      every path laid open to 
women as freely as to man4 ,were this   
done1      and a slight temporary       
fermentation allowed to subside1 we     
believe      that the ,divine would     
ascend into nature to a height unknown  
in the      history of past ages2 and   
nature1 thus instructed1 would regulate 
the spheres1 not only so as to avoid    

collision1 but to bring forth           
ravishing harmony4  ,yet then1 and only 
then1 will human beings1 in her         
judgment1 be ripe for this1 when inward 
and outward freedom for woman as much as
 for man1 shall be acknowledged as a    
right1 not yielded as a concession4     
,what woman needs is not as a woman to  
act or rule1 but as a nature      to    
grow1 as an intellect to discern1 as a  
soul to live freely1 and      unimpeded 
to unfold such powers as were given her 
when we left our      common home4 ,if  
fewer talents were given her1 yet1 if   
allowed the      full and free          
employment of these1 so that she may    
render back to      the giver his own   
with usury1 she will not complain1 nay1 
,i dare to      say1 she will bless and 
rejoice in her earthly birth-place her  
earthly lot4       ,man is not willingly
 ungenerous4 ,he wants faith and love   
because      he is not yet himself an   
elevated being4 ,he cries with sneering 
skepticism3 ,give us a sign6 ,but if the

 sign appears1 his eyes      glisten1   
and he offers not merely approval but   
homage4  ,the ,transcendental idea makes
 her just to all1 to the ,hebrews who   
greeted with solemn rapture all great   
and holy women as heroines1             
prophetesses1 nay judges in ,israel1 and
 if they made ,eve listen to the        
serpent1 gave ,mary to the ,holy ,ghost2
 to the ,greeks whose feminine deities  
were types of dignity and loveliness2 to
 the ,romans1 whose glorious women are  
of threadbare celebrity2 to ,asiatics1  
,russians1 ,english4 ,it gave her       
generous interpretations for laws1      
institutions1 customs1 bidding her look 
on the bright side of history4          
,whatever may have been the domestic    
manners of the ancient      nations1 the
 idea of woman was nobly manifested in  
their      mythologies and poems1 where 
she appeared as ,sita in the ,ramayana1 
a form of tender purity2 in the         
,egyptian ,isis1 of divine wisdom       
never yet surpassed4 ,in ,egypt too1 the

 sphinx1 walking the earth      with    
lion tread1 looked out upon its marvels 
in the calm1      inscrutable beauty of 
a virgin face1 and the ,greek could only
 add      wings to the great emblem4 ,in
 ,sparta the women were as much         
,spartans as the men4 ,was not the calm 
equality they enjoyed well      worth   
the honors of chivalry8 ,they           
intelligently shared the ideal      life
 of their nation4 ,is it in vain that   
the truth has been      recognized that 
woman is not only a part of man1 bone of
 his bone1      and flesh of his flesh1 
born that man might not be lonely1 but  
in      themselves possessors of and    
possessed by immortal souls8 ,this      
truth undoubtedly received a greater    
outward stability from the      belief  
of the church that the earthly parent of
 the ,saviour of      souls was a woman4
       ,woman cannot complain that she  
has not had her share of power4         
,this in all ranks of society1 except   
the lowest1 has been hers to      the   

extent that vanity could crave1 far     
beyond what wisdom would      accept4   
,it is not the transient breath of      
poetic incense that women      want2    
each can receive that from a lover4 ,it 
is not life-long sway2      it needs to 
become a coquette1 a shrew1 or a good   
cook1 to be sure      of that4 ,it is   
not money1 nor notoriety1 nor the badges
 of      authority that men have        
appropriated to themselves4 ,it is for  
that      which includes all these and  
precludes them2 which would not be      
forbidden power1 lest there be          
temptation to steal and misuse it2      
which would not have the mind perverted 
by flattery from a      worthiness of   
esteem4 ,it is for that which is the    
birthright of      every being capable  
to receive it1--the freedom1 the        
religious1 the      intelligent freedom 
of the universe1 to use its means1 to   
learn its      secret as far as nature  
has enabled them1 with ,god alone for   
their      guide and their judge4       

,the only reason why women ever assume  
what is more appropriate to      men1 is
 because men prevent them from finding  
out what is fit for      themselves4    
,were they free1 were they wise fully to
 develop the      strength and beauty of
 woman1 they would never wish to be men 
or      manlike4 ,the well instructed   
moon flies not from her orbit to seize  
on the glories of her partner4          
,give the soul free course1 let the     
organization be freely      developed1  
and the being will be fit for any and   
every relation to      which it may be  
called4       ,civilized ,europe is     
still in a transition state about       
marriage1      not only in practice but 
in thought4 ,a great majority of        
societies      and individuals are still
 doubtful whether earthly marriage is to
      be a union of souls1 or merely a  
contract of convenience and             
utility4 ,were woman established in the 
rights of an immortal being1      this  
could not be4 ,but those who would      

reform the world1 must      show that   
they do not speak in the heat of wild   
impulse2 their      lives must be       
unstained by passionate error2 they must
 be severe      lawgivers to themselves4
 ,as to their transgressions of         
opinions1 it      may be observed1 that 
the resolve of ,eloise to be only the   
mistress      of ,abelard1 was that of  
one who saw the contract of marriage a  
seal      of degradation4 ,wherever     
abuses of this sort are seen1 the timid 
will suffer1 the bold will protest2 but 
society has the right to      outlaw    
them1 till she has revised her law1 and 
she must be taught      to do so1 by one
 who speaks with authority1 not in anger
 or haste4       ,whether much or little
 has been or will be done2 whether women
      will add to the talent of         
narration1 the power of systematizing2  
whether they will carve marble as well  
as iron1 is not important4      ,but    
that it should be acknowledged that they
 have intellect which      needs        

developing1 that they should not be     
considered complete1 if      beings of  
affection and habit alone1 is important4
 ,earth knows no      fairer1 holier    
relation than that of mother4 ,but a    
being of      infinite scope must not be
 treated with an exclusive view to any  
one relation4       ,in ,america women  
are much better situated than men4 ,good
 books are      allowed1 with more time 
to read them4 ,they have time to think1 
and      no traditions chain them4      
,their employments are more favorable to
      the inward life than those of men4
 ,men are courteous to them2      praise
 them often2 check them seldom4 ,in this
 country1 is      venerated1 wherever   
seen1 the character which ,goethe spoke 
of as an      ,ideal3 ',the excellent   
woman is she1 who1 if her husband dies1 
can      be a father to the children4'  
,nothing can be more reasonable than    
this2 and this is the tone of           
transcendental feeling and thought on   
the subject4 ,the only criticism that   

can fairly be made on the               
,transcendentalist's idea of woman1 is  
that it has more regard for essential   
capacities and possibilities1 than for  
incidental circumstances1 more respect  
for the ideal than for the actual woman4
 ,however grave a sin this may be       
against common sense1 it is none against
 purity1 nobleness1 or the laws of      
private or public virtue4 ,the dream1 if
 it be no more than a dream1 is         
beautiful and inspiring4  ,the          
,transcendentalist believed in man's    
ability to apprehend absolute ideas of  
,truth1 ,justice1 ,rectitude1 ,goodness2
 he spoke of ,the ,right1 ,the ,true1   
,the ,beautiful1 as eternal realities   
which he perceived4 ,the ,sensational   
philosophy was shut up in the relative  
and conditioned2 knew nothing higher    
than expediency2 held prudence1 caution1
 practical wisdom in highest rank among 
the virtues2 consulted the revelations  
of history2 recognized no law above     
established usage2 went for guidance to 

the book1 the record1 the statute2 it   
could not speak therefore with power1   
but could only consider1 surmise1 cast  
probabilities1 devise plans and work    
carefully towards their execution4 ,the 
,sensationalist distrusted the seer1    
rejected the prophet1 and disliked the  
reformer4 ,his aim was law2 his work    
within easy distance2 his object1 some  
plainly visible and appreciable         
satisfaction4 ,his faith in men and     
women was small2 his trust in           
circumstances and conditions was        
unbounded2 but as this faith had no     
wings1 it could neither raise its       
possessor from the ground1 nor speed him
 faster than a walking pace4 ,he was    
easily satisfied with the world as it   
was2 or if dissatisfied1 had little hope
 of its being made better by anything he
 could do4 ,his helplessness and        
hopelessness will make him in opinion an
 optimist1 who finds it easier to assume
 that the order of the world is perfect 
and will so appear by and by1 than that 

it is made imperfect for him to mend4   
,optimism is perhaps oftener the creed  
of the indolent than of the earnest4    
,the ,transcendentalist was satisfied   
with nothing so long as it did not      
correspond to the ideal in the          
enlightened soul2 and in the soul       
recognized the power to make all things 
new4 ,nothing will content him short of 
the absolute right1 the eternally true1 
the unconditioned excellence4 ,he prays 
for the kingdom of ,heaven1 lives in    
expectation of it2 would not be         
surprised at its coming any day4 ,for   
though the distance is immense between  
the world as it is and his vision of the
 world as it should be--a distance that 
the ,evolutionist despairs of seeing    
traversed in thousands of years1 if he  
believes it will be traversed at        
all1--still1 as the power of            
regeneration is supposed to be in the   
soul itself1 which is possessed of      
infinite capacities and is open         
continually to inspirations from the    

world of soul1 the transformation may   
begin when least expected1 and may be   
completed before preparation for it can 
be made4 ,hence his boundless enthusiasm
 and hope2 hence the order of his       
feeling1 the glow of his language4      
,hence his disposition to exaggerate the
 force of tendencies that point in his  
direction2 to take the brightest view of
 events1 and put the happiest           
construction on the signs of the times4 
,in the anti-slavery period the         
,transcendentalist glorified the negro  
beyond all warrant of fact1 seeing in   
him an imprisoned soul struggling to be 
free4 ,the same soul he sees in woman   
oppressed by limitations2 the same in   
the drunkard1 the gambler1 the          
libertine4 ,his eye is ever fixed on the
 future4     ,,viii4  ,,religion4   ,it 
was by no accident that the             
transcendental philosophy addressed     
itself at once to the questions of      
religion4 ,it did so at the beginning1  
in ,germany1 and later1 in ,england1 and

 did so from the nature of the case4    
,its very name implied that it          
maintained the existence of ideas in the
 mind which transcended sensible        
experience4 ,such ideas fall within the 
domain of religion2 ideas of the        
infinite1 the eternal1 the absolute2 and
 the significance and import of these   
ideas exercised the minds of            
transcendental thinkers1 according to   
their genius4 ,kant felt it necessary to
 reopen the problem of ,god and         
immortality2 ,fichte followed1          
,schelling and ,hegel moved on the same 
plane4  ,transcendentalism was1 in fact1
 a reaction against the moral and       
political skepticism which resulted     
directly from the prevailing philosophy 
of sensation4 ,since ,bacon's day1      
religious beliefs had been taking hold  
on the enlightened mind of ,england and 
,europe4 ,the drift of speculation was  
strongly against1 not the ,christian    
system alone1 but natural religion1 and 
the ideal foundation of morality4 ,the  

writings of ,collins1 ,dodwell1         
,mandeville1 expressed more skepticism  
than they created1 and betrayed a       
deeply-seated and widely-spread         
misgiving in regard to the fundamental  
truths of theology4 ,hume's argument    
against the credibility of miracles was 
never answered1 and the anxiety to      
answer it was a confession of alarm from
 the heart of the church4 ,the famous   
,x,v,ith chapter of ,gibbon's ,decline  
and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire was     
assailed furiously1 but in vain1 each   
assault exposing the weakness of the    
assailants2 and it was only by adopting 
his history1 and editing it with        
judicious notes1 that the church        
silenced the enemy it could not crush4  
,the deists of the seventeenth century  
in no wise balanced their denials by    
their affirmations1 but left            
,christianity fearfully shattered by    
their blows4 ,the champions of the      
church fought skepticism with           
skepticism1 conceding in substance the  

points they superficially attacked4     
,towards the close of the seventeenth   
century ,cudworth confronted atheism    
with idealism1 retreating upon ,plato   
when the foe had carried the other      
works2 early in the century following1  
,butler1 in the celebrated ,analogy1    
fought infidelity with weapons that     
infidelity might have turned1 and since 
has turned with deadly effect1 against  
himself4 ,the ablest representative of  
,unitarianism was ,joseph ,priestley1 a 
materialist of the school of ,hartley4  
,the cardinal beliefs of religion were  
debated in a way that was quite         
unsatisfactory in the light of reason1  
showing the extent to which faith had   
been undermined4 ,indeed1 had it not    
been for the power of institutions1     
customs1 respectability1 and tradition1 
the popular beliefs would have all but  
disappeared1 so deep into the heart of  
the people unbelief had penetrated4 ,the
 church stood fast1 because it was      
allied with power and fashion1 not      

because it was supported by reason or   
faith4 ,the whole tone of feeling on    
sacred and ethical topics was low2      
divine ideas were defended by           
considerations of expediency2 ,god was a
 probability2 the immortality of the    
soul a possibility1 a supplement to     
skepticism1 an appendix to a philosophy 
which1 finding no ,god here1 presumed   
there must be one hereafter4 ,there is  
no more soulless reading than the works 
of the ,christian apologists of the     
seventeenth century4 ,the infidels had  
more ideas1 and apparently more         
sincerity1 but in neither was there any 
spiritual impulse or fervor4  ,in       
,germany the philosophy of ,bacon and   
,locke did not strike deep root4 ,the   
day of ,germany was to come later4 ,her 
thoughts were pent up in her own breast4
 ,she was isolated1 and almost          
speechless4 ,her genius awoke with the  
new philosophy4 ,under the influence of 
idealism it bloomed in the richest of   
modern literatures4 ,her very           

skepticism1 the much talked-of          
rationalism1 had an ideal origin4       
,strauss was a disciple of ,hegel4      
,bauer1 and the historical school of    
,tuebingen worked out their problem of  
,new ,testament criticism from the      
,hegelian idea1 the constructive force  
whereof was so powerful1 that the       
negations lost their negative character1
 and showed primarily as affirmations of
 reason4 ,by being adopted into the line
 of intellectual development of mankind1
 ,christianity1 though dethroned and    
disenchanted1 was dignified as a supreme
 moment in the autobiography of ,god4   
,frederick the ,great1 in the middle of 
the eighteenth century1 attracted       
literary celebrities to his court1 and  
gave an impulse1 so far1 to the ,german 
mind2 but the ,french genius found more 
encouragement there than the ,german1   
and in his time ,french genius was      
speeding fast in the way of skepticism4 
,condillac1 ,cabanis1 d',holbach1       
,helvetius1 were of that generation4    

,the ,encyclopaedists1 the most         
brilliant men and women of the          
generation1 were planning their work of 
demolition4 ,voltaire was the great name
 in contemporary literature4 ,the books 
of ,volney were popular towards the end 
of the century4 ,skepticism and         
materialism had the floor4 ,it was      
fashionable to ridicule the belief in   
personal immortality1 and in enlightened
 circles to deny the existence of ,god4 
,the doctrines of ,christianity were    
abandoned to priests and women2         
philosophers deemed them too absurd to  
be argued against4 ,had the assault been
 less witty and more scientific1 less   
acrimonious and more reasonable1 less   
scornful and more consistent1 its       
apparent success might have been        
permanent4 ,as it was1 a change of mood 
occurred2 a conservative spirit         
succeeded the destructive2 order        
prevailed over anarchy2 and the         
,catholic church1 which had only been   
temporarily thrust aside--not fatally   

wounded1 not by any means disposed      
of--regained its suspended power4  ,but 
rational or intellectual                
,christianity--in other words the system
 of ,protestantism1 in whatever form    
held--received a severe blow in ,france 
from these audacious hands4 ,religion   
took refuge in institutions and         
ceremonial forms2 and there remained    
little else except a kernel of sentiment
 in a thin shell of tradition4 ,what    
beliefs were entertained were accepted  
on authority2 reason sought other fields
 of exercise1 scientific1 philosophical1
 literary2 and a chill of indifference  
crept over the once religious world4    
,from ,france1 opinions adverse to      
,christianity were brought to ,america  
by travelled or curious people2 they    
pervaded the creative minds of our      
earliest epoch1 and penetrated far into 
the popular intelligence4 ,the habit of 
thinking independently of authority and 
tradition became confirmed1 and as a    
matter of course led to doubts and      

denials2 for thinking was done in a     
temper of defiance1 which constrained   
the thought to obey the wish4 ,such     
philosophical ideas as there were1 came 
from ,france and ,england4 ,paley's was 
the last word in morals2 the            
,bridgewater ,treatises were the        
received oracles in religion2 the rules 
of practical judgment had usurped the   
dominion of faith4  ,what pass things   
had come to in ,new ,england1 in the    
centre of its culture1 has been         
described in a previous chapter4 ,it was
 time for a reaction to set in2 and it  
came in the form of ,transcendentalism4 
,the sensational philosophy1 it was     
contended1 could not supply a basis for 
faith4 ,its first principle was ,nihil  
in intellectu quod non prius in sensu4  
,there is nothing in the intellect that 
was not first in the senses4 ,from this 
principle nothing but skepticism could  
proceed4 ,how1 for instance1 asks the   
,transcendentalist1 can the sensational 
philosophy of ,locke and his disciples  

give us anything approaching to a       
certainty of the existence of ,god8 ,the
 senses furnish no evidence of it4 ,god 
is not an object of sensation4 ,he is   
not seen1 felt1 heard1 tasted or smelt4 
,the objects of sense are material1     
local1 incidental2 ,god is immaterial1  
universal1 eternal4 ,the objects of     
sense are finite2 but a finite ,god is  
no ,god2 for ,god is infinite4 ,is it   
said that by men of old1 bible men1 ,god
 was seen1 heard1 clasped in human arms8
 ,the reply is1 that whatever ,being was
 so apparent and tangible1 could not    
have been ,god4 ,to the assertion that  
the ,being announced himself as         
,god1--the infinite1 the eternal        
,god1--the challenge straightway is     
given3 ,to whom did he say it8 ,how can 
it be proved that he said it8 ,is the   
record of his saying it authentic8      
,might not the ,being have made a false 
statement8 ,can we be certain there was 
no mental hallucination8 ,suppose these 
and other doubts of a similar character 

dispelled1 still1 hearing is not        
knowing4 ,all we have is a tradition of 
,god1 a legend1 a rumor1 a dim          
reminiscence1 that passes like a shadow 
across men's minds4 ,the appeal to      
miracle is set aside by historical      
skepticism4 ,the wonder lacks evidence2 
and to prove the wonder a miracle1 is   
beyond achievement4 ,a possibility1 or  
at most1 a probability of ,god's        
existence is all that sensationalism1   
with every advantage given it1 can      
supply4  ,and if this philosophy fails  
to give an assurance of ,god's          
existence1 the failure to throw light on
 his attributes is more signal4 ,the    
senses report things as they exist in   
relations1 not as they exist in         
themselves4 ,neither absolute power1    
absolute wisdom nor absolute goodness is
 hinted at by the senses4 ,the visible  
system of things abounds in             
contradictions that we cannot reconcile1
 puzzles we cannot explain1 mysteries we
 cannot penetrate1 imperfections we     

cannot account for1 wrongs we cannot    
palliate1 evils we cannot cover up or   
justify4 ,that a vein of wisdom1 an     
element of goodness1 an infusion of     
loving-kindness is in the world is      
evident2 but to show that1 is to go very
 little way towards establishing the    
attributes of a ,perfect ,being4 ,a ,god
 of limited power1 wisdom or goodness1  
is no ,god1 and no other does           
,sensationalism offer4                  
,transcendentalism points to the fact   
that under the auspices of this         
philosophy atheism has spread2 and along
 with atheism the intellectual          
demoralization that accompanies the     
disappearance of a cardinal idea4  ,from
 this grave peril the ,transcendentalist
 found an escape in flight to the       
spiritual nature of man1 in virtue of   
which he had an intuitive knowledge of  
,god as a being1 infinite and absolute  
in power1 wisdom and goodness2 a direct 
perception like that which the senses   
have of material objects2 a perception  

that gains in distinctness1 clearness   
and positiveness as the faculties       
through which it is obtained increase in
 power and delicacy4 ,to the human mind1
 by its original constitution1 belongs  
the firm assurance of ,god's existence1 
as a half latent fact of consciousness1 
and with it a dim sense of his moral    
attributes4 ,to minds capacious and     
sensitive the truth was disclosed in    
lofty ranges that lifted the horizon    
line1 in every direction1 above the     
cloud land of doubt2 to minds           
cultivated1 earnest1 devout1 aspiring1  
the revelation came in bursts of glory4 
,the experiences of inspired men and    
women were repeated4 ,the prophet1 the  
seer1 the saint1 was no longer a favored
 person whose sayings and doings were   
recorded in the ,bible1 but a living    
person1 making manifest the wealth of   
soul in all human beings4 ,communication
 with the ideal world was again opened  
through conscience2 and communion with  
,god1 close and tender as is anywhere   

described by devotees and mystics1 was  
promised to the religious affections4   
,the ,transcendentalist spoke of ,god   
with authority4 ,his ,god was not       
possible1 but real2 not probable1 but   
certain4 ,in his high confidence he had 
small respect for the labored reasonings
 of ,natural ,religion2 the argument    
from design1 so carefully elaborated by 
,paley1 ,brougham and the writers of the
 ,bridgewater ,treatises1 was           
interesting and useful as far as it     
went1 but was remanded to an inferior   
place4 ,the demonstration from miracle  
was dismissed with feelings bordering on
 contempt1 as illogical and childish4   
,taking his faith with him into the     
world of nature and of human life1 the  
,transcendentalist1 sure of the divine  
wisdom and love1 found everywhere joy   
for mourning and beauty for ashes4      
,passing through the valley of ,baca1 he
 saw springs bubbling up from the sand1 
and making pools for thirsty souls4     
,wherever he came1 garments of heaviness

 were dropped and robes of praise put   
on4 ,evil was but the prophecy of good1 
wrong the servant of right1 pain the    
precursor of peace1 sorrow the minister 
to joy4 ,he would acknowledge no        
exception to the rule of an absolute    
justice and an inexorable love4 ,it was 
certain that all was well1 appearances  
to the contrary notwithstanding4 ,he    
was1 as we have said1 an optimist--not  
of the indifferent sort that make the   
maxim ,whatever is1 is right an excuse  
for idleness--but of the heroic kind    
who1 by refreshing their minds with     
thoughts of the absolute goodness1 keep 
alive their faith1 hope1 endeavor1 and  
quicken themselves to efforts at        
understanding1 interpreting and bringing
 to the surface the divine attributes4  
,for himself he had no misgivings1 and  
no alarm at the misgivings of others2   
believing them due1 either to some      
misunderstanding that might be          
corrected1 or to some moral defect that 
could be cured4 ,even ,atheism1 of the  

crudest1 coarsest1 most stubborn        
description1 had no terrors for him4 ,it
 was in his judgment a matter of        
definition mainly4 ,utter atheism was   
all but inconceivable to him2 the       
essential faith in divine things under  
some form of mental perception being too
 deeply planted in human nature to be   
eradicated or buried4  ,taking his      
belief with him into the world of       
history1 the ,transcendentalist         
discovered the faith in ,god beneath all
 errors1 delusions1 idolatries and      
superstition4 ,he read it into          
unintelligible scriptures2 he drew it   
forth from obsolete symbols2 he dragged 
it to the light from the darkness of    
hateful shrines and the bloody mire of  
pagan altars4 ,mr4 ,parker meditated a  
work on the religious history of        
mankind1 in which the development of the
 theistic idea was to be traced from its
 shadowy beginnings to its full         
maturity2 and this he meant should be   
the crowning work of his life4 ,sure of 

his first principle1 he had no          
hesitation in going into caves and among
 the ruins of temples4 ,had that work   
been completed1 the ,transcendentalist's
 faith in ,god would have received its  
most eloquent statement4  ,the other    
cardinal doctrine of religion--the      
immortality of the                      
soul1--,transcendentalism was proud of  
having rescued from death in the same   
way4 ,the philosophy of sensation could 
give no assurance of personal           
immortality4 ,here1 too1 its fundamental
 axiom1 ,nihil in intellectu quod non   
prius in sensu1 was discouraging to     
belief4 ,for immortality is not         
demonstrable to the senses4 ,experience 
affords no basis for conviction1 and    
knowledge cannot on any pretext be      
claimed4 ,the sensational school was    
divided into two parties4 ,the first    
party confessed that the immortality of 
the soul was a thing not only           
unprovable1 but a thing easily          
disproved1 a thing improbable1 and1 to a

 clear mind1 impossible to believe4 ,the
 soul being a product of organization1  
at all events fatally implicated in     
organization1 conditioned by it in all  
respects1 must perish with organization1
 as the flower perishes with the stem4  
,of a spirit distinct from body there   
is1 according to this school1 no        
evidence1 either before death or after4 
,man's prospect1 therefore1 is bounded  
by this life4 ,dreamers may have visions
 of another2 mourners may sigh for      
another2 ardent natures may hope for    
another2 but to believe in another is1  
to the rational mind1 according to this 
philosophy1 impossible4 ,the sentence   
dust thou art1 and to dust thou shalt   
return1 may seem a hard one2 but as it  
cannot be reversed or modified1 it must 
be accepted with submission2 and in     
default of another life1 the honest man 
will make the most of the life he has2  
not necessarily saying with the         
sensualist3 ,let us eat and drink1 for  
to-morrow we die2 but with the hero     

reminding himself that he must ,work    
while it is day1 for the night cometh in
 which no man can work4 ,the modern     
disciples of this doctrine of           
annihilation speak in a tone of lofty   
courage of their destiny1 and disguise  
under shining and many-colored garments 
of anticipation1 the fact of their      
personal cessation4 ,the thinkers find  
refuge in the intellectual problems of  
the present2 the workers pile up        
monuments that shall endure when they   
are gone2 poets like ,george ,eliot1    
make grand music on the harp-strings of 
the common humanity2 but the fact       
remains that the philosophy of          
experience abandons1 or did before the  
advent of spiritualism--the expectation 
of an existence after death4  ,the other
 branch of the ,sensational school fell 
back on authority1 and received on the  
tradition of history what could not be  
verified by science4 ,immortality was   
accepted as a doctrine of instituted    
religion1 taken on the credit of        

revelation1 and sealed by the           
resurrection of ,jesus4 ,as an article  
of faith it was accepted without        
comment4 ,if we have not seen the       
glorified dead1 others have1 and their  
witness is recorded in the ,scriptures4 
,beyond that believers did not care to  
go2 beyond that advised no one else to  
go4 ,to question the genuineness of the 
,scriptures1 to cast doubt on the       
resurrection of ,jesus1 to intimate that
 the tradition of the church is a thin  
stream that murmurs pleasantly in the   
shade of the sacred groves1 but would   
dry up if the sun-light were let in1 was
 resented as an offence against         
reverence and morality4 ,by such as     
these the belief that slipped away from 
the reason was detained by the will4    
,but beliefs thus appropriated are      
insecurely held4 ,the inactivity of the 
mind cannot be guaranteed2 a slight     
disturbance of its tamely acquiescent   
condition may set its whole scheme of   
opinions afloat4 ,a sentence on a       

printed page1 a word let fall in        
conversation1 a discovered fact1 an     
awakened suspicion1 a suggestion of     
doubt by a friend1 may stir the thought 
whose movement will bring the whole     
structure down4 ,there being no         
certainty1 only arbitrary content2 no   
personal conviction1 only formal        
acquiescence2 there was nothing to      
prevent the belief from disappearing    
altogether1 and leaving the mind vacant4
  ,even when retained1 beliefs thus held
 have no vitality4 ,they are not living 
faiths in any intelligent sense4 ,useful
 they may be for pulpit declamation and 
closet discussion2 serviceable on       
funeral occasions and in chambers of    
sorrow2 available for purposes of moral 
impression2 but inspiring they are not2 
actively sustaining and consoling they  
are not4 ,their effect on the conduct of
 life is almost imperceptible4 ,they are
 appendages to the mind1 not parts of   
it2 proprieties1 not properties4 ,they  
are to be reckoned as part of a man's   

stock in trade1 not as part of his      
being4  ,transcendentalism1 by taking   
the belief in immortality out of these  
incidental and doubtful associations1   
and making it a constituent element in  
the constitution of the mind itself1    
thought to rescue it from its precarious
 position1 and place it beyond the reach
 of danger4 ,no belief was1 on the      
whole1 so characteristic of             
,transcendentalism as this2 none was so 
steadfastly assumed1 so constantly borne
 in view4 ,immortality was here a       
postulate1 a first principle4 ,theodore 
,parker called it a fact of             
consciousness--the intensity of his     
conviction rendering him careless of    
precision in speech4 ,the writings of   
,emerson are redolent of the faith4     
,even when he argues in his way against 
the accepted creed1 and casts doubt on  
every form in which the doctrine is     
entertained1 the loftiness of his       
language about the soul carries the     
presage of immortality with it4 ,the    

,dial has no argument about immortality2
 no paper in the whole series is devoted
 to the subject2 the faith was too deep 
and essential to be talked about--it was
 assumed4 ,the ,transcendentalist was an
 enthusiast on this article4 ,he spoke1 
not as one who surmises1 conjectures1 is
 on the whole inclined to think2 but as 
one who knows beyond cavil or question4 
,we never met a man whose assurance of  
immortality was as strong as ,theodore  
,parker's4 ,the objections of           
materialists did not in the least       
disturb him4 ,in the company of the most
 absolute of them he avowed his         
conviction4 ,what others clung to as    
supports--the church tradition1 the     
story of the raising of ,lazarus1 the   
account of the resurrection of          
,jesus--were to him stumbling blocks in 
the way of spiritual faith1 for they    
drew attention away from the witness of 
the soul4  ,the preaching of            
,transcendentalists caused1 in all parts
 of the country1 a revival of interest  

and of faith in personal immortality2   
spiritualized the idea of it2 enlarged  
the scope of the belief1 and ennobled   
its character2 established an organic   
connection between the present life and 
the future1 making them both one in     
substance2 disabused people of the      
coarse notion that the next life was an 
incident of their experience1 and       
compelled them to think of it as a      
normal extension of their being2        
substituted aspiration after spiritual  
deliverance and perfection1 for hope of 
happiness and fear of misery2 recalled  
attention to the nature and capacity of 
the soul itself2 in a word1 announced   
the natural immortality of the soul by  
virtue of its essential quality4 ,the   
fanciful reasoning of ,plato's ,phaedon 
was supplemented by new readings in     
psychology1 and strengthened by powerful
 moral supports2 the highest desires1   
the purest feelings1 the deepest        
sympathies1 were enlisted in its cause2 
death was made incidental to life2 lower

 life was made subordinate to higher2   
and men who were beginning to doubt     
whether the demand for personal         
immortality was entirely honorable in   
one who utterly trusted in ,god1        
thoroughly appreciated the actual world1
 and fairly respected his own dignity1  
were reassured by a faith which promised
 felicity on terms that compromised     
neither reason nor virtue4 ,the very    
persons who had let go the hope of      
immortality because they could not      
accept it at the cost of sacrificing    
their confidence in ,god's instant      
justice1 were glad to recover it as a   
promise of fulfilment to their dearest  
desire for spiritual expansion4  ,the   
,sensational philosophy had done a worse
 harm to the belief in immortality1 than
 by rendering the prospect of it        
uncertain2 it had rendered the character
 of it pusillanimous and plebeian2 it   
had demanded it on the ground that ,god 
must explain himself1 must correct his  
blunders and apologize for his          

partiality in distributing sugar plums2 
it had argued for it from personal1     
social1 sectarian1 and other sympathies 
and antipathies2 it had expected it on  
the strength of a rumor that a specially
 holy man1 a saint of ,judea1 had       
appeared after death to his peculiar    
friends2 it had pleaded for it1 as      
children beg for dessert after bread and
 meat4 ,the transcendental philosophy   
dismissed these unworthy claims1 made no
 demand1 put up no petition1 but simply 
made articulate the prophecy of the     
spiritual nature in man1 and trusted the
 eternal goodness for its fulfilment4   
,other arguments might come to the      
support of this anticipation2 history   
might bring its contribution of recorded
 facts2 suffering and sorrow might add  
their pathetic voices1 bewailing the    
oppressive power of circumstance1 and   
crying for peace out of affliction2 the 
biographies of ,jesus might furnish     
illustration of the victory of the      
greatest souls over death2 but          

considerations of this kind received    
their importance from the light they    
threw on the immortal attributes of     
spirit4 ,apart from these their         
significance was gone4  ,the pure       
,transcendentalists saw everywhere      
evidence of the greatness of the soul4  
,christianity they regarded as its chief
 manifestation4 ,imperfect              
,transcendentalists there were1 who used
 the fundamental postulates of the      
transcendental philosophy to confirm    
their faith in supernatural realities4  
,their ,transcendentalism amounted      
merely to this1 that man had a natural  
capacity for receiving supernatural     
truths1 when presented by revelation4   
,the possession of such truths1 even in 
germ2 the power to unfold them          
naturally1 by process of mental or      
spiritual growth2 the faculty to seize1 
define1 shape1 legitimate and enthrone  
them1 they denied4 ,the soul1 according 
to them1 was recipient1 not originating 
or creative4 ,they continued to be      

,christians of the ,evangelical stamp2  
champions of special intervention of    
light and grace2 hearty believers in the
 divinity of the ,christ and the saving 
influence of the ,holy ,ghost2 holding  
to the peculiar inspiration of the      
,bible1 and the personal need of        
regeneration4 ,the wisest teachers of   
orthodoxy belonged to this school4  ,the
 pure ,transcendentalist went much      
further4 ,according to him1 the seeds of
 truth1 if not the outline forms of     
truth1 were contained in the soul       
itself1 all ready to expand in bloom and
 beauty1 as it felt the light and heat  
of the upper world4 ,sir ,kenelm ,digby 
relates that in ,padua he visited the   
laboratory of a famous physician1 and   
was there shown a small pile of fine    
ashes under a glass4 ,on the application
 of a gentle heat1 it arose1 assumed the
 shape of its original flower1 all its  
parts being perfectly distinct in form  
and well defined in character4 ,during  
the application of the heat1 the        

spectral plant preserved its delicate   
outline2 but on withdrawal of the heat1 
it became dust again4 ,so1 according to 
the ,transcendentalist1 the spiritual   
being of man--which apparently is a heap
 of lifeless ashes on the surface of    
material existence--when graciously     
shone upon by knowledge and love1 puts  
on divine attributes1 glows with beauty1
 palpitates with joy1 gives out flashes 
of power1 distils odors of sanctity1 and
 exhibits the marks of a celestial      
grace4 ,the soul1 when thus awakened1   
utters oracles of wisdom1 sings1        
prophesies1 thunders decalogues1        
pronounces beatitudes1 discourses       
grandly of ,god and divine things1      
performs wonders of healing on sick     
bodies and wandering minds1 rises to    
heights of heroism and saintliness4     
,from this point of vision1 it was easy 
to survey the history of mankind1 and1  
in the various religions of the world1  
see the efforts of the soul to express  
itself in scriptures1 emblems1          

doctrines1 altar forms1 architecture1   
painting1 moods and demonstrations of   
piety4 ,the ,transcendentalist rendered 
full justice to all these1 studied them1
 admired them1 confessed their          
inspiration4 ,of these faiths           
,christianity was cheerfully            
acknowledged to be the queen4 ,the      
supremacy of ,jesus was granted with    
enthusiasm4 ,his teachings were accepted
 as the purest expressions of religious 
truth2 ,his miracles were regarded as   
the natural achievements of a soul of   
such originality and force4 ,in his     
address to the senior class in ,divinity
 ,college1 #ahch1 ,mr4 ,emerson spoke of
 ,christ's miracles as being one with   
the blowing clover and the falling rain1
 and urged the young candidates for the 
ministry to let his life and dialogues  
lie as they befel1 active and warm1 part
 of human life1 and of the landscape1   
and of the cheerful day4 ,when1 in      
#ahdj1 ,theodore ,parker wrote his ,levi
 ,blodgett letter1 he believed in       

miracles1 the miracles of the ,new      
,testament and many others besides1 more
 than the ,christians about him were    
willing to accept4       ,it may be said
 these religious teachers 7,zoroaster1  
,buddha1 ,fo7      pretended to work    
miracles4 ,i would not deny that they   
did work      miracles4 ,if a man is    
obedient to the law of his mind1        
conscience      and heart1 since his    
intellect1 character and affections are 
in      harmony with the laws of ,god1  
,i take it he can do works that are     
impossible to others1 who have not been 
so faithful1 and      consequently are  
not one with ,god as he is2 and this is 
all that      is meant by a miracle4    
,the possession of this miraculous      
power1      when it can be proved1 as ,i
 look at the thing1 is only a sign1     
which may be uncertain1 of the superior 
genius of a religious      teacher1 or a
 sign that he will utter the truth1 and 
never a      proof thereof4  ,the       
,transcendentalist was a cordial        

believer in marvels1 as being so hearty 
a believer in the potency of the        
spiritual laws4 ,parker's opposition to 
the miracles of the ,new ,testament was 
provoked by the exclusive claim that was
 put forward by their defenders1 and by 
the position they were thrust into as   
pillars of doctrine4 ,his wish to make  
it appear that truth could stand without
 them1 impelled him to strain at their  
overthrow4 ,later1 his studies in ,new  
,testament criticism confirmed his      
suspicion that the testimony in their   
favor was altogether inadequate to      
sustain their credibility4 ,the theory  
of ,bauer and his disciples of the      
,tuebingen school seemed to him         
unanswerable1 and he abandoned1 as a    
scholar1 much that as a                 
,transcendentalist he might have been   
disposed to retain4 ,w4 ,h4 ,furness1   
author of several biographical studies  
on the life and character of ,jesus--a  
,transcendentalist of the most          
impassioned school1 but no adept in     

historical criticism--maintained to the 
last the credibility of the ,christian  
miracles1 and purely on the ground of   
their perfect naturalness as performed  
by a person so spiritually exalted as   
,jesus was4 ,the more ardent his        
admiration of that character1 the more  
unshrinking his belief in these         
manifestations of its superiority4 ,dr4 
,furness is prepared to think that if no
 miracles had been recorded1            
nevertheless miracles must have been    
wrought1 and would1 but for some        
blindness or skepticism1 have been      
mentioned4  ,the charge that            
,transcendentalism denied the reality of
 supernatural powers and influences     
shows how imperfectly it was            
apprehended4 ,it seemed to deny them    
because it transferred them to another  
sphere4 ,it regarded man himself as a   
supernatural being2 not the last product
 of nature1 but the lord of nature2 not 
the creature of organization1 but its   
creator4 ,in its extreme form1          

,transcendentalism was a deification of 
nature1 in the highest aspects of       
,beauty4 ,it raised human qualities to  
the supreme power2 it ascribed to       
extraordinary virtue in its exalted     
states the efficient grace that is      
commonly attributed to the ,holy        
,spirit4 ,the pure ,transcendentalist   
spoke of the experiences and powers of  
the illuminated soul with as much       
extravagance of rapture as one of the   
newly redeemed ever expressed4 ,the     
profane made sport of his fanaticisms   
and fervors in the same way that they   
made sport of the wild over-gush of a   
revival meeting4 ,the demonstrations of 
feeling were in fact1 precisely similar2
 only in the one case the excitement was
 traced to the ,christ in the skies1 in 
the other to the ,christ who was the    
soul of the man2 in the one case a      
superhuman being was imagined as        
operating on the soul2 in the other case
 the soul was supposed to be giving     
expression to itself4  ,the             

,transcendentalist was not careful      
enough in making this distinction1 and  
was1 therefore1 to blame for a portion  
of the misapprehension that ensued4 ,he 
often found in sacred literature1       
thoughts which he himself put there4    
,parker1 discoursing of inspiration1    
cites ,paul and ,john as holding the    
same doctrine with himself2 though it is
 plain to the single mind that their    
doctrine was in no respect the same1 but
 so different as to be in contradiction4
 ,paul and ,john1 it is hardly too much 
to say1 set up their doctrine in precise
 opposition to the doctrine of the      
,transcendentalists4 ,paul declared that
 the natural man could not discern      
divine things2 that they were           
foolishness to him2 that they must be   
spiritually discerned2 that the         
,christian was able to discern them     
spiritually because he had the mind of  
,christ4 ,the eighth chapter of the     
,epistle to the ,romans contains        
sentences that1 taken singly1 apart from

 their connection1 comfort the cockles  
of the transcendental heart2 but the    
writer is glorifying ,christ the        
inspirer2 not the soul he inspired4 ,he 
opens the chapter with the affirmation  
that there is no condemnation to them   
which are in ,,christ ,,jesus1 who walk 
not after the flesh1 but after the      
spirit1 and follows it with the saying  
that if any man have not the ,spirit of 
,christ1 he is none of his4 ,this is the
 spirit that quickens mortal bodies1    
that makes believers to be ,sons of     
,god1 giving them the spirit of adoption
 whereby they cry ,abba1 ,father1       
bearing witness with their spirit that  
they are the children of ,god4 ,this is 
the spirit that helpeth our infirmities1
 and maketh intercession with groanings 
which cannot be uttered4                
,transcendentalism deliberately broke   
with ,christianity4 ,paul said other    
foundation can no man lay than that is  
laid1 which is ,jesus ,christ4          
,transcendentalism responded3 ,jesus    

,christ built on my foundation1 the     
soul2 and1 for thus answering1 was      
classed with those who used as building 
materials wood1 hay1 stubble1 which the 
fire would consume4 ,in the view of     
,transcendentalism1 ,christianity was an
 illustrious form of natural            
religion--,jesus was a noble type of    
human nature2 revelation was disclosure 
of the soul's mystery2 inspiration was  
the filling of the soul's lungs2        
salvation was spiritual vitality4       
,transcendentalism carried its appeal to
 metaphysics4 ,at present physics have  
the floor4 ,our recent studies have been
 in the natural history of the soul4    
,its spiritual history is discredited4  
,but the human mind ebbs and flows4 ,the
 ,bains and ,spencers and ,taines may   
presently give place to other prophets2 
psychology may come to the front again1 
and with it will reappear the sages and 
seers4 ,in that event1 the religion of  
,transcendentalism will revive1 and will
 have a long and fair day4  ,for it can 

hardly be supposed that the present     
movement in the line of observation is  
the final one2 that henceforth we are to
 continue straight on till1 by the path 
of physiology1 we arrive at absolute    
truth2 that idealism is dead and gone   
for ever1 and materialism of a refined  
type holds the future in its hand4 ,the 
triumphs of the scientific method in the
 natural world are wonderful4 ,the law  
of evolution has its lap full of        
promise4 ,but one who has studied at all
 the history of human thought2 who has  
seen philosophies crowned and           
discrowned1 sceptred and outcast2 who   
has followed the changing fortunes of   
opposing schools1 and witnessed the     
alternate victories and defeats that    
threatened1 each in its turn1 to decide 
the fate of philosophy1 will be slow to 
believe that the final conflict has been
 fought1 or is to be1 for hundreds of   
years to come4 ,the principles of the   
,sensational philosophy have1 within the
 last half century1 been revived and    

restated with great power by ,mill1     
,bain1 ,spencer1 ,taine1 and other      
leaders of speculative opinion both in  
,england and ,europe4 ,recent           
discoveries and generalizations in      
physical science have lent countenance  
to them4 ,the investigations in         
physiology and biology1 the researches  
in the regions of natural history1 the  
revelations of chemistry1 have all      
combined to confirm their truth4        
,psychology1 in the hands of its latest 
masters1 has worked successfully in     
their interest4 ,the thinness1          
shallowness and dry technicality of the 
original school have given place to a   
rich and varied exposition of the facts 
of organic life in its origin1          
development and results4 ,the original  
form of the ,sensational philosophy as  
it prevailed in ,europe is described by 
,mill as the shallowest set of doctrines
 which perhaps1 were ever passed off    
upon a cultivated age as a complete     
psychological system2 a system which    

affected to resolve all the phenomena of
 the human mind into sensation1 by a    
process which essentially consisted in  
merely calling all states of mind1      
however heterogeneous1 by that name2 a  
philosophy now acknowledged to consist  
solely of a set of verbal               
generalizations1 explaining nothing1    
distinguishing nothing1 leading to      
nothing4 ,the ,sensational philosophy is
 now presented as the philosophy of     
experience4 ,its occupation is to       
resolve into results of experience and  
processes of organic life the a priori  
conceptions that have been accepted as  
simple and primitive data of            
consciousness1 by the ,ideal philosophy4
 ,mill was one of the first to undertake
 this from the psychological side1      
analyzing the processes of reason1 and  
making account of the contents of the   
mind4 ,lewes1 ,spencer1 ,tyndall have   
approached the same problem from the    
side of organization4 ,in the first     
edition of the ,logic1 ,mill clearly    

indicated the ground he took in the     
controversy between the two schools2 in 
the last edition1 he defined his        
position more clearly1 against ,whewell1
 and in agreement with ,bain4  ,in the  
article on ,coleridge1 published in the 
,london and ,westminister ,review1      
,march1 #ahdj1 and republished in the   
second volume of ,dissertations and     
,discussions1 ,mill declares explicitly1
 that in his judgment1 the truth on the 
much-debated question between the two   
philosophies lies with the school of    
,locke and ,bentham3       ,the nature  
of laws and things in themselves1 or the
 hidden causes      of the phenomena    
which are the objects of experience1    
appear to us      radically inaccessible
 to the human faculties4 ,we see no     
ground for      believing that any thing
 can be the object of our knowledge     
except      our experience1 and what can
 be inferred from our experience by the 
analogies of experience itself2 nor that
 there is any idea1 feeling      or     

power in the human mind1 which1 in order
 to account for it1      requires that  
its origin should be referred to any    
other source4 ,we      are1 therefore1  
at issue with ,coleridge on the central 
idea of his      philosophy2 and we find
 no need of1 and no use for1 the        
peculiar      technical terminology     
which he and his masters1 the ,germans1 
have      introduced into philosophy1   
for the double purpose of giving        
logical precision to doctrines which we 
do not admit1 and of      marking a     
relation between those abstract         
doctrines and many      concrete        
experimental truths1 which this         
language1 in our judgment1      serves  
not to elucidate1 but to disguise and   
obscure4  ,in the examination of ,sir   
,william ,hamilton's ,philosophy1 he    
still more emphatically expressed his   
dissent from ,schelling1 ,cousin1 and   
every school of idealism1 rejecting the 
doctrine of intuitive knowledge2 taking 
the eternal ground from beneath the     

ideas of the ,infinite and ,absolute2   
sharply questioning the well-conceded   
interpretations of consciousness2       
resolving the first principles into     
mental habits2 and even going so far as 
to doubt whether twice two necessarily  
made four4#c  #c ,vol4 #a1 page #hi1    
#ij4  ,the system of ,spencer and other 
expositors of the doctrine of evolution 
is1 in its general features and its     
ultimate tendency1 too familiar to be   
stated4 ,its hostility to the intuitive 
philosophy must be obvious even to      
unpractised minds4 ,the atomic theory of
 the constitution of matter1 which1 in  
one or another form1 is accepted by the 
majority of scientific men1 gives       
ominous prediction of disaster to every 
scheme that is built on the necessary   
truths of pure reason4  ,but the        
philosophers of the experimental school 
are by no means in accord among         
themselves1 on a matter so cardinal as  
the relation of mind to organization4   
,in the latest edition of the ,logic1   

,mill repeats the language used in the  
first3#d       ,that every mental state 
has a nervous state for its immediate   
antecedent1 though extremely probable1  
cannot hitherto be said to      be      
proved1 in the conclusive manner in     
which this can be proved of             
sensations2 and even were it certain1   
yet every one must admit that      we   
are wholly ignorant of the              
characteristics of these nervous        
states2 we know not1 and have no means  
of knowing1 in what respect      one of 
them differs from another4444 ,the      
successions1 therefore1      which      
obtain among mental phenomena1 do not   
admit of being deduced      from the    
physiological laws of our nervous       
organization4 ,it must      by no means 
be forgotten that the laws of mind may  
be derivative      laws resulting from  
laws of animal life1 and that their     
truth1      therefore1 may ultimately   
depend on physical conditions2 and the  
influence of physiological states or    

physiological changes in      altering  
or counter-acting the mental            
successions1 is one of the      most    
important departments of psychological  
study4 ,but on the other      hand1 to  
reject the resource of psychological    
analysis1 and      construct the theory 
of mind solely on such data as          
physiology      affords at present1     
seems to me as great an error in        
principle1      and an even more serious
 one in practice4 ,imperfect as is the  
science of mind1 ,i do not scruple to   
affirm that it is in a      considerably
 more advanced state than the portion of
 physiology      which corresponds with 
it2 and to discard the former for the   
latter      appears to me to be an      
infringement of the true canons of      
inductive      philosophy4  #d ,logic1  
p4 #eia4 ,amer4 ,edition4  ,in a        
previous chapter#e ,mill had said3      
,i am far from pretending that it may   
not be capable of proof1 or      that it
 is not an important addition to our    

knowledge1 if proved1      that certain 
motions in the particles of bodies are  
the      conditions of the production of
 heat or light2 that certain            
assignable physical modifications of the
 nerves may be the      conditions1 not 
only of our sensations and emotions1 but
 even of      our thoughts2 that certain
 mechanical and chemical conditions may1
      in the order of nature1 be        
sufficient to determine to action the   
physiological laws of life4 ,all ,i     
insist upon1 in common with every       
thinker who entertains any clear idea of
 the logic of science1 is1      that it 
shall not be supposed that by proving   
these things1 one      step would be    
made toward a real explanation of heat1 
light1 or      sensation2 or that the   
generic peculiarity of those phenomena  
can      be in the least degree evaded  
by any such discoveries1 however well   
established4 ,let it be shown1 for      
instance1 that the most complex         
series of physical causes and effects   

succeed one another in the      eye and 
in the brain1 to produce a sense of     
color2 rays falling on      the eye1    
refracted1 converging1 crossing one     
another1 making an      inverted image  
on the retina2 and after this a         
motion--let it be a      vibration1 or a
 rush of nervous fluid1 or whatever else
 you are      pleased to suppose1 along 
the optic nerve--a propagation of this  
motion to the brain itself1 and as many 
more different motions as      you      
choose2 still1 at the end of these      
motions there is something      which is
 not motion1 there is a feeling or      
sensation of color4 ,the      mode in   
which any one of the motions produces   
the next1 may      possibly be          
susceptible of explanation by some      
general law of      motion2 but the mode
 in which the last motion produces the  
sensation of color cannot be explained  
by any motion2 it is the law      of    
color1 which is1 and must always remain 
a peculiar thing4 ,where      our       

consciousness recognizes between two    
phenomena an inherent      distinction2 
where we are sensible of a difference1  
which is not      merely of degree2 and 
feel that no adding one of the phenomena
 to      itself will produce the other2 
any theory which attempts to bring      
either under the laws of the other must 
be false4  #e ,logic1 p4 #edh4 ,amer4   
,edition4  ,to precisely the same       
effect1 ,du,bois ,reymond1 in an address
 to the ,congress of ,german            
,naturalists given in ,leipsic3         
,it is absolutely and forever           
inconceivable that a number of          
carbon1 hydrogen1 nitrogen and oxygen   
atoms1 should be otherwise      than    
indifferent to their own position and   
motion1 past1 present1      or future4  
,it is utterly inconceivable how        
consciousness should      result from   
their joint action4  ,the position of   
,john ,tyndall is well understood4 ,it  
was avowed in #ahfj in the ,saturday    
,review2 again in his address to the    

,mathematical and ,physical ,section of 
the ,british ,association in #ahfh1     
wherein he declared that       ,the     
passage from the physics of the brain to
 the corresponding      facts of        
consciousness is unthinkable4 ,granted  
that a thought and      a definite      
molecular action in the brain occur     
simultaneously1 we      do not possess  
the organ1 nor1 apparently1 any rudiment
 of the      organ1 which would enable  
us to pass by a process of reasoning    
from      the one phenomenon to the     
other4 ,they appear together1 but we do 
not know why4  ,in #ahge1 reviewing     
,martineau in the ,popular ,science     
,monthly for ,december1 ,tyndall calls  
attention to these declarations1 and    
quotes other language of his own to the 
same purpose3       ,you cannot satisfy 
the understanding in its demand for     
logical      continuity between         
molecular processes and the phenomena of
      consciousness4 ,this is a rock on 
which materialism must inevitably       

split whenever it pretends to be a      
complete philosophy of the human        
mind4  ,mr4 ,john ,fiske1 a disciple of 
,herbert ,spencer1 and an exceedingly   
able expositor of the philosophy of     
which ,spencer is the acknowledged      
chief1 makes assertions equally         
positive3#f       ,however strict the   
parallelism may be within the limits of 
our      experience1 between the        
phenomena of the mind1 and the segment  
of      the circle of motions1 the task 
of transcending or abolishing the       
radical antithesis between the phenomena
 of mind and the phenomena      of      
matter1 must always remain an           
impracticable task2 for1 in order       
to transcend or abolish this radical    
antithesis1 we must be      prepared to 
show how a given quantity of molecular  
motion in nerve      tissue can be      
transformed into a definable amount of  
ideation or      feeling4 ,but this1 it 
is quite safe to say1 can never be done4
  #f ,outlines of ,cosmic ,philosophy1  

,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #ddb4  ,there are of    
course1 distinguished names on the other
 side4 ,the work on ,intelligence1 by   
,mr4 ,taine1 which ,mr4 ,mill warmly    
commends as the the first serious effort
 7in ,france7 to supply the want of a   
better than the official psychology1    
cannot be wisely overlooked by any one  
interested in this problem4 ,taine      
objects to ,tyndall's statement of the  
problem1 declares that by approaching it
 from another point1 it is soluble1 and 
frankly undertakes to solve it4#g  #g   
,on ,intelligence1 ,book ,,iii41 chap4  
,i4       ,when we consider closely any 
one of our conceptions--that of a       
plant1 an animal1 a mineral--we find    
that the primitive threads of      which
 it is woven1 are sensations1 and       
sensations only4 ,we have      proof of 
this already if we recollect that our   
ideas are only      reviving sensations1
 that our ideas are nothing more than   
images      which have become signs1 and
 that thus this elementary tissue       

subsists in a more or less disguised    
form at all stages of our      thought4 
,it is true that we cannot conceive the 
two events      otherwise than as       
irreducible to one another2 but that may
 depend      on the way we conceive     
them1 and not on their actual qualities2
      their incompatibility is perhaps  
rather apparent than real2 it           
arises on our side and not on theirs4   
,mr4 ,george ,h4 ,lewes#h follows       
closely ,taine's line of argument1 but  
developes it with more system4 ,he too  
quotes ,tyndall1 alludes to ,du,bois    
,reymond and makes reference to ,mill4  
,lewes holds it to be a severe deduction
 from proven facts that the neural      
process and the feeling are one and the 
same process viewed under different     
aspects4 ,viewed from the physical or   
objective side1 it is a neural process2 
viewed from the psychological or        
subjective side1 it is a sentient       
process4  #h ,problems of ,life and     
,mind ,,ii4 pp4 #daj1 #dae4       ,it is

 not wonderful that conceptions so      
dissimilar as those of      ,motion and 
,feeling should seem irreducible to a   
common term1 while      the one is      
regarded as the symbol of a process in  
the object1 and      the other as the   
symbol of a process in the subject4 ,but
      psychological analysis leads to   
the conclusion that the objective       
process and the subjective process are  
simply the twofold aspects      of one  
and the same fact2 in the one aspect it 
is the ,felt1 in the      other it is   
the ,feeling4  ,for the remarkable      
reasonings by which these assertions are
 justified1 the readers must consult the
 works quoted4 ,their novelty renders   
any but an extended account of them     
unfair2 and an extended account would be
 out of place in a general study like   
this4  ,should the analyses of ,taine   
and ,lewes prove successful at last1 and
 be accepted by the authorities in      
speculative philosophy1 idealism1 as a  
philosophy1 must disappear4 ,the days of

 metaphysics in the old sense1 will be  
numbered2 the ,german schools from ,kant
 to ,hegel will become obsolete2        
,jacobi's doctrine of faith1 ,fichte's  
doctrine of the absolute ,ego1          
,schelling's doctrine of intellectual   
intuition1 will be forgotten2 ,cousin's 
influence will be gone2 the fundamental 
ideas of ,transcendental teachers1      
,french1 ,english1 ,american1 will be   
discredited2 and the beliefs founded on 
them will fade away4 ,there will1       
however1 be no cause to apprehend the   
personal1 social1 moral or spiritual    
demoralization which the ,sensualist    
doctrines of the last century were      
accused of encouraging4 ,the attitude of
 the human mind towards the great       
problems of destiny has so far altered1 
the problems themselves have so far     
changed their face1 that no shock will  
be felt in the passage from the         
philosophy of intuition to that of      
experience4 ,questions respecting the   
origin1 order and regulation of the     

world1 the laws of character1 the       
constitution of society1 the conditions 
of welfare1 the prospects and relations 
of the individual1 are put in new forms1
 discussed by new arguments1 and        
answered by new assurances4 ,the words  
atheism and materialism have passed     
through so many definitions1 the        
conceptions they stand for have become  
so completely transformed by the        
mutations of thought1 that the ancient  
antipathies are not longer excusable2   
the ancient fears are weak4 ,the        
sanctities that once were set apart in  
ideal shrines will be perfectly at home 
among the demonstrated facts of common  
life4  ,if1 on the other hand1 the      
school to which ,spencer1 ,fiske and    
,tyndall belong is right1 the science of
 mind will recover its old dignity1     
though under new conditions4 ,nobody has
 spoken more plainly against the        
intuitive philosophy1 than ,mill4 ,no   
one probably is further from it than    
,tyndall1 though he responds in         

sentiment to the eloquent affirmations  
of ,martineau1 and quotes ,emerson      
enthusiastically1 as a profoundly       
religious man who is really and entirely
 undaunted by the discoveries of        
science1 past1 present or prospective2  
one by whom scientific conceptions are  
continually transmuted into the finer   
forms and warmer hues of an ideal world4
 ,under the influences of the new       
psychology1 dogmatic idealism will      
probably be deprived of its sceptre and 
sway4 ,the claim to intuitive knowledge 
of definite truths of any order         
whatsoever will be abandoned1 as        
untenable on scientific or philosophical
 grounds2 but imagination1 which1 as    
,emerson says1 respects the cause1--the 
vision of an inspired soul reading      
arguments and affirmations in all nature
 of that which it is driven to say2     
emotion1 which contains all the         
possibilities of feeling and hope2 the  
moral sentiment1 which affirms          
principles with imperative authority2   

these remain1 and claim their right to  
create ideal worlds of which the natural
 world is image and symbol4 ,the        
,transcendentalism which concedes to all
 mankind spiritual faculties by virtue  
whereof divine entities are seen in     
definite shape--the personal ,god--the  
city of the heavenly ,jerusalem--will be
 superseded by the poetic idealism that 
is the cheer and inspiration of poetic  
minds1 animating them with fine visions1
 and gladdening them with unfading1     
though vague1 anticipations4  ,the      
,transcendental doctrine has been       
exposed to most deadly assault on the   
ethical side4 ,the theory of moral      
intuition1 which held that every man is1
 according to the cautious statement of 
,james ,walker1 born with a moral       
faculty1 or the elements of a moral     
faculty1 which1 on being developed1     
creates in him the idea of a right and a
 wrong in human conduct2 which summons  
him before the tribunal of his own soul 
for judgment on the rectitude of his    

purposes2 which grows up into an        
habitual sense of personal              
responsibility1 and thus prepares him1  
as his views are enlarged1 to comprehend
 the moral government of ,god1 and to   
feel his own responsibility to ,god as a
 moral governor1--has fallen into       
general disrepute2 and in its place a   
persuasion is abroad1 that1 in the      
language of ,grote1 the universal and   
essential tendencies of the moral sense1
 admit of being most satisfactorily     
deduced from other elementary principles
 of our nature4 ,it is now a widely     
accepted belief among conservative      
thinkers1 that conscience is not a      
faculty1 or an element1 existing here in
 germ1 there in maturity2 but is the    
result of social experience4 ,moderate  
,transcendentalists conceded the        
necessity of educating conscience1 which
 still implied the existence of a       
conscience or moral sense to be         
educated4 ,it is now contended that     
conscience itself is a product of       

education1 a deposit left in the        
crucible of experiment1 a habit formed  
by the usage of mankind4 ,the           
justification of this view has gone so  
far1 that it seems likely to become the 
recognized account of this matter2 but  
in course of substantiating this        
doctrine1 a new foundation for ethical  
feeling and judgment is laid1 which is  
as immovable as the transcendental facts
 of consciousness4 ,the moral sentiments
 are represented as resting on the      
entire past of the race1 on reefs of    
fact built up by the lives of millions  
of men1 from the bottom of the deep of  
humanity4 ,the finest moral sensibility 
caps the peak of the world's effort at  
self-adjustment1 as the white1 unsullied
 snow rests on the summit of the        
,jungfrau4 ,the intuition is referred to
 in another genesis1 but it is equally  
clear and equally certain4 ,the         
difference of origin creates no         
difference of character4 ,moral         
distinctions are precisely the same for 

idealists and sensationalists4 ,here at 
least1 the transcendentalist and his    
adversary can dwell in amity together4  
,,ix4  ,,the ,,seer4   ,a discerning    
,german writer1 ,herman ,grimm1 closes a
 volume of fifteen essays1 with one on  
,ralph ,waldo ,emerson1 written in      
#ahfa1 approved in #ahgd4 ,the essay is 
interesting1 apart from its literary    
merit1 as giving the impression made by 
,mr4 ,emerson on a foreigner to whom his
 reputation was unknown1 and a man of   
culture to whom books and opinions      
rarely brought surprise4 ,he saw a      
volume of the ,essays lying on the table
 of an ,american acquaintance1 looked   
into it1 and was surprised that1 being  
tolerably well practised in reading     
,english1 he understood next to nothing 
of the contents4 ,he asked about the    
author1 and1 learning that he was highly
 esteemed in his own country1 he opened 
the book again1 read further1 and was so
 much struck by passages here and there1
 that he borrowed it1 carried it home1  

took down ,webster's dictionary1 and    
began reading in earnest4 ,the          
extraordinary construction of the       
sentences1 the apparent absence of      
logical continuity1 the unexpected turns
 of thought1 the use of original words1 
embarrassed him at first2 but soon he   
discovered the secret and felt the      
charms4 ,the man had fresh thoughts1    
employed a living speech1 was a genuine 
person4 ,the book was bought1 read and  
re-read1 and now every time ,i take it  
up1 ,i seem to take it up for the first 
time4  ,the power that the richest      
genius has in ,shakspeare1 ,rafael1     
,goethe1 ,beethoven1 to reconcile the   
soul to life1 to give joy for heaviness1
 to dissipate fears1 to transfigure care
 and toil1 to convert lead into gold1   
and lift the veil that conceals the     
forms of hope1 ,grimm ascribes in the   
highest measure to ,emerson4       ,as  
,i read1 all seems old and familiar as  
if it was my own      well-worn thought2
 all seems new as if it never occurred  

to me      before4 ,i found myself      
depending on the book and was provoked  
with      myself for it4 ,how could ,i  
be so captured and enthralled2 so       
fascinated and bewitched8 ,the writer   
was but a man like any other2      yet1 
on taking up the volume again1 the spell
 was renewed--,i felt      the pure air2
 the old weather-beaten motives         
recovered their tone4  ,to him ,emerson 
seemed to stand on the ground of simple 
fact1 which he accepted in all          
sincerity4       ,he regards the world  
in its immediate aspect1 with fresh     
vision2      the thing done or occurring
 before him opens the way to serene     
heights4 ,the living have precedence of 
the dead4 ,even the living of           
to-day of the ,greeks of yesterday1     
nobly as the latter thought1            
moulded1 chiselled1 sang4 ,for me was   
the breath of life1 for me the          
rapture of spring1 for me love and      
desire1 for me the secret of      wisdom
 and power4444 ,emerson fills me with   

courage and      confidence4 ,he has    
read and observed1 but he betrays no    
sign of      toil4 ,he presents familiar
 facts1 but he places them in new lights
      and combinations4 ,from every     
object the lines run straight out1      
connecting it with the central point of 
life4 ,what ,i had hardly      dared to 
think1 it was so bold1 he brings forth  
as quietly as if it      was the most   
familiar commonplace4 ,he is a perfect  
swimmer on the      ocean of modern     
existence4 ,he dreads no tempest1 for he
 is sure      that calm will follow it2 
he does not hate1 contradict1 or        
dispute1      for he understands men and
 loves them4 ,i look on with wonder to  
see      how the hurly-burly of modern  
life subsides1 and the elements         
gently betake themselves to their       
allotted places4 ,had ,i found but      
a single passage in his writings that   
was an exception to this      rule1 ,i  
should begin to suspect my judgment1 and
 should say no      further word2 but   

long acquaintance confirms my opinion4  
,as ,i think      of this man1 ,i have  
understood the devotion of pupils who   
would      share any fate with their    
master1 because his genius banished     
doubt      and imparted life to all     
things4  ,grimm tells us that one day he
 found ,emerson's ,essays in the hands  
of a lady to whom he had recommended    
them without effect4 ,she had made a    
thousand excuses2 had declared herself  
quite satisfied with ,goethe1 who had   
all that ,emerson could possibly have1  
and a great deal more2 had expressed    
doubts whether1 even if ,emerson were   
all that his admirers represented1 it   
was worth while to make a study of him4 
,besides1 she had read in the book1 and 
found only commonplace thoughts which   
had come to herself1 and which she      
considered not of sufficient importance 
to express4 ,so ,emerson was neglected4 
,on this occasion she made him the      
subject of conversation4 ,she had       
felt that he was something remarkable4  

,she had come upon sentences1      many 
times1 that opened the darkest recesses 
of thought4 ,i listened      quietly1   
but made no response4 ,not long         
afterwards she poured out      to me her
 astonished admiration in such earnest  
and impassioned      strain1 that she   
made me feel as if ,i was the novice and
 she the      apostle4  ,this experience
 was repeated again and again1 and      
,grimm had the satisfaction of seeing   
the indifferent kindle1 the adverse     
turn1 the objectors yield4 ,the praise  
was not universal indeed2 there were    
stubborn dissentients who did not       
confess the charm1 and declared that the
 enthusiasm was infatuation4 ,such      
remained unconverted4 ,it was discovered
 that ,emerson came to his own only1    
though his own were a large and         
increasing company4  ,the reasons of    
,grimm's admiration have been           
sufficiently indicated in the above     
extracts4 ,they are good reasons1 but   
they are not the best4 ,they do not     

touch the deeper secret of power4 ,that 
secret lies in the writer's pure and    
perfect idealism1 in his absolute and   
perpetual faith in thoughts1 his supreme
 confidence in the spiritual laws4 ,he  
lives in the region of serene ideas2    
lives there all the day and all the     
year2 not visiting the mount of vision  
occasionally1 but setting up his        
tabernacle there1 and passing the night 
among the stars that he may be up and   
dressed for the eternal sunrise4 ,to    
such a spirit there is no night3 the    
darkness shineth as the day2 the        
darkness and the light are both alike4  
,there are no cloudy days4 ,tyndall's   
expression in his case ,poetry1 with the
 joy of a bacchanal1 takes her graver   
brother science by the hand1 and cheers 
him with immortal laughter--is          
singularly infelicitous in phrase1 for  
it is as easy to associate night orgies 
with the dawn as the bacchanalian spirit
 with ,emerson1 who never riots and     
never laughs1 but is radiant with a     

placid buoyancy that diffuses itself    
over his countenance and person4 ,mr4   
,emerson's characteristic trait is      
serenity4 ,he is faithful to his own    
counsel1 ,shun the negative side4 ,never
 wrong people with your contritions1 nor
 with dismal views of politics or       
society4 ,never name sickness2 even if  
you could trust yourself on that        
perilous topic1 beware of unmuzzling a  
valetudinarian who will soon give you   
your fill of it4 ,he seems to be        
perpetually saying ,good ,morning4      
,this is not wholly a result of         
philosophy2 it is rather a gift of      
nature4 ,he is the descendant of eight  
generations of ,puritan clergymen1--the 
inheritor of their thoughtfulness and   
contemplation1 their spirit of inward   
and outward communion4 ,the dogmatism   
fell away2 the peaceful fruits of       
discipline remained1 and flowered       
beautifully in his richly favored       
spirit4 ,an elder brother ,william1 whom
 it was a privilege to know1 though     

lacking the genius of ,waldo1 was a     
natural idealist and wise saint4        
,charles1 another brother1 who died     
young and greatly lamented had the      
saintliness and the genius both4 ,the   
,dial contained contributions from this 
young man1 entitled ,notes from the     
,journal of a ,scholar that strongly    
suggest the genius of his eminent       
brother2 a few passages from them may be
 interesting as throwing light on the   
secret of ,emerson's inspiration4       
,this afternoon we read ,shakspeare4    
,the verse so sank into me1 that      as
 ,i toiled my way home under the cloud  
of night1 with the gusty      music of  
the storm around and overhead1 ,i       
doubted that it was all      a          
remembered scene2 that humanity was     
indeed one1 a spirit      continually   
reproduced1 accomplishing a vast orbit1 
whilst      individual men are but the  
points through which it passes4         
,we each of us furnish to the angel who 
stands in the sun1 a single             

observation4 ,the reason why ,homer is  
to me like dewy morning1 is      because
 ,i too lived while ,troy was1 and      
sailed in the hollow ships      of the  
,grecians to sack the devoted town4 ,the
 rosy-fingered dawn as      it crimsoned
 the tops of ,ida1 the broad sea shore  
covered with      tents1 the ,trojan    
hosts in their painted armor1 and the   
rushing      chariots of ,diomed and    
,idomeneus1--all these ,i too saw3 my   
ghost      animated the frame of some   
nameless ,argive2 and ,shakspeare1 in   
,king      ,john1 does but recall to me 
myself in the dress of another age1 the 
sport of new accidents4 ,i who am       
,charles1 was sometime ,romeo4 ,in      
,hamlet ,i pondered and doubted4 ,we    
forget what we have been1 drugged       
by the sleepy bowl of the ,present4 ,but
 when a lively chord in the      soul is
 struck1 when the windows for a moment  
are unbarred1 the      long and varied  
past is recovered4 ,we recognize it all2
 we are no      more brief1 ignoble     

creatures2 we seize our immortality and 
bind      together the related parts of 
our secular being4  ,from the second    
record of thoughts a passage may be     
taken1 so precisely like paragraphs in  
the essays that they might have         
proceeded from the same mind3       ,let
 us not vail our bonnets to             
circumstance4 ,if we act so1 because    
we are so2 if we sin from strong bias of
 temper and constitution1      at least 
we have in ourselves the measure and the
 curb of our      aberration4 ,but if   
they who are around us sway us2 if we   
think      ourselves incapable of       
resisting the cords by which fathers and
      mothers and a host of unsuitable  
expectations and duties1 falsely      so
 called1 seek to bind us1--into what    
helpless discord shall we      not fall4
       ,i hate whatever is imitative in 
states of mind as well as in            
action4 ,the moment ,i say to myself1   
',i ought to feel thus and so1'         
life loses its sweetness1 the soul her  

vigor and truth4 ,i can only            
recover my genuine self by stopping     
short1 refraining from every      effort
 to shape my thought after a form1 and  
giving it boundless      freedom and    
horizon4 ,then1 after oscillation more  
or less      protracted1 as the mind has
 been more or less forcibly pushed from 
its place1 ,i fall again into my orbit  
and recognize myself1 and      find with
 gratitude that something there is in   
the spirit which      changes not1      
neither is weary1 but ever returns into 
itself1 and      partakes of the        
eternity of ,god4  ,idealism is native  
to this temperament1 the proper         
expression of its feeling4 ,emerson was 
preordained an idealist2 he is one of   
the eternal men1 bearing about him the  
atmosphere of immortal youth4 ,he is now
 seventy-three years old1 having been   
born in ,boston ,may #beth1 #ahjc2 but  
his last volume1 ,letters and ,social   
,aims1 shows the freshness of his first 
essays4 ,the opening chapter1 ,poetry   

and ,imagination1 has the emphasis and  
soaring confidence of undimmed years2   
and the closing one1 ,immortality1      
sustains an unwearied flight among the  
agitations of this most hotly-debated of
 beliefs4 ,the address before the ,phi  
,beta ,kappa ,society at ,cambridge1 in 
#ahfg1 equals in moral grandeur and     
earnestness of appeal1 in faithfulness  
to ideas and trust in principles1 the   
addresses that made so famous the prime 
of his career4 ,there is absolutely no  
abatement of heart or hope2 if anything1
 the tone is richer and more assured    
than ever it was4 ,during the season of 
his popularity as a lyceum lecturer1 the
 necessity of making his discourse      
attractive and entertaining1 brought    
into the foreground the play of his wit1
 and forced the graver qualities of his 
mind into partial concealment2 but in   
later years1 in the solitude of his     
study1 the undertone of high purpose is 
heard again1 in solemn reverberations1  
reminding us that the unseen realities  

are present still2 that no opening into 
the eternal has ever been closed4       
,shall we study the mathematics of the  
sphere1 he says to the      ,cambridge  
scholars1 and not its causal essence    
also8 ,nature is a      fable1 whose    
moral blazes through it4 ,there is no   
use in      ,copernicus1 if the robust  
periodicity of the solar system does not
      show its equal perfection in the  
mental sphere--the periodicity1      the
 compensating errors1 the grand         
reactions4 ,i shall never believe       
that centrifugence and centripetence    
balance1 unless mind heats and          
meliorates1 as well as the surface and  
soil of the globe4       ,on this power1
 this all-dissolving unity1 the emphasis
 of heaven      and earth is laid4      
,nature is brute1 but as this soul      
quickens it2      nature always the     
effect1 mind the flowing cause4 ,mind   
carries the      law2 history is the    
slow and atomic unfolding4       ,all   
vigor is contagious1 and when we see    

creation1 we also begin      to create4 
,depth of character1 height of genius1  
can only find      nourishment in this  
soil4 ,the miracles of genius always    
rest on      profound convictions which 
refuse to be analyzed4 ,enthusiasm is   
the      leaping lightning1 not to be   
measured by the horse-power of the      
understanding4 ,hope never spreads her  
golden wings but on      unfathomable   
seas4       ,we wish to put the ideal   
rules into practice1 to offer liberty   
instead of chains1 and see whether      
liberty will not disclose its           
proper checks2 believing that a free    
press will prove safer than      the    
censorship2 to ordain free trade1 and   
believe that it will not      bankrupt  
us2 universal suffrage1 believing that  
it will not carry      us to mobs or    
back to kings again4       ,every inch  
of the mountains is scarred by          
unimaginable      convulsions1 yet the  
new day is purple with the bloom of     
youth and      love4 ,look out into the 

,july night1 and see the broad belt of  
silver flame which flashes up the half  
of heaven1 fresh and      delicate as   
the bonfires of the meadow flies4 ,yet  
the powers of      numbers cannot       
compute its enormous age--lasting as    
time and      space--embosomed in time  
and space4 ,and time and space1 what are
      they8 ,our first problems1 which  
we ponder all our lives through1        
and leave where we found them2 whose    
outrunning immensity1 the old           
,greeks believed1 astonished the gods   
themselves2 of whose dizzy              
vastitudes1 all the worlds of ,god are a
 mere dot on the margin2      impossible
 to deny1 impossible to believe4 ,yet   
the moral element in      man           
counterpoises this dismaying immensity  
and bereaves it of      terror4         
,emerson has been called the prince of  
,transcendentalists4 ,it is nearer the  
truth to call him the prince of         
idealists4 ,a ,transcendentalist1 in the
 technical sense of the term1 it cannot 

be clearly affirmed that he was4        
,certainly he cannot be reckoned a      
disciple of ,kant1 or ,jacobi1 or       
,fichte1 or ,schelling4 ,he calls no man
 master2 he receives no teaching on     
authority4 ,it is not certain that he   
ever made a study of the ,transcendental
 philosophy in the works of its chief   
exposition4 ,in his lecture on ,the     
,transcendentalist1 delivered in #ahdb1 
he conveys the impression that it is    
idealism--active and protesting--an     
excited reaction against formalism1     
tradition1 and conventionalism in every 
sphere4 ,as such1 he describes it with  
great vividness and beauty4 ,but as such
 merely1 it was not apprehended by      
metaphysicians like ,james ,walker1     
theologians like ,parker or preachers   
like ,william ,henry ,channing4         
,emerson does not claim for the soul a  
special faculty1 like faith or          
intuition1 by which truths of the       
spiritual order are perceived1 as       
objects are perceived by the senses4 ,he

 contends for no doctrines1 whether of  
,god or the hereafter1 or the moral law1
 on the credit of such interior         
revelation4 ,he neither dogmatizes nor  
defines4 ,on the contrary1 his chief    
anxiety seems to be to avoid committing 
himself to opinions2 to keep all        
questions open2 to close no avenue in   
any direction to the free ingress and   
egress of the mind4 ,he gives no        
description of ,god that will class him 
as theist or pantheist2 no definition of
 immortality that justifies his readers 
in imputing to him any form of the      
popular belief in regard to it4 ,does he
 believe in personal immortality8 ,it is
 impertinent to ask4 ,he will not be    
questioned2 not because he doubts1 but  
because his beliefs are so rich1 various
 and many-sided1 that he is unwilling1  
by laying emphasis on any one1 to do an 
apparent injustice to others4 ,he will  
be held to no definitions2 he will be   
reduced to no final statements4 ,the    
mind must have free range4 ,critics     

complain of the tantalizing             
fragmentariness of his writing2 it is   
evidence of the shyness and modesty of  
his mind4 ,he dwells in principles1 and 
will not be cabined in beliefs4 ,he     
needs the full expanse of the ,eternal  
,reason4 ,in the chapter on             
,worship--,conduct of ,life1 p4 #bhh1 he
 writes thus3       ,of immortality1 the
 soul1 when well employed1 is incurious2
 it is      so well1 that it is sure it 
will be well2 it asks no questions of   
the ,supreme ,power2 'tis a higher thing
 to confide1 that if it is      best we 
should live1 we shall live--it is higher
 to have this      conviction than to   
have the lease of indefinite centuries1 
and      millenniums and aeons4 ,higher 
than the question of our duration1 is   
the question of our deserving4          
,immortality will come to such as are   
fit for it1 and he who would be a great 
soul in future1 must be a      great    
soul now4 ,it is a doctrine too great to
 rest on any legend1      that is1 on   

any man's experience but our own4 ,it   
must be proved1 if      at all1 from our
 own activity and designs1 which imply  
an      interminable future for their   
play4  ,the discourse on ,immortality1  
which closes the volume1 ,letters and   
,social ,aims1 moves on with steady     
power1 towards the conclusion of belief4
 ,emerson really seems about to commit  
himself2 he argues and affirms1 with    
extraordinary positiveness4 ,of         
skepticism1 on the subject1 he says3    
,i admit that you shall find a good deal
 of skepticism in the      streets and  
hotels1 and places of coarse amusement4 
,but that is      only to say that the  
practical faculties are faster developed
 than      the spiritual4 ,where there  
is depravity there is a slaughter-house 
style of thinking4 ,one argument of     
future life is the recoil of the        
mind in such company--our pain at every 
skeptical statement4  ,his enumeration  
of the few simple elements of the       
natural faith1 is as clear and cogent as

 was ever made4 ,he urges the delight in
 permanence and stability1 in immense   
spaces and reaches of time4 ,every thing
 is prospective1 and man is to live     
hereafter4 ,he urges that3       ,the   
implanting of a desire indicates that   
the gratification of      that desire is
 in the constitution of the creature    
that feels it2      the wish for food2  
the wish for motion2 the wish for sleep1
 for      society1 for knowledge1 are   
not random whims1 but grounded in the   
structure of the creature1 and meant to 
be satisfied by food2 by      motion2 by
 sleep2 by society2 by knowledge4 ,if   
there is the desire      to live1 and in
 larger sphere1 with more knowledge and 
power1 it is      because life and      
knowledge and power are good for us1 and
 we are      the natural depositaries of
 these gifts4  ,he ranks as a hint of   
endless being the novelty which         
perpetually attends life3       ,the    
soul does not age with the body4 ,every 
really able man1 in      whatever       

direction he work--a man of large       
affairs--an inventor1 a      statesman1 
an orator1 a poet1 a painter--if you    
talk sincerely with      him1 considers 
his work1 however much admired1 as far  
short of what      it should be4 ,what  
is this ',better1' this flying ideal but
 the      perpetual promise of his      
,creator8  ,the prophecy of the         
intellect is enunciated in stirring     
tones3       ,all our intellectual      
action1 not promises but bestows a      
feeling of      absolute existence4 ,we 
are taken out of time1 and breathe a    
purer      air4 ,i know not whence we   
draw the assurance of prolonged life3 of
      a life which shoots that gulf we  
call death1 and takes hold of what      
is real and abiding1 by so many claims  
as from our intellectual      history4  
,as soon as thought is exercised1 this  
belief is      inevitable2 as soon as   
virtue glows1 this belief confirms      
itself4      ,it is a kind of summary or
 completion of man4  ,this reads very   

much like encouragement to the popular  
persuasion1 yet it comes far short of   
it2 indeed1 does not1 at any point touch
 it4 ,the immortality is claimed for the
 moral and spiritual by whom thought is 
exercised1 in whom virtue glows--for    
none beside--and for these1 the         
individual conscious existence is not   
asserted4 ,in the midst of the high     
argument occur sentences like these3    
,i confess that everything connected    
with our personality fails4      ,nature
 never spares the individual4 ,we are   
always balked of a      complete        
success4 ,no prosperity is promised to  
that4 ,we have our      indemnity only  
in the success of that to which we      
belong4 ,that is      immortal1 and we  
only through that4 ,future state is an  
illusion      for the ever present      
state4 ,it is not length of life1 but   
depth of      life4 ,it is not duration1
 but a taking of the soul out of time1  
as      all high action of the mind     
does2 when we are living in the         

sentiments we ask no questions about    
time4 ,the spiritual world      takes   
place--that which is always the same4   
,goethe is quoted to the same purpose3  
,it is to a thinking being quite        
impossible to think himself             
non-existent1 ceasing to think and live2
 so far does every one      carry in    
himself the proof of immortality1 and   
quite spontaneously4      ,but so soon  
as the man will be objective and go out 
of himself1 so      soon as he          
dogmatically will grasp a personal      
duration to bolster      up in cockney  
fashion that inward assurance1 he is    
lost in      contradiction4  ,it is     
thought worth while to dwell so long on 
this point1 because it furnishes a      
perfect illustration of ,emerson's      
intellectual attitude towards beliefs1  
its entire sincerity1 disinterestedness 
and modesty4 ,the serenity of his faith 
makes it impossible for him to be a     
controversialist4 ,he never gave a      
sweeter or more convincing proof of this

 than in the sermon he preached on the  
,communion ,supper1 which terminated his
 connection with his ,boston parish1 and
 with it his relations to the ,christian
 ministry1 after a short service of less
 than four years4 ,the rite in question 
was held sacred by his sect1 as a       
personal memorial of ,jesus perpetuated 
according to his own request4 ,to       
neglect it was still regarded as a      
reproach2 to dispute its authority was  
considered contumacious2 to declare it  
obsolete and useless1 an impediment to  
spiritual progress1 a hindrance to      
,christian growth1 was to excite violent
 animosities1 and call down angry       
rebuke4 ,yet this is what ,mr4 ,emerson 
deliberately did4 ,that the question of 
retaining a minister who declined to    
bless and distribute the bread and wine1
 was debated at all1 was proof of the   
extraordinary hold he had on his people4
 ,through the crisis he remained        
unruffled1 calm and gracious as in the  
sunniest days4 ,on the evening when the 

church were considering his final       
proposition1 with such result as he     
clearly foresaw1 he sat with a brother  
clergyman talking pleasantly on         
literature and general topics1 never    
letting fall a hint of the impending    
judgment1 until1 as he rose to leave1 he
 said gently1 this is probably the last 
time we shall meet as brethren in the   
same calling1 added a few words in      
explanation of the remark1 and passed   
into the street4  ,the sermon alluded to
 was a model of lucid1 orderly and      
simple statement1 so plain that the     
young men and women of the congregation 
could understand it2 so deep and        
elevated that experienced believers were
 fed2 learned enough1 without a taint of
 pedantry2 bold1 without a suggestion of
 audacity2 reasonable1 without critical 
sharpness or affectation of mental      
superiority2 rising into natural        
eloquence in passages that contained    
pure thought1 but for the most part     
flowing in unartificial sentences that  

exactly expressed the speaker's meaning 
and no more4 ,by ,mr4 ,emerson's kind   
permission1 the discourse is printed in 
the last chapter of this volume4 ,the   
farewell letter to the parish is also   
printed here4        ,,boston1 #bb;d    
,december1 #ahcb4       ,to the ,second 
,church and ,society3       ,,christian 
,,friends3--,since the formal           
resignation of my official      relation
 to you in my communication to the      
proprietors in      ,september1 ,i had  
waited anxiously for an opportunity of  
addressing      you once more from the  
pulpit1 though it were only to say1 let 
us      part in peace and in the love of
 ,god4 ,the state of my health has      
prevented1 and continues to prevent me  
from so doing4 ,i am now      advised to
 seek the benefit of a sea voyage4 ,i   
cannot go away      without a brief     
parting word to friends who have shown  
me so much      kindness1 and to whom ,i
 have felt myself so dearly bound4      
,our connection has been very short2 ,i 

had only begun my work4 ,it is      now 
brought to a sudden close2 and ,i look  
back1 ,i own1 with a      painful sense 
of weakness1 to the little service ,i   
have been able      to render1 after so 
much expectation on my part1--to the    
checkered      space of time1 which     
domestic affliction and personal        
infirmities      have made yet shorter  
and more unprofitable4       ,as long as
 he remains in the same place1 every man
 flatters      himself1 however keen may
 be his sense of his failures and       
unworthiness1 that he shall yet         
accomplish much2 that the future        
shall make amends for the past2 that his
 very errors shall prove      his       
instructors1--and what limit is there to
 hope8 ,but a separation      from our  
place1 the close of a particular career 
of duty1 shuts the      book1 bereaves  
us of this hope1 and leaves us only to  
lament how      little has been done4   
,yet1 my friends1 our faith in the great
 truths of the ,new ,testament          

makes the change of places and          
circumstances of less account to us1    
by fixing our attention upon that which 
is unalterable4 ,i find      great      
consolation in the thought that the     
resignation of my present      relations
 makes so little change to myself4 ,i am
 no longer your      minister1 but am   
not the less engaged1 ,i hope1 to the   
love and      service of the same       
eternal cause1 the advancement1 namely1 
of the      ,kingdom of ,god in the     
hearts of men4 ,the tie that binds each 
of us      to that cause is not created 
by our connexion1 and cannot be hurt    
by our separation4 ,to me1 as one       
disciple1 is the ministry of      truth1
 as far as ,i can discern and declare   
it1 committed2 and ,i      desire to    
live nowhere and no longer than that    
grace of ,god is      imparted to       
me--the liberty to seek and the liberty 
to utter it4       ,and1 more than this1
 ,i rejoice to believe that my ceasing  
to      exercise the pastoral office    

among you does not make any real        
change in our spiritual relation to each
 other4 ,whatever is most      desirable
 and excellent therein1 remains to us4  
,for1 truly      speaking1 whoever      
provokes me to a good act or thought1   
has given      me a pledge of his       
fidelity to virtue1--he has come under  
bonds to      adhere to that cause to   
which we are jointly attached4 ,and so  
,i say      to all you who have been my 
counsellors and cooperators in our      
,christian walk1 that ,i am wont to see 
in your faces the seals and             
certificates of our mutual obligations4 
,if we have conspired from      week to 
week in the sympathy and expression of  
devout sentiments2      if we have      
received together the unspeakable gift  
of ,god's truth2      if we have studied
 together the sense of any divine word2 
or      striven together in any charity2
 or conferred together for the          
relief or instruction of any brother2 if
 together we have laid down      the    

dead in a pious hope2 or held up the    
babe into the baptism of                
,christianity2 above all1 if we have    
shared in any habitual                  
acknowledgment of that benignant ,god1  
whose omnipresence raises and           
glorifies the meanest offices and the   
lowest ability1 and opens      heaven in
 every heart that worships him1--then   
indeed are we      united1 we are       
mutually debtors to each other of faith 
and hope1      engaged to persist and   
confirm each other's hearts in obedience
 to      the ,gospel4 ,we shall not feel
 that the nominal changes and little    
separations of this world can release us
 from the strong cordage of      this   
spiritual bond4 ,and ,i entreat you to  
consider how truly      blessed will    
have been our connexion1 if in this     
manner1 the memory      of it shall     
serve to bind each one of us more       
strictly to the      practice of our    
several duties4       ,it remains to    
thank you for the goodness you have     

uniformly      extended towards me1 for 
your forgiveness of many defects1 and   
your      patient and even partial      
acceptance of every endeavor to serve   
you2      for the liberal provision you 
have ever made for my maintenance2      
and for a thousand acts of kindness     
which have comforted and      assisted  
me4       ,to the proprietors ,i owe a  
particular acknowledgment1 for their    
recent generous vote for the continuance
 of my salary1 and hereby      ask their
 leave to relinquish this emolument at  
the end of the      present month4      
,and now1 brethren and friends1 having  
returned into your hands the      trust 
you have honored me with1--the charge of
 public and private      instruction in 
this religious society--,i pray ,god1   
that1 whatever      seed of truth and   
virtue we have sown and watered         
together1 may      bear fruit unto      
eternal life4 ,i commend you to the     
,divine      ,providence4 ,may ,he grant
 you1 in your ancient sanctuary the     

service      of able and faithful       
teachers4 ,may ,he multiply to your     
families and      to your persons1 every
 genuine blessing2 and whatever         
discipline      may be appointed to you 
in this world1 may the blessed hope of  
the      resurrection1 which ,he has    
planted in the constitution of the human
      soul1 and confirmed and manifested
 by ,jesus ,christ1 be made good      to
 you beyond the grave4 ,in this faith   
and hope ,i bid you farewell4           
,your affectionate servant1             
,,ralph ,,waldo ,,emerson4   ,mr4       
,emerson's place is among poetic1 not   
among philosophic minds4 ,he belongs to 
the order of imaginative men4 ,the      
imagination is his organ4 ,his reading1 
which is very extensive in range1 has   
covered this department more completely 
than any4 ,he is at home with the seers1
 ,swedenborg1 ,plotinus1 ,plato1 the    
books of the ,hindus1 the ,greek        
mythology1 ,plutarch1 ,chaucer1         
,shakspeare1 ,henry ,more1 ,hafiz2 the  

books called sacred by the religious    
world2 books of natural science1        
especially those written by the         
ancients1--geography1 botany1           
agriculture1 explorations of the sea1 of
 meteors1 of astronomy2 he recommends   
the deep books4 ,montaigne has been a   
favorite author on account of his       
sincerity4 ,he thinks ,hindu books the  
best gymnastics for the mind4  ,his     
estimate of the function of the poetic  
faculty is given in his latest volume4  
,poetry is the perpetual endeavor to    
express the spirit of the      thing2 to
 pass the brute body1 and search the    
life and reason which      causes it to 
exist2 to see that the object is always 
flowing away1      whilst the spirit or 
necessity which causes it subsists4 ,the
 poet      contemplates the central     
identity2 sees it undulate and roll this
      way and that1 with divine         
flowings1 through remotest things2 and  
following it1 can detect essential      
resemblances in natures never           

before compared4 ,poetry is faith4 ,to  
the poet the world is virgin      soil2 
all is practicable2 the men are ready   
for virtue2 it is      always time to do
 right4 ,he is the true recommencer1 or 
,adam in the      garden again4 ,he is  
the healthy1 the wise1 the fundamental1 
the      manly man1 seer of the secret2 
against all the appearance1 he sees     
and reports the truth1 namely1 that the 
soul generates matter4 ,and      poetry 
is the only verity1 the expression of a 
sound mind1 speaking      after the     
ideal1 not after the apparent4 ,whilst  
common sense      looks at things or    
visible nature as real and final facts1 
poetry1      or the imagination which   
dictates it1 is a second sight1 looking 
through these and using them as types or
 words for thoughts which      they     
signify4  ,by the poet1 ,emerson is     
careful to say that he means the        
potential or ideal man1 not found now in
 any one person4  ,the upshot of it all 
is that soul is supreme4 ,not the soul1 

as if that term designated a constituent
 part of each man's nature4       ,all  
goes to show that the soul is not an    
organ1 but animates and      exercises  
all the organs2 is not a function1 like 
the power of      memory1 of            
calculation1 of comparison1 but uses    
these as hands and      feet2 is not a  
faculty1 but a light2 is not the        
intellect or the      will1 but the     
master of the intellect and the will2 is
 the      background of our being1 in   
which they lie--an immensity not        
possessed1 and that cannot be possessed4
 ,from within or from      behind1 a    
light shines through us upon things1 and
 makes us aware      that we are        
nothing1 but the light is all4 ,a man is
 the facade of a      temple1 wherein   
all wisdom and all good abide4  ,we     
stand now at the centre of ,emerson's   
philosophy4 ,his thoughts are few and   
pregnant2 capable of infinite expansion1
 illustration and application4 ,they    
crop out on almost every page of his    

characteristic writings2 are iterated   
and reiterated in every form of speech2 
and put into gems of expression that may
 be worn on any part of the person4 ,his
 prose and his poetry are aglow with    
them4 ,they make his essays oracular1   
and his verse prophetic4 ,by virtue of  
them his best books belong to the sacred
 literature of the race2 by virtue of   
them1 but for the lack of artistic      
finish of rhythm and rhyme1 he would be 
the chief of ,american poets4  ,the     
first article in ,mr4 ,emerson's faith  
is the primacy of ,mind4 ,that ,mind is 
supreme1 eternal1 absolute1 one1        
manifold1 subtle1 living1 immanent in   
all things1 permanent1 flowing1         
self-manifesting2 that the universe is  
the result of mind1 that nature is the  
symbol of mind2 that finite minds live  
and act through concurrence with        
infinite mind4 ,this idea recurs with   
such frequency that1 but for ,emerson's 
wealth of observation1 reading1 wit1    
mental variety and buoyancy1 his talent 

for illustration1 gift at describing    
details1 it would weary the reader4 ,as 
it is1 we delight to follow the guide   
through the labyrinth of his            
expositions1 and gaze on the wonderful  
phantasmagoria that he exhibits4  ,his  
second article is the connection of the 
individual intellect with the primal    
mind1 and its ability to draw thence    
wisdom1 will1 virtue1 prudence1 heroism1
 all active and passive qualities4 ,this
 belief1 as being the more practical1   
has even more exuberant expression than 
the other3       ,the relations of the  
soul to the divine spirit are so pure   
that it      is profane to seek to      
interpose helps4 ,whenever a mind is    
simple1      and receives a divine      
wisdom1 all things pass away--means1    
teachers1 texts1 temples fall2 it lives 
now1 and absorbs past and      future   
into the present hour4       ,let man   
learn the revelation of all nature and  
all thought to his      heart2 this1    
namely3 that the highest dwells with    

him2 that the      sources of nature are
 in his own mind1 if the sentiment of   
duty is      there4       ,ineffable is 
the union of man and ,god in every act  
of the soul2      the simplest person   
who1 in his integrity1 worships ,god1   
becomes      ,god2 yet for ever and ever
 the influx of this better and universal
      self is new and unsearchable4     
,we are wiser than we know4 ,if we will 
not interfere with our      thought1 but
 will act entirely1 or see how the thing
 stands in ,god1      we know the       
particular thing1 and every thing1 and  
every man4 ,for      the ,maker of all  
things and all persons stands behind us1
 and casts      ,his dread omniscience  
through us over things4       ,the only 
mode of obtaining an answer to the      
questions of the      senses1 is to     
forego all low curiosity1 and1 accepting
 the tide of      being which floats us 
into the secret of nature1 work and     
live1      work and live1 and all       
unawares the advancing soul has built   

and      forged for itself a new        
condition1 and the question and the     
answer      are one4       ,we are all  
discerners of spirits4 ,that diagnosis  
lies aloft in our      life or          
unconscious power4       ,we live in    
succession1 in division1 in parts1 in   
particles4      ,meantime1 within man is
 the soul of the whole2 the wise        
silence2      the universal beauty1 to  
which every part and particle is equally
      related2 the eternal ,,one4 ,and  
this deep power in which we exist1      
and whose beatitude is all accessible to
 us1 is not only      self-sufficing and
 perfect in every hour1 but the act of  
seeing and      the thing seen1 the seer
 and the spectacle1 the subject and the 
object1 are one4      ,all the forms are
 fugitive1      ,but the substances     
survive2      ,ever fresh the broad     
creation--      ,a divine improvisation1
      ,from the heart of ,god proceeds1 
,a single will1 a million deeds4        
,once slept the world an egg of stone1  

,and pulse and sound1 and light was     
none2      ,and ,god said ',throb1' and 
there was motion1      ,and the vast    
mass became vast ocean4      ,onward and
 on1 the eternal ,pan1      ,who layeth 
the world's incessant plan1             
,halteth never in one shape1      ,but  
forever doth escape1      ,like wave or 
flame1 into new forms      ,of gem and  
air1 of plants and worms4      ,i that  
to-day am a pine1      ,yesterday was a 
bundle of grass4      ,he is free and   
libertine1      ,pouring of his power1  
the wine      ,to every age--to every   
race2      ,unto every race and age     
,he emptieth the beverage2      ,unto   
each and unto all--      ,maker and     
original4      ,the world is the ring of
 his spells1      ,and the play of his  
miracles4      ,as he giveth to all to  
drink1      ,thus or thus they are1 and 
think4      ,he giveth little1 or giveth
 much1      ,to make them several1 or   
such4      ,with one drop sheds form and
 feature2      ,with the second a       

special nature2      ,the third adds    
heat's indulgent spark2      ,the fourth
 gives light1 which eats the dark2      
,in the fifth drop himself he flings1   
,and conscious ,law is ,king of kings4  
,pleaseth him1 the ,eternal ,child      
,to play his sweet will--glad and wild4 
,as the bee through the garden ranges1  
,from world to world the godhead        
changes2      ,as the sheep go feeding  
in the waste1      ,from form to form he
 maketh haste4      ,this vault1 which  
glows immense with light1      ,is the  
inn1 where he lodges for a night4       
,what recks such ,traveller1 if the     
bowers      ,which bloom and fade1 like 
meadow flowers--      ,a bunch of       
fragrant lilies be1      ,or the stars  
of eternity8      ,alike to him1 the    
better1 the worse--      ,the glowing   
angel1 the outcast corse4      ,thou    
meetest him by centuries1      ,and lo6 
he passes like the breeze2      ,thou   
seek'st in globe and galaxy1      ,he   
hides in pure transparency2      ,thou  

askest in fountains1 and in fires1      
,he is the essence that inquires4       
,he is the axis of the star2      ,he is
 the sparkle of the spar2      ,he is   
the heart of every creature2      ,he is
 the meaning of each feature2      ,and 
his mind is the sky1      ,than all it  
holds1 more deep1 more high4  ,mr4      
,emerson is never concerned to defend   
himself against the charge of pantheism1
 or the warning to beware lest he       
unsettle the foundations of morality1   
annihilate the freedom of the will1     
abolish the distinction between right   
and wrong1 and reduce personality to a  
mask4 ,he makes no apology2 he never    
explains2 he trusts to affirmation1 pure
 and simple4 ,by dint of affirming all  
the facts that appear1 he makes his     
contribution to the problem of solving  
all1 and by laying incessant emphasis on
 the cardinal virtues of humility1      
fidelity1 sincerity1 obedience1         
aspiration1 simple acquiescence in the  
will of the supreme power1 he not only  

guards himself against vulgar           
misconception1 but sustains the mind at 
an elevation that makes the highest     
hill-tops of the accepted morality      
disappear in the dead level of the      
plain4  ,the primary thoughts of his    
philosophy1 if such it may be termed1   
,emerson takes with him wherever he     
goes4 ,does he study history1 history is
 the autobiography of the ,eternal      
,mind4 ,the key is in the sentence that 
begins the ,essay on ,history3          
,there is one mind common to all        
individual men4 ,every man is an        
inlet to the same1 and to all of the    
same4 ,he that is once admitted      to 
the right of reason is made a freeman of
 the whole estate4 ,what      ,plato has
 thought1 he may think2 what a saint has
 felt1 he may      feel2 what at any    
time has befallen any man1 he can       
understand4 ,who      hath access to    
this universal mind1 is a party to all  
that is or      can be done1 for that is
 the only and sovereign agent4 ,this    

human      mind wrote history1 and this 
must read it4 ,the sphinx must solve    
her own riddle4 ,if the whole of history
 is in one man1 it is all to      be    
explained from individual experience4   
,there is a relation      between the   
hours of our life and the centuries of  
time4 ,of the      universal mind each  
individual man is one more incarnation4 
,all its      properties consist in him4
 ,each new fact in his private          
experience      flashes a light on what 
great bodies of men have done1 and the  
crises of his life refer to national    
crises4 ,in the ,progress of            
,culture the same sentiment recurs4     
,what is the use of telegraphy8 ,what of
 newspapers8 ,to know in each           
social crisis how men feel in ,kansas1  
in ,california1 the wise man      waits 
for no mails1 reads no telegrams4 ,he   
asks his own heart4 ,if      they are   
made as he is1 if they breathe the same 
air1 eat of the      same wheat1 have   
wives and children1 he knows that their 

joy or      resentment rises to the same
 point as his own4 ,the inviolate soul  
is in perpetual telegraphic             
communication with the ,source of       
events1 has earlier information1 a      
private despatch1 which relieves        
him of the terror which presses on the  
rest of the community4       ,we are    
always coming up with the emphatic facts
 of history in our      private         
experience1 and verifying them here4    
,all history becomes      subjective2 in
 other words1 there is properly no      
history2 only      biography4 ,every    
mind must know the whole lesson for     
itself1--must      go over the whole    
ground4 ,what it does not see1 what it  
does not      live1 it does not know4   
,in the appreciation of scientific facts
 the same method avails4 ,tyndall       
commends ,emerson as a poet and a       
profoundly religious man1 who is really 
and entirely undaunted by the           
discoveries of science1 past1 present1  
or prospective4 ,the praise seems to    

imply some misconception of ,emerson's  
position4 ,tyndall intimates that       
,emerson is undaunted where others fear4
 ,but this is not so4 ,no man deserves  
commendation for not dreading precisely 
what he desires4 ,emerson1 by his       
principle1 is delivered from the alarm  
of the religious man who has a creed to 
defend1 and from the defiance of the    
scientific man who has creeds to assail4
 ,to him ,nature is but the symbol of   
spirit2 this the scientific men1 by     
their discoveries1 are continually      
proving4 ,the faster they disclose      
facts1 and the more accurately1 the more
 brilliantly do they illustrate the     
lessons of the perfect wisdom4 ,for the 
scientific method he professes no deep  
respect2 for the scientific assumptions 
none whatever4 ,he begins at the        
opposite end4 ,they start with matter1  
he starts with mind4 ,they feel their   
way up1 he feels his way down4 ,they    
observe phenomena1 he watches thoughts4 
,they fancy themselves to be gradually  

pushing away as illusions the so-called 
entities of the soul2 he dwells serenely
 with those entities1 rejoicing to see  
men paying jubilant honor to what they  
mean to overturn4 ,the facts they bring 
in1 chemical1 physiological1 biological1
 ,huxley's facts1 ,helmholtz's1         
,darwin's1 ,tyndall's1 ,spencer's1 the  
ugly facts which the theologians        
dispute1 he accepts with eager hands1   
and uses to demonstrate the force and   
harmony of the spiritual laws4          
,science1 he says1 was false by being   
unpoetical4 ,it assumed to      explain 
a reptile or mollusk1 and isolated      
it1--which is hunting      for life in  
graveyards2 reptile or mollusk1 or man  
or angel1 only      exists in system1 in
 relation4 ,the metaphysician1 the poet1
 only      sees each animal form as an  
inevitable step in the path of the      
creating mind4 ,the savans are chatty   
and vain2 but hold them hard      to    
principle and definition1 and they      
become mute and near-sighted4      ,what

 is motion8 ,what is beauty8 ,what is   
matter8 ,what is life8 ,what      is    
force8 ,push them hard and they will not
 be loquacious4 ,they will      come to 
,plato1 ,proclus and ,swedenborg4 ,the  
invisible and      imponderable is the  
sole fact4 ,the atomic theory is only an
      interior process produced1 as     
geometers say1 or the effect of a       
foregone metaphysical theory4           
,swedenborg saw gravity to be only an   
external of the irresistible attractions
 of affection and faith4      ,mountains
 and oceans we think we understand4     
,yes1 so long as they      are contented
 to be such1 and are safe with the      
geologist2 but when      they are melted
 in ,promethean alembics and come out   
men2 and then      melted again1 come   
out woods1 without any abatement1 but   
with an      exaltation of power6       
,emerson is faithful in applying his    
principle to social institutions and    
laws4 ,his faith in ideal justice and   
love never blenches4 ,in every          

emergency1 political1 civil1 national1  
he has been true to his regenerating    
idea2 true as a recreator from the      
inside1 rather than as a reformer of the
 outside world4 ,a profounder1 more     
consistent1 more uncompromising radical 
does not exist2 a less heated1 ruffled  
or anxious one cannot be thought of4 ,he
 scarcely ever suggested measures1      
rarely joined in public assemblies1 did 
not feel at home among politicians or   
agitators4 ,but his thought never       
swerved from the line of perfect        
rectitude1 his sympathies were always   
human4 ,his heart was in the            
anti-slavery movement from the          
beginning4 ,he was abroad in its stormy 
days1 his steadfast bearing and cheerful
 countenance carrying hope whenever he  
appeared4 ,his name stood with that of  
his wife in the list of signers to the  
call for the first ,national ,woman's   
,rights ,convention1 in #ahej4 ,the     
,massachusetts ,historical ,society1 the
 ,american ,society of ,arts and        

,sciences have honored themselves by    
electing him a member2 the ,alumni of   
,harvard ,university joyfully made him  
an overseer2 he was proposed as rector  
of the ,university of ,glasgow4 ,such   
confidence did the great idealist       
inspire1 that he has been even called to
 the duty of ,examiner at ,west ,point  
,military ,academy4 ,his name is spoken 
in no company with other than respect1  
and his influence is felt in places     
where it is not acknowledged1 and would 
be officially disavowed4  ,mr4 ,a4 ,b4  
,alcott1 a townsman of ,mr4 ,emerson1   
and a close acquaintance1 in his        
,concord ,days says pleasant things of  
his friend1 just and discerning things1 
as well as pleasant4       ,consider1 he
 says1 how largely our letters have been
 enriched by      his contributions4    
,consider1 too1 the change his views    
have wrought      in our methods of     
thinking2 how he has won over the bigot1
 the      unbeliever1 at least to       
tolerance and moderation1 if not        

acknowledgment1 by his circumspection   
and candor of statement4 ,a      poet1  
speaking to individuals as few others   
can speak1 and to      persons in their 
privileged moments1 he is heard as none 
others      are4 ',tis every thing to   
have a true believer in the world1      
dealing      with men and matters as if 
they were divine in idea and real in    
fact1 meeting persons and events at a   
glance1 directly1 not at a              
millionth remove1 and so passing fair   
and fresh into life and      literature4
 ,his compositions affect us1 not as    
logic linked in      syllogisms1 but as 
voluntaries rather1 as preludes1 in     
which one is      not tied to any design
 of air1 but may vary his key or not at 
pleasure1 as if improvised without any  
particular scope of      argument2 each 
period1 paragraph1 being a perfect note 
in itself1      however it may chance   
chime with its accompaniments in the    
piece1      as a waltz of wandering     
stars1 a dance of ,hesperus with ,orion4

  ,after this1 one is surprised to hear 
,mr4 ,alcott say1 ,i know of but one    
subtraction from the pleasure the       
reading of his books--shall ,i say his  
conversation8--gives me2 his pains to be
 impersonal or discreet1 as if he feared
 any the least intrusion of himself were
 an offence offered to self-respect1 the
 courtesy due to intercourse and        
authorship4 ,to others this exquisite   
reserve1 this delicate withdrawal behind
 his thought1 has seemed not only one of
 ,emerson's peculiar charms1 but one of 
his most subtle powers4 ,personal       
magnetism is very delightful for the    
moment4 ,the exhibition of attractive   
personal traits is interesting in the   
lecture room2 sometimes in the parlor4  
,the public1 large or small1 enjoy      
confidences4 ,but in an age of          
personalities1 voluntary and            
involuntary1 the man who keeps his      
individual affairs in the background1   
tells nothing of his private history1   
holds in his own breast his petty       

concerns and opinions1 and lets thoughts
 flow through him1 as light streams     
through plate glass1 is more than       
attractive--is noble1 is venerable4 ,to 
his impersonality in his books and      
addresses1 ,emerson owes perhaps a large
 measure of his extraordinary influence4
 ,you may search his volumes in vain for
 a trace of egotism4 ,in the lecture    
room1 he seems to be so completely under
 the spell of his idea1 so wholly       
abstracted from his audience1 that he is
 as one who waits for the thoughts to   
come1 and drops them out one by one1 in 
a species of soliloquy or trance4 ,he is
 a bodiless idea4 ,when he speaks or    
writes1 the power is that of pure mind4 
,the incidental1 accidental1 occasional1
 does not intrude4 ,no abatement on the 
score of personal antipathy needs to be 
made4 ,the thought is allowed to present
 and commend itself4 ,hence1 when so    
many thoughts are forgotten1 buried     
beneath affectation and verbiage1 his   
gain in brilliancy and value as time    

goes on2 and in an age of ephemeral     
literature his books find new readers1  
his mind exerts wider sway4 ,that his   
philosophy can be recommended as a sound
 rule to live by for ordinary           
practitioners may be questioned4 ,it is 
better as inspiration than as           
prescription4 ,for maxims it were wiser 
to go to ,bentham1 ,mill or ,bain4 ,the 
plodders had best keep to the beaten    
road4 ,but for them who need an         
atmosphere for wings1 who require the   
impulse of great motives1 the lift of   
upbearing aspirations--for the          
imaginative1 the passionate1 the        
susceptible1 who can achieve nothing    
unless they attempt the                 
impossible--,emerson is the master4 ,a  
single thrill sent from his heart to    
ours is worth more to the heart that    
feels it1 than all the schedules of     
motive the utilitarian can offer4       
,x4  ,,the ,,mystic4   ,if among the    
representatives of spiritual philosophy 
the first place belongs to ,mr4         

,emerson1 the second must be assigned to
 ,mr4 ,amos ,bronson ,alcott1--older    
than ,mr4 ,emerson by four years 7he was
 born in #aggi71 a contemporary in      
thought1 a companion1 for years a fellow
 townsman1 and1 if that were possible1  
more purely and exclusively a devotee of
 spiritual ideas4 ,mr4 ,alcott may      
justly be called a mystic--one of the   
very small class of persons who accept  
without qualification1 and constantly   
teach the doctrine of the soul's primacy
 and pre-eminence4 ,he is not a learned 
man1 in the ordinary sense of the term2 
not a man of versatile mind or various  
tastes2 not a man of general information
 in worldly or even literary affairs2   
not a man of extensive commerce with    
books4 ,though a reader1 and a constant 
and faithful one1 his reading has been  
limited to books of poetry--chiefly of  
the meditative and interior sort--and   
works of spiritual philosophy4 ,plato1  
,plotinus1 ,proclus1 ,jamblichus1       
,pythagoras1 ,boehme1 ,swedenborg1      

,fludd1 ,pordage1 ,henry ,more1 ,law1   
,crashaw1 ,selden1 are the names oftener
 than any on his pages and lips4 ,he    
early made acquaintance with ,bunyan's  
,pilgrim's ,progress1 and never ceased  
to hold it exceedingly precious1 at one 
period making it a rule to read the     
volume once a year4 ,his books are his  
friends2 his regard for them seems to be
 personal2 he enjoys their society with 
the feeling that he gives as well as    
receives4 ,he loves them in part because
 they love him2 consequently1 in all his
 quoting of them1 his own mind comes in 
as introducer and voucher as it were4   
,his indebtedness to them is expressed  
with the cordiality of an intimate1     
rather than with the gratitude of a     
disciple4 ,his own mind is so wakeful   
and thoughtful1 so quick and ready to   
take the initiative1 that it is hard to 
say in what respect even his favorite   
and familiar authors have enriched him4 
,what was not originally his own1 is so 
entirely made his own by sympathetic    

absorption1 that the contribution which 
others have made is not to be           
distinguished from his native stores4   
,few men seem less dependent on         
literature than he4  ,mr4 ,alcott is a  
thinker1 interior1 solitary1 deeply     
conversant with the secrets of his own  
mind1 like thinkers of his order1 clear1
 earnest1 but not otherwise than        
monotonous from the reiteration of his  
primitive ideas4 ,we have called him a  
mystic4 ,bearing in mind the derivations
 of the word--,greek3 myein--to brood1  
to meditate1 to shut one's self up in   
the recesses of consciousness1 to sink  
into the depths of one's own being for  
the purpose of exploring the world which
 that being contains2 of discovering how
 deep and boundless it is1 of meeting in
 its retreats the form of the ,infinite 
,being who walks there in the evening1  
and makes his voice audible in the      
mysterious whispers that breathe over   
its plains1--it well describes him4 ,he 
is a philosopher of that school2 instead

 of seeking wisdom by intellectual      
processes1 using induction and          
deduction1 and creeping step by step    
towards his goal1--he appeals at once to
 the testimony of consciousness1 claims 
immediate insight1 and instead of       
hazarding a doctrine which he has       
argued1 announces a truth which he has  
seen2 he studies the mystery of being in
 its inward disclosures1 contemplates   
ultimate laws and fundamental data in   
his own soul4  ,while ,mr4 ,emerson's   
idealism was nourished--so far as it was
 supplied with nourishment from foreign 
sources--by the genius of ,india1 ,mr4  
,alcott's was fed by the speculation of 
,greece4 ,kant was not his master1      
neither was ,fichte nor ,schelling1 but 
,pythagoras rather2 ,pythagoras more    
than ,plato1 with whom1 notwithstanding 
his great admiration1 he is less        
intimately allied4 ,he talks about      
,plato1 he talks ,pythagoras4 ,of the   
latter he says3       ,of the great     
educators of antiquity1 ,i esteem       

,pythagoras the most      eminent and   
successful2 everything of his doctrine  
and discipline      comes commended by  
its elegance and humanity1 and justifies
 the      name he bore of the           
golden-souled ,samian1 and founder of   
,greek      culture4 ,he seems to have  
stood in providential nearness to human 
sensibility1 as if his were a maternal  
relation as well1 and he      owned the 
minds whom he nurtured and educated4    
,the first of      philosophers1 taking 
the name for its modesty of pretension1 
he      justified his claim to it in the
 attainments and services of his        
followers2 his school having given us   
,socrates1 ,plato1 ,pericles1           
,plutarch1 ,plotinus1 and others of     
almost equal fame1 founders of          
states and cultures4444 ,he was         
reverenced by the multitude as one      
under the influence of divine           
inspiration4 ,he abstained from all     
intoxicating drinks1 and from animal    
food1 confining himself to a      chaste

 nutriment2 hence his sleep was short   
and undisturbed2 his      soul vigilant 
and pure2 his body in state of perfect  
and invariable      health4 ,he was free
 from the superstitions of his time1 and
      pervaded with a deep sense of duty
 towards ,god1 and veneration for       
his divine attributes and immanency in  
things4 ,he fixed his mind so           
intently on the attainment of wisdom1   
that systems and mysteries              
inaccessible to others were opened to   
him by his magic genius and             
sincerity of purpose4 ,the great        
principle with which he started1        
that of being a seeker rather than a    
possessor of truth1 seemed      ever to 
urge him forward with a diligence and   
activity      unprecedented in the      
history of the past1 and perhaps        
unequalled      since4 ,he visited every
 man who could claim any degree of fame 
for      wisdom or learning2 whilst the 
rules of antiquity and the simplest     
operations of nature seemed to yield to 

his researches2 and we      moderns are 
using his eyes in many departments of   
activity into      which pure thought   
enters1 being indebted to him for       
important      discoveries alike in     
science and metaphysics4  ,it is evident
 that the ,new ,england sage made the   
,greek philosopher his model in other   
respects than the adoption of his       
philosophical method implied4 ,the rules
 of personal conduct and behavior1 of   
social intercourse1 and civil           
association1 were studiously practised  
on by the ,american disciple1 who seemed
 never to forget the dignified and      
gracious figure whose fame charmed him4 
,mr4 ,alcott's philosophical ideas are  
not many1 but they are profound and     
significant4       ,the ,dialectic1 or  
,method of the ,mind1--he says in       
,concord ,days1      under the head of  
,ideal ,culture1--constitutes the basis 
of all      culture4 ,without a thorough
 discipline in this1 our schools and    
universities give but a showy and       

superficial training4 ,the              
knowledge of mind is the beginning of   
all knowledge2 without this1      a     
theology is baseless1 the knowledge of  
,god impossible4 ,modern      education 
has not dealt with these deeper         
questions of life and      being4 ,it   
has the future in which to prove its    
power of conducting      a cultus       
answering to the discipline of the      
,greek thinkers1      ,pythagoras1      
,plato1 ,aristotle4       ,as yet we    
deal with mind with far less certainty  
than with matter2      the realm of     
intellect having been less explored than
 the world of      the senses1 and both 
are treated conjecturally rather than   
absolutely4 ,when we come to perceive   
that intuition is the primary           
postulate of all intelligence1 most     
questions now perplexing and            
obscure will become transparent2 the    
lower imperfect methods then      take  
rank where they belong1 and are         
available4 ,the soul leads the          

senses2 the reason the understanding2   
imagination the memory2      instinct   
and intuition include and prompt the    
,personality entire4       ,the         
categories of imagination are the poet's
 tools2 those of the      reason1 the   
implements of the naturalist4 ,the      
dialectic philosopher      is master of 
them both4 ,the tools to those only who 
can handle them      skilfully4 ,all    
others but gash themselves and their    
subject at      best4 ,ask not a man of 
understanding to solve a problem in     
metaphysics4 ,he has neither wit1       
weight1 nor scales for the task4        
,but a man of reason or of imagination  
solves readily the problems      of     
understanding1 the moment these are     
fairly stated4 ,ideas are      solvents 
of all mysteries1 whether in matter or  
in mind4       ,having drank of         
immortality all night1 the genius enters
 eagerly      upon the day's task1      
impatient of any impertinences jogging  
the      full glass4444 ,sleep and see2 

wake1 and report the nocturnal          
spectacle4 ,sleep1 like travel1         
enriches1 refreshes1 by varying the     
day's perspective1 showing us the night 
side of the globe we      traverse day  
by day4 ,we make transits too swift for 
our wakeful      senses to follow2 pass 
from solar to lunar consciousness in a  
twinkling2 lapse from forehead and face 
to occupy our lower parts1      and     
recover1 as far as permitted1 the keys  
of genesis and of the      fore worlds4 
',all truth1' says ,porphyry1 'is       
latent2' but this the      soul         
sometimes beholds1 when she is a little 
liberated by sleep      from the        
employments of the body1 and sometimes  
she extends her      sight1 but never   
perfectly reaches the objects of her    
vision4       ,the good alone dream     
divinely4 ,our dreams are characteristic
 of      our waking thoughts and states2
 we are never out of character2         
never quite another1 even when fancy    
seeks to metamorphose us      entirely4 

,the ,person is ,one in all the manifold
 phases of the ,many1      through which
 we transmigrate1 and we find ourself   
perpetually1      because we cannot lose
 ourself personally in the mazes of the 
many4      ',tis the one soul in        
manifold shapes4 ,ever the old friend of
 the      mirror in other face1 old and 
new1 yet one in endless revolution      
and metamorphosis1 suggesting a common  
relationship of forms at      their     
base1 with divergent types as these     
range wider and farther      from their 
central archetype1 including all        
concrete forms in      nature1 each     
returning into other1 and departing     
therefrom in      endless revolution4   
,what is the bad but lapse from         
good1--the good blindfolded8            
,one's foes are of his own household4   
,if his house is haunted1 it      is by 
himself only4 ,our choices are our      
,saviors or ,satans4       ,the         
celestial man is composed more largely  
of light and ether4 ,the      demoniac  

man of fire and vapor4 ,the animal man  
of embers and      dust4       ,the     
sacraments1 symbolically considered1 are
       ,baptism1 or purification by     
water2      ,continence1 or chastity in 
personal indulgences2      ,fasting1 or 
temperance in outward delights2         
,prayer1 or aspiring aims2      ,labor1 
or prayer in act or pursuits4           
,these are the regimen of inspiration   
and thought4  ,the following1 from the  
chapter entitled ,genesis and ,lapse1 in
 ,concord ,days1 extends ,mr4 ,alcott's 
principle to a deep problem in          
speculative truth4 ,he quotes ,coleridge
 thus3       ,the great maxim in        
legislation1 intellectual or physical1  
is      subordinate1 not exclude4       
,nature1 in her ascent1 leaves nothing  
behind2 but at each step subordinates   
and glorifies1--mass1      crystal1     
organ1 sensation1 sentience1 reflection4
  ,then he proceeds3       ,taken in    
reverse order of descent1 spirit puts   
itself before2 at      each step        

protrudes faculty in feature1 function1 
organ1 limb1      subordinating to      
glorify also1--person1 volition1        
thought1      sensibility1 sense1       
body1--animating thus and rounding      
creation to      soul and sense alike4  
,the naturalist cannot urge too strongly
 the      claims of physical1 nor the   
plea of the idealist be too vigorously  
pressed for metaphysical studies4 ,one  
body in one soul4 ,nature and           
spirit are inseparable1 and are best    
studied as a unit4 ,nature ends         
where spirit begins4 ,the idealist's    
point of view is the obverse of      the
 naturalist's1 and each must accost his 
side with a first love      before use  
has worn off the bloom1 and seduced     
their vision4444       ,whether man be  
the successor or predecessor of his     
inferiors in      nature1 is to be      
determined by exploring faithfully the  
realms of      matter and of spirit     
alike1 and complementing the former in  
the      latter4 ,whether surveyed in   

order1 descending or ascending1 in      
genesis or process1 from the side of the
 idealist or of the      materialist1   
the keystone of the arch in either case 
is an ideal1      under-propped by      
nature or upheld by mind4       ,man1   
the sum total of animals1 transcends all
 in being a ,person1 a      responsible 
creature4 ,man is man1 in virtue of     
being a ,person1 a      self-determining
 will1 held accountable to a spiritual  
,ideal4 ,to      affirm that brute      
creatures are endowed with freedom and  
choice1      the sense of               
responsibility1 were to exalt them into 
a spiritual      existence and          
personality2 whereas1 it is plain enough
 that they      are not above           
deliberation and choice1 but below it1  
under the sway      of ,fate1 as men are
 when running counter to reason and     
conscience4      ,the will bridges the  
chasm between man and brute1 and frees  
the      fated creature he were else4   
,solitary1 not himself1 the victim of   

appetite1 inmate of the den1 is man1    
till freed from individualism1      and 
delivered into his free ,personality4   
,the next extract is from the ,chapter  
on ,ideals3       ,enthusiasm is        
essential to the successful attainment  
of any high      endeavor2 without which
 incentive1 one is not sure of his      
equality      to the humblest           
undertakings even4 ,and he attempts     
little worth      living for1 if he     
expects completing his task in an       
ordinary      lifetime4 ,this           
translation is for the continuance of   
his work here      begun2 but for whose 
completion1 time and opportunity were   
all too      narrow and brief4 ,himself 
is the success or failure4 ,step by step
      one climbs the pinnacles of       
excellence2 life itself is but the      
stretch for that mountain of holiness4  
,opening here with humanity1      'tis  
the aiming at divinity in ever-ascending
 circles of aspiration      and         
endeavor4 ,who ceases to aspire1 dies4  

,our pursuits are our      prayers1 our 
ideals our gods4  ,in the journals of   
,theodore ,parker1 ,mr4 ,alcott is      
represented as taking an active part in 
the thinking and talking of the period  
immediately preceding the establishment 
of the ,dial1 and as expressing         
audacious opinions2 among others1       
this--which suggests ,hegel1 though it  
might have reached ,mr4 ,alcott from a  
different quarter--that the ,almighty   
progressively unfolds himself towards   
,his own perfection2 and this1 that the 
hideous things in nature are reflections
 of man's animalism2 that the world     
being the product of all men1 man is    
responsible for its evil condition2 a   
doctrine similar to the ,augustinian    
doctrine of the ,fall1 hinted at also in
 the ,book of ,genesis4 ,it was the     
doctrine of ,jacob ,boehme1 one of ,mr4 
,alcott's seers1 that as the inevitable 
consequence of sin1 the operation of the
 ,seven ,qualities in ,lucifer's        
dominion became perverted and corrupted4

 ,the fiery principle1 instead of       
creating the heavenly glory1 produced   
wrath and torment4 ,the astringent      
quality1 that should give stability and 
coherence1 became hard and stubborn4    
,the sweet was changed to bitter2 the   
bitter to raging fury4 ,this earth--once
 a province of the heavenly world--was  
broken up into a chaos of wrath and     
darkness1 roaring with the din of       
conflicting elements4 ,eden became a    
waste2 its innocence departed1 its      
friendly creatures began to bite and    
tear one another1 and man became an     
exile and a bondsman to the elements he 
once controlled4  ,in #ahcg ,mr4        
,alcott--not ,mr4 ,emerson--was the     
reputed leader of the                   
,transcendentalists1 none being more    
active than he in diffusing the ideas of
 the ,spiritual ,philosophy1 and none   
being so uncompromising in his          
interpretations of them4 ,he was        
generally present at the meetings of the
 informal ,club which1 under different  

names1 held meetings at the private     
houses of members1 from #ahcf to #ahej4 
,mr4 ,ripley had consultations with him 
in regard to the proposed community     
which was later established at ,brook   
,farm4 ,when ,mr4 ,garrison founded the 
,american ,anti-,slavery ,society1 ,mr4 
,alcott joined that cause1 and was      
faithful to it till the end4 ,with the  
movement for the emancipation and       
elevation of women1 he was a            
sympathizer4 ,he was one of the         
reformers who met at ,chardon ,street   
,chapel1 in #ahdj1 to discuss plans of  
universal reform--,garrison1 ,edmund    
,quincy1 ,henry ,c4 ,wright1 ,theodore  
,parker1 ,william ,h4 ,channing1        
,christopher ,greene1 ,maria ,chapman   
and ,abby ,kelly being of the number4   
,in those days he was intimate with     
,emerson1 ,ripley1 ,hedge1 ,brownson1   
,clarke1 ,bartol1 ,stetson1 and well    
known as a leader in speculative        
thought4 ,his period of ,pythagorean    
discipline had already begun4 ,in #ahce 

he put away the use of animal food4     
,declining to join either the ,brook    
,farm community1 or that of ,adin       
,ballou1 at ,milford1 he undertook to do
 his part towards the solution of the   
labor and culture problem1 by supporting
 himself by manual labor in ,concord1   
working during the summer in field and  
garden1 and in winter chopping wood in  
the village woodlands1 all the time     
keeping his mind intent on high         
thoughts4 ,to conventional people he was
 an object of ridicule1 not unmingled   
with contempt1 as an improvident        
visionary4 ,but ,dr4 ,channing held him 
in admiration4       ,mr4 ,alcott1 he   
wrote to a friend1 little suspects how  
my heart      goes out to him4 ,one of  
my dearest ideas and hopes is the union 
of      labor and culture4 ,i wish to   
see labor honored and united with       
the free development of the intellect   
and heart4 ,mr4 ,alcott1 hiring         
himself out for day labor1 and at the   
same time living in a region      of    

high thought1 is perhaps the most       
interesting object in our               
commonwealth4 ,i do not care much for   
,orpheus1 in ,the ,dial1 but            
,orpheus at the plough is after my own  
heart4 ,there he teaches a      grand   
lesson1 more than most of us teach by   
the pen4  ,the ,orpheus in ,the ,dial   
perplexed others beside ,dr4 ,channing1 
and amused nearly all he perplexed--all 
whom he did not exasperate and enrage4  
,the ,orphic ,sayings--,mr4 ,alcott's   
contribution to the magazine--attracted 
the attention of the critics1 who made  
them an excuse for assailing with       
ridicule1 the entire transcendental     
party4 ,identity halts in diversity4    
,the poles of things are not integrated4
 ,love globes1 wisdom orbs1 all things4 
,love is the ,genius of ,spirit4 ,alway 
are the divine ,gemini intertwined1--the
 very school-boys repeated these dark   
sayings1 with a tone that consigned the 
,dial and its oracles to the insane     
asylum4 ,yet the thought was            

intelligible1 and even simple4 ,in      
ordinary prose it would have sounded    
like common-place4 ,it was the mystic   
phrase1 and the perpetual reiteration of
 absolute principles that made the      
propositions seem obscure4 ,the extracts
 from these ,sayings1 given in a        
previous chapter1 are remarkable for    
crystalline clearness of conception1 as 
well as of expression4 ,the writer's aim
 evidently was to deliver what he had to
 utter1 in language of exact outline1   
and with the utmost economy of words4 ,a
 singular sincerity characterized his   
mind and his life2 he formed his beliefs
 on ideal laws1 and based his conduct on
 them4 ,in conduct and bearing1 as in   
thought1 he was a disciple of the       
philosopher of ,samos4 ,fascinated by   
his vision of an ideal society1 and     
determined to commence with a scheme of 
his own1 he resolutely began by         
withdrawing from civil society as       
constituted1 declined to pay the tax    
imposed by the authorities1 and was     

lodged in ,concord jail1 where he would 
have stayed1 had not his friend1 ,samuel
 ,hoar1 father of ,judge ,hoar1 paid the
 tax for him1 against his wish1 and     
procured his immediate release4 ,this   
was in #ahdc4 ,the next spring found him
 inspecting lands suitable for a        
community4 ,the next summer saw him1    
with some ,english friends1 domesticated
 on the ,wyman ,farm1 at ,harvard1 a    
piece of ninety acres1 bordering the    
,nashua river1 with an old house on it4 
,fruitlands--for so the community was   
named--did not justify its name4 ,a     
single summer and autumn dissipated the 
hopes planted there1 and with them the  
faith that the world could be           
refashioned by artificial arrangements  
of circumstances4  ,the surprising thing
 was1 that such a man should ever have  
fallen into the notion that it could2 he
 was an idealist2 his faith was in the  
soul--not in organization of any sort2  
he was a regenerator1 not a reformer4   
,all the good work he had done was of   

the regenerative kind1 through an       
awakening of the spiritual powers of    
individuals4 ,his mission was to        
educate--to draw out souls1 whether of  
children or adults4 ,faith in the soul  
was his inspiration and his guide4 ,he  
early accepted the office of teacher1   
made it the calling of his life1 and in 
the exercise of it1 kept in mind this   
faith in the soul as the highest of     
qualifications4 ,to understand his      
enthusiasm1 it is only necessary to     
apprehend his idea4 ,in the chapter on  
,childhood1 in ,concord ,days1 that idea
 is thus conveyed3       ,to conceive a 
child's acquirements as originating in  
nature1      dating from his birth into 
his body1 seems an atheism that only a  
shallow metaphysical theology could     
entertain in a time of such             
marvellous natural knowledge as ours4   
',i shall never persuade      myself1'  
says ,synesius1 'to believe my soul to  
be of like age with      my body4' ,and 
yet we are wont to date our birth1 as   

that of the      babes we christen1 from
 the body's advent1 so duteously        
inscribed      in our family registers1 
as if time and space could chronicle the
      periods of the immortal mind1 and 
mark its longevity by our               
chronometers4 ,only a ,god could inspire
 a child with the intimations      seen 
in its first pulse-plays2 the sprightly 
attainments of a      single day's      
doings afford the liveliest proofs of an
 omniscient      ,deity1 revealing ,his 
attributes in the motions of the little 
one6444 ,were the skill for touching its
 tender sensibilities1      calling     
forth its budding gifts1 equal to the   
charms the child has      for us1 what  
noble characters would graduate from our
 families--the      community receiving 
its members accomplished in the personal
      graces1 the state its patriots1   
the church its saints1 all              
glorifying the race4  ,the process of   
education was spiritual1 therefore1 to  
entice the indwelling deity forth by    

sympathy4 ,the first experiment made    
with set purpose1 with definite idea and
 calculated method1 was tried in        
,cheshire1 ,connecticut1 in #ahbe4 ,so  
original was it in design and execution1
 and so remarkable in results1 that the 
fame of it went abroad4 ,rev4 ,samuel   
,j4 ,may1 minister in ,brooklyn1 ,conn41
 a zealous friend of common-school      
education1 being1 along with the school 
committee1 convinced that the schools   
throughout the ,state needed            
improvement1 prepared a printed circular
 calling attention to the subject1 and  
propounding questions so framed as to   
draw out full and precise information   
from every town4 ,among the letters     
received in answer to the circular was  
one from ,dr4 ,wm4 ,a4 ,alcott1 a       
philosopher and philanthropist1 author  
of the ,house ,i ,live ,in1 and other   
books on physical and moral training1   
calling particular attention to this    
remarkable school1 kept on a very       
original plan1 by his kinsman3          

,his account1 says ,mr4 ,may1 excited so
 much my curiosity to know      more of 
the ,american ,pestalozzi1 as he has    
since been called1 that      ,i wrote   
immediately to ,mr4 ,a4 ,b4 ,alcott1    
begging him to send me a      detailed  
statement of his principles and methods 
of teaching and of      training        
children4 ,in due time came to me a full
 account of the      school of          
,cheshire1 which revealed such a depth  
of insight into the      nature of man2 
such a true sympathy with children2 such
 profound      appreciation of the work 
of education2 and withal1 so            
philosophically arranged and exquisitely
 written1 that ,i at once      felt     
assured the man must be a genius1 and   
that ,i must know him      more         
intimately2 so ,i wrote1 inviting him   
urgently1 to visit me4 ,i      also sent
 the account of his school to ,mr4      
,william ,russell1 in      ,boston1 then
 editing the first ,journal of          
,education ever published      in our   

country4 ,mr4 ,russell thought as highly
 of the article as ,i      did1 and gave
 it to the public in his next ,october  
number4       ,mr4 ,alcott accepted my  
invitation2 he came and passed a week   
with      me before the close of the    
summer4 ,i have never1 but in one other 
instance1 been so immediately taken     
possession of by any man ,i have        
ever met in life4 ,he seemed to me like 
a born sage and saint4 ,he      was     
radical in all matters of reform2 went  
to the root of all      things1         
especially the subjects of education1   
mental and moral      culture4 ,if his  
biography shall ever be written by one  
who can      appreciate him1 and        
especially if his voluminous writings   
shall be      properly published1 it    
will be known how unique he was in      
wisdom      and purity4  ,the chief     
peculiarity of the ,cheshire ,school was
 the effort made there to rouse and     
elevate individual minds4 ,single desks 
were substituted for the long forms in  

common use2 blackboards were introduced1
 and slates which put the pupils on     
their mettle2 a library was instituted  
of carefully selected books1 the reading
 whereof was diligently supervised and  
directed2 hopes were appealed to instead
 of fears2 gentleness took the place of 
severity2 the affections and moral      
sentiments were addressed1 to give full 
action to the heart and conscience1 the 
physical being replaced by the spiritual
 scourge2 light gymnastic exercises were
 introduced2 evening entertainments     
gladdened the school room after working 
hours2 even the youngest scholars were  
encouraged to clear their minds by      
keeping diaries4 ,in these and other    
ways1 especially by the enthusiasm and  
dignity of the master1 knowledge was    
made attractive1 and the teacher's      
office was made venerable4  ,the plan1  
albeit nearly the same with that        
practised by ,pestalozzi in             
,switzerland1 was original with ,mr4    
,alcott1 the product of his peculiar    

philosophical ideas4 ,had those ideas   
been less deep and lofty1 the method    
might have commended itself to all as it
 did to ,mr4 ,may2 but1 had they been   
less deep and lofty1 it would not have  
been tried at all4 ,a profound faith in 
the soul suggested it1 and certainly a  
profound faith was required to sustain  
it4 ,but faith in the soul was no more  
popular then than it is now1 implying1  
as it did1 radical convictions on all   
sorts of questions1 and familiar        
assumption of the truth of the opinions4
 ,such a teacher is not permitted to be 
conventional4 ,mr4 ,alcott showed       
himself the disciple of ,pythagoras in  
that he was the worshipper of ideal     
truth and purity1 the uncompromising    
servant of the spiritual laws4 ,when    
this was fairly understood1 as it was in
 two years1 the experiment was          
terminated4  ,the idea1 which made the  
teacher suspected by the school         
committee boards1 was recognized and    
applauded by the finest spirits in ,new 

,england1 ,new ,york and ,pennsylvania4 
,the reformers hailed the reformer2 the 
spiritualists welcomed the spiritualist4
 ,in ,hartford1 ,drs4 ,gallaudet and    
,barnard2 in ,boston1 ,dr4 ,channing and
 ,mr4 ,garrison1 the ,mays1 ,quincys1   
,phillipses1 and other families of      
character and courage2 in ,philadelphia1
 ,dr4 ,furness1 ,matthew ,cary1 ,robert 
,vaux1 and the radical ,friends took him
 up4 ,mr4 ,emerson saluted him with high
 expectation1 in the words addressed by 
,burke to ,john ,howard3       ,your    
plan is original1 and as full of genius 
as of humanity2 so do      not let it   
sleep or stop a day4  ,the project of a 
school on the new plan was started in   
,boston2 ,margaret ,fuller1 ,elizabeth  
,peabody1 ,miss ,hoar1 ,mrs4 ,nath'l    
,hawthorne being among the most deeply  
interested4 ,it was kept in the ,masonic
 ,temple during the year #ahcd4 ,the    
account of this experiment has been so  
fully given by ,miss ,peabody1 the      
original scribe1 in a volume entitled   

,record of a ,school1 placed within easy
 reach by a ,boston publisher1 only two 
years ago1 and largely read1 that to    
describe it here would be impertinent4  
,in her new preface1 ,miss ,peabody1 who
 of late years has become an            
enthusiastic advocate of ,froebel's     
method1 which approaches the mind from  
the outside1 while ,mr4 ,alcott         
approaches it from the inside1 frankly  
declares that she has       ,come to    
doubt the details of his method of      
procedure1 and to      believe that     
,froebel's method of cultivating        
children through      artistic          
production in the childish sphere of    
affection and fancy      is a healthier 
and more effective way than self        
inspection1 for at      least those     
years of a child's life before the age  
of seven4  ,while thus honestly         
declaring her abandonment of ,mr4       
,alcott's plan1 she affirms her belief  
,that his school was a marked benefit to
 every child with whom he      came into

 communication4444       ,what ,i       
witnessed in his school room threw for  
me a new light into      the profoundest
 mysteries that have been consecrated by
 the      ,christian symbols2 and the   
study of childhood made there ,i would  
not exchange for anything else ,i have  
experienced in life4  ,the ,boston      
school was made more closely conformable
 to the spiritual idea than any previous
 ones4 ,the intellectual tone of the    
society he frequented1 the sympathy of  
his transcendental friends1 the standing
 of his pupils1 the expectation of      
exacting lookers on1 encouraged the     
philosopher to give free rein to his    
theory4 ,the principle of vicarious     
punishment--the innocent bearing pain   
for the guilty--the master for the      
pupil--was adopted as likely to enlist  
the sentiment of honor and noble shame  
in the cause of good behavior4 ,a       
portion of the time was set apart for   
direct address by way of question and   
answer1 to the higher faculties of the  

scholars4 ,mr4 ,alcott gave a series of 
,conversations on the ,gospels1 with    
most interesting and surprising results4
 ,these too were reported1 and are very 
suggestive and astonishing reading4     
,but even in ,boston1 the teacher's     
faith in the soul found an unresponsive 
public4 ,the ,conversations on the      
,gospels were furiously attacked in the 
newspapers4 ,the conservative spirit was
 aroused2 the sectarian feeling was     
shocked2 and the school1 which began    
with thirty pupils1 and rose to forty1  
fell away to ten2 the receipts1 which in
 the first year were #a1gid1 in the     
fourth 7#ahcg71 were but #edi1 and at   
last only #cdc4 ,in ,april1 #ahci1 the  
furniture1 library and apparatus of the 
school were sold to pay debts4 ,the     
culture1 refinement1 liberality1        
philosophic aspiration of ,boston1 led  
by such men as ,james ,freeman ,clarke1 
,frederick ,h4 ,hedge1 ,chandler        
,robbins1 ,george ,russell1 and by such 
women as ,margaret ,fuller1 ,miss       

,peabody1 ,miss ,martineau1 and the     
mothers of boys who have since done     
credit to their names1 were not         
sufficient to protect the institution   
from failure1 or the teacher from insult
 and obloquy4 ,prejudice1 and prejudice 
alone1 defeated the scheme4  ,but the   
idea and the apostle survived4 ,miss    
,harriet ,martineau1 who knew ,mr4      
,alcott well in #ahcg1 spoke of him on  
her return home to ,james ,pierrepont   
,greaves1 an ardent ,english disciple of
 ,pestalozzi4 ,mr4 ,greaves gave the    
name ,alcott ,house1 to a school near   
,london1 which he had founded on the    
,pestalozzian method2 he even meditated 
a visit to ,america1 for the express    
purpose of making the acquaintance of   
the ,new ,england sage1 and would have  
done so but for illness1 which          
terminated in death4 ,a long letter from
 him to ,mr4 ,alcott1 was printed in the
 ,dial of ,april1 #ahdc1 a portion      
whereof it is interesting to read1      
because it throws light on the cardinal 

ideas of this school of thinkers4 ,mr4  
,alcott's reply to the letter is not    
before us1 but it was probably1 in the  
main1 sympathetic4 ,the letter is dated 
,london1 #afth ,december1 #ahcg3        
,,dear ,,sir1--,believing the ,spirit   
has so far established its nature       
in you1 as to make you willing to       
co-operate with itself in ,love         
operations1 ,i am induced1 without      
apology1 to address you as a      friend
 and companion in the hidden path of    
,love's most powerful      revelations4 
,the ,record of a ,school having fallen 
into my hands1      through ,miss       
,harriet ,martineau1 ,i have perused it 
with deep      interest2 and the object 
of my present address to you 7occasioned
      by this work7 is to obtain a more 
intimate acquaintance with one1      in 
our ,sister ,land1 who is so divinely   
and universally developed4      ,permit 
me1 therefore1 dear sir1 in simple      
affection1 to put a few      questions  
to you1 which1 if answered1 will give me

 possession of      that information    
respecting you and your work1 which ,i  
think will      be useful to present and
 to future generations of men4 ,also a  
mutual service may be rendered to       
ourselves1 by assisting to evolve       
our own being more completely1 thereby  
making us more efficient                
instruments for ,love's use1 in carrying
 forward the work which it      has     
begun within us4 ,the ,unity himself    
must have his divine purpose      to    
accomplish in and by us1 or he would not
 have prepared us as far      as he has4
 ,i am1 therefore1 willing to withhold  
nothing1 but to      receive and        
transmit all he is pleased to make me   
be1 and thus1      at length1 to become 
an harmonious being4 ,this he can       
readily work      in the accomplishment 
of his primitive purposes4 ,should you  
think      that a personal intercourse  
of a few weeks would facilitate the     
universal work1 ,i would willingly      
undertake the voyage to ,america        

for that purpose4 ,there is so decided  
and general a similarity in      the    
sentiments and natures addressed in the 
account of your      teaching1 that a   
contact of spirits so alike developed   
would1 no      doubt1 prove productive  
of still further development4 ,your     
school      appears to work deeper than 
any we have in ,england1 and its inner  
essential character interests me4 ,if an
 ,american bookseller will      send    
over any of your books to his           
correspondents here1 ,i shall be        
happy to receive and pay for them4      
,in the year #ahag some strong interior 
visitations came over me1      which    
withdrew me from the world in a         
considerable degree1 and ,i      was    
enabled to yield myself up to ,love's   
own manner of acting1      regardless of
 all consequences4 ,soon after this     
time1 ,i met with an      account of the
 ,spirit's work in and by the late      
venerable      ,pestalozzi1 which so    
interested me that ,i proceeded at once 

to      visit him in ,switzerland1 and  
remained with him in holy fellowship    
four years4 ,after that ,i was working  
with considerable success      amongst  
the various students in that country1   
when the prejudices      of the         
self-made wise and powerful men became  
jealous of my      influence1 and ,i was
 advised to return to ,england1 which ,i
 did2 and      have been working in     
various ways of usefulness ever since1  
from      the deep centre to the        
circumference2 and am now engaged in    
writing      my conscientious           
experiences as well as ,i can represent 
them in      words1 and in teaching all 
such as come within my sphere of action4
      ,receptive beings1 however1 have  
as yet been but limited1 and those      
who permanently retain1 have been still 
less2 yet1 at present1      there       
appears a greater degree of awakening to
 the central      love-sensibility than 
before4 ,i see many more symptoms of the
      harvest-time approaching in this  

country4 ,there is1 at present1 no      
obvious appearance of the ,love-seed    
beginning to germinate4         99      
99       99       99       99       ,the
 child has two orders of faculties which
 are to be educated1      essential and 
semi-essential2 or in other words1 roots
 and      branches4       ,radical      
faculties belong to the interior world1 
and the branchial      to the exterior4 
,to produce a central effect on the     
child1 the radical faculties      must  
be first developed2 to represent this   
effect1 the branchial      faculties    
must be developed4       ,the radical   
faculties belong entirely to ,love2 the 
branchial to      knowledge and         
industry4       ,it is imperative upon  
us to follow the determination of the   
radical      faculties1 and to modify   
the branchial always in obedience to the
      radical4       ,it is the child1  
or the ,love-,spirit in the child1 that 
we must      obey1 and not suffer the   
,parents or any one else to divert us   

from      it4       ,good is not to be  
determined by man's wishes1 but ,good   
must      originate and determine the   
wish4       ,the ,preceptor must watch  
attentively for every new exhibition of 
the child's radical faculties1 and obey 
them as divine laws4       ,we must in  
every movement consider that it is the  
,infinite      perfecting the finite4   
,all that is unnecessary in the external
 must be kept from the      child4      
,the ,preceptor's duty is1 as far as    
possible1 to remove every      hindrance
 out of the child's way4       ,the     
closer he keeps the child to the        
,spirit1 the less it will want      of  
us1 or anyone else4       ,the child has
 an inward1 sacred1 and unchangeable    
nature2 which      nature is the ,temple
 of ,love4 ,this nature only demands    
what it will      give1 if properly     
attended to1 viz43 ,unfettered ,liberty4
       ,the ,love ,germs can alone      
germinate with ,love4 ,light and ,life  
are      but conditions of ,love4       

,divine capacities are made by love     
alone4       ,love education is         
primarily a passive one2 and1           
secondarily1 an      active one4 ,to    
educate the radical faculties is        
altogether a new      idea with         
,teachers at present4       ,the        
parental end must be made much more     
prominent than it has been4       ,the  
conceptive powers want much more        
purification than the      perceptive2  
and it is only as we purify the         
conceptive that we      shall get the   
perceptive clear4       ,it is the      
essential conceptive powers that tinge  
all the      consequences of the        
exterior conceptive powers4       ,we   
have double conceptions1 and double     
perceptions2 we are      throughout     
double beings2 and claim the universal  
morality1 as well      as the personal4 
,we must now educate the universal moral
 faculties1 as before we      have only 
educated the personal moral faculties4  
,it is in the universal moral faculties 

that the laws reside2 until      these  
laws are developed1 we remain lawless   
beings4       ,the personal moral       
faculties cannot stand without the aid  
of the      universal moral faculties1  
any more than the branches can grow     
without the roots4       ,education1 to 
be decidedly religious1 should reach    
man's universal      faculties1 those   
faculties which contain the laws that   
connect man      with his maker4        
,these reflections seem to me to be     
worthy of consideration4 ,should        
any of them strike you as worth while to
 make an observation upon1      ,i shall
 be happy to hear it4 ,suggestions are  
always valuable1 as      they offer to  
the mind the liberty of free activity4  
,the work we      are engaged in is too 
extensive and important1 to lose any    
opportunity of gaining information4     
,the earlier ,i receive your reply1 the 
better4       ,i am1 dear ,sir1 yours   
faithfully1       ,j4 ,p4 ,,greaves4    
,in #ahdb1 ,mr4 ,alcott visited ,england

 with the aim to confer with the        
philanthropists and educators there1 to 
exchange views1 collect information1 and
 gather hints on the subject of literary
 and social methods4 ,mr4 ,greaves was  
dead2 but the living friends of the     
,first ,philosophy received him with    
hearty respect and joy1 introduced him  
to men of literary and philanthropic    
eminence1 and made his arrival the      
occasion of meetings for conversation on
 the religious1 social and ethical      
questions of the day4 ,the meetings were
 held mostly at an institution managed  
on his own methods and called by his own
 name1 the school of ,mr4 ,wright at    
,alcott ,house1 ,ham1 ,surrey4 ,strange 
people were some of those he met1       
,communists1 ,alists 7deriving their    
name from ,alah--the ,hebrew name for   
,god71 ,syncretic ,associationists1     
,pestalozzians1 friends and advocates of
 self-supporting institutions1          
experimental ,normal ,schools1          
,hydropathic and ,philosophical         

,associations1 ,health ,unions1         
,philansteries1 ,utopias of every       
description1 new social arrangements    
between the sexes1 new devices for      
making marriage what it should be4  ,the
 ,london ,morning ,chronicle1 of ,july  
#eth1 contained the following           
advertisement3       ,public            
,invitation4--,an open meeting of the   
friends to human      progress will be  
held to-morrow1 ,july #fth1 at ,mr4     
,wright's1 ,alcott      ,house ,school1 
,ham ,common1 near ,richmond1 ,surrey1  
for the purpose of      considering and 
adopting means for the promotion of the 
great end1      when all who are        
interested in human destiny are         
earnestly urged to      attend4 ,the    
chair taken at three o'clock1 and again 
at seven1 by ,a4      ,bronson ,alcott1 
,esq41 now on a visit from ,america4    
,omnibuses travel      to and fro1 and  
the ,richmond steamboat reaches at a    
convenient      hour4  ,the call brought
 together some sixteen or twenty        

persons1 from various distances2 one a  
hundred miles2 another a hundred and    
fifty4 ,we did not find it easy to      
propose a question sufficiently         
comprehensive to unfold the whole of the
 fact with which our bosoms labored1    
writes a private correspondent of the   
,dial4       ,we aimed at nothing less  
than to speak of the instauration of    
spirit1 and its incarnation in a        
beautiful form4 ,when a word failed     
in extent of meaning1 we loaded the word
 with new meaning4 ,the word      did   
not confine our experience1 but from our
 own being we gave      significance to 
the word4 ,into one body we infused many
 lives1 and      it shone as the image  
of divine or angelic1 or human thought4 
,for a      word is a ,proteus1 that    
means to a man what the man is4  ,the   
,dial of ,october1 #ahdb1 prints an     
abstract of the proceedings1 which are  
interesting1 as illustrations of the    
phases that the ,spiritual ,philosophy  
assumed1 but would occupy more space    

here than their significance warrants4  
,three papers were presented1 on        
,formation1 ,transition1 ,reformation4  
,the views1 it is needless to say1 were 
of the extreme school4 ,the essayist on 
the first theme advanced the doctrine   
that evil commenced in birth2 that the  
unpardonable sin was an unholy birth2   
that birth must be surrendered to the   
spirit4 ,the second essayist maintained 
that property was held on the tenure of 
might and immemorial custom2 that pure  
love1 which is ever communicative1 never
 yet conceded to any being the right of 
appropriation4 ,we ignore human         
governments1 creeds and institutions2 we
 deny the right of any man to dictate   
laws for our regulation1 or duties for  
our performance2 and declare our        
allegiance only to ,universal ,love1 the
 all-embracing ,justice4  ,the reader of
 the paper on ,reformation pursued the  
same train of thought2 he demanded      
amendment of monetary arrangements1 the 
penal code1 education1 the church1 the  

law of primogeniture1 and divorce2      
challenged reliance on commercial       
prosperity and popular representation2  
denied the right of man to inflict pain 
on man2 asserted that the question of   
generation preceded that of education2  
that the reign of love was supreme over 
that of opinion2 insisted on the        
restoration of all things to their      
primitive ,owner1 and hence the         
abrogation of property--either          
individual or collective2 and on the    
divine sanction1 instead of the civil   
and ecclesiastical authority1 for       
marriage4 ,it was his idea1 that        
aspirations are the pledge of their own 
fulfilment1--that beneath the actual    
which a man is1 there is always covered 
a possible to tempt him forward--that   
beneath sense lie reason and            
understanding2 beneath them both1       
humility2 and beneath all1 ,god--that to
 be ,god-like we must pass through the  
grades of progress4 ,even now the       
,god-life is enfolded in us2 even now   

the streams of eternity course freely in
 our central heart2 if impelled by the  
spirit to intermingle with the          
arrangements of polities of the world1  
in order to improve them1 we shall      
discover the high point from which we   
begin1 by the ,god-thought in our       
interference2 our act must be divine2 we
 seem to do1 ,god does2 ,god empowers   
legislators1 and ennobles them for their
 fidelity2 let them1 however1 be        
apostles1 not apostles' representatives2
 men of ,god1 not men of men2 personal  
elevation is our credentials2 personal  
reform is that which is practicable1 and
 without it our efforts on behalf of    
others are dreams only4  ,no remarks    
from ,mr4 ,alcott are recorded4 ,that   
the meetings satisfied and cheered him  
may be inferred from the circumstance   
that1 immediately after his return from 
,england1 he undertook to inaugurate the
 ideal social state at ,fruitlands--with
 what success we know4  ,in #ahei1 ,mr4 
,alcott had another and larger          

opportunity to exercise his wisdom as an
 educator of youth4 ,he was chosen      
superintendent of the schools of        
,concord2 a position that called out the
 finest qualities of his mind1 and put  
to immediate use the results of his long
 experience1 but relieved him from the  
business arrangements for which he had  
never displayed an aptitude4 ,the three 
brief but remarkable reports that he    
made on the condition and needs of the  
schools1 increase one's respect for the 
workings of the spiritual philosophy in 
this field of effort4 ,if the           
suggestions offered in those reports    
were to any considerable extent adopted1
 if the noble and gracious spirit of    
them was felt1 the schools of ,concord  
should be model schools of their class4 
,the school is the primary interest of  
the community4 ,every parent            
naturally desires a better education for
 his children than he      received     
himself1 and spends liberally of his    
substance for this      pleasure2 wisely

 hoping to make up his deficiencies in  
that way1      and to complement himself
 in their better attainments2 esteeming 
these the richest estate he can leave1  
and the fairest ornaments of      his   
family name4       ,especially have ,i  
wished to introduce the young to the    
study of      their minds1 the love of  
thinking2 often giving examples of      
lessons      in analysis and            
classification of their faculties4 ,i   
think ,i may      say that these        
exercises have given much pleasure1 and 
have been      found profitable alike to
 the teacher and the children4 ,in most 
instances1 ,i have closed my visits by  
reading some interesting      story or  
parable4 ,these have never failed of    
gaining attention1 and      in most     
cases1 prompt responses4 ,i consider    
these readings and      colloquies as   
among the most profitable and           
instructive of the      superintendent's
 labors4  ,pilgrim's ,progress1         
,krummacher's ,parables1 ,a,esop's      

,fables1 ,faery ,queen1 the stories of  
,plutarch and ,shakspeare1 were his     
favorites4       ,the graceful exercise 
of singing has been introduced into some
 of      the schools4 ,it should prevail
 in all of them4 ,it softens the        
manners1 cultivates the voice1 and      
purifies the taste of the      children4
 ,it promotes harmony and good feelings4
 ,the old masters      thought much of  
it as a discipline4 ',let us sing' has  
the welcome      sound of ',let us      
play1'--and is perhaps the child's      
prettiest      translation of ',let us  
pray1'--admitting him soonest to the    
intimacy he seeks4       ,conversations 
on words1 paraphrases and translations  
of sentences1      are the natural      
methods of opening the study of         
language4 ,a child      should never be 
suffered to lose sight of the prime fact
 that he is      studying the realities 
of nature and of the mind through the   
picture books of language4 ,any teaching
 falling short of this is      hollow   

and a wrong done to the mind4       ,for
 composition1 let a boy keep his diary1 
write his letters1 try      his hand at 
defining from a dictionary and          
paraphrasing1 and he      will find ways
 of expressing himself simply as boys   
and men did      before grammars were   
invented4       ,teaching is a personal 
influence for the most part1 and        
operating      as a spirit unsuspected  
at the moment4 ,i have wished to divine 
the      secret source of success       
attained by any1 and do justice to this2
      it seemed most becoming to regard 
any blemishes as of secondary           
account in the light of the acknowledged
 deserts4 ,we require of      each what 
she has to give1 no more4 ,does the     
teacher awaken      thought1 strengthen 
the mind1 kindle the affections1 call   
the      conscience1 the common sense   
into lively and controlling activity1   
so promoting the love of study1 the     
practice of the virtues2 habits         
that shall accompany the children       

outwards into life8 ,the memory is      
thus best cared for1 the end of study   
answered2 the debt of teacher      to   
parents1 of parents to teacher          
discharged1 and so the ,state's         
bounty best bestowed4       ,a little   
gymnasticon1 a system of gestures for   
the body might be      organized        
skilfully and become part of the daily  
exercises in our      schools4 ,graceful
 steps1 pretty musical airs1 in         
accompaniment of      songs--suiting the
 sentiment to the motions1 the emotions1
 ideas of      the child--would be      
conducive to health of body and mind    
alike4 ,we      shall adopt dancing     
presently as a natural training for the 
manners      and morals of the young4   
,conversation is the mind's mouth-piece1
 its best spokesman2 the      leader    
elect and prompter in teaching2         
practised daily1 it should      be added
 to the list of school studies2 an art  
in itself1 let it be      used as such1 
and ranked as an accomplishment second  

to none that      nature or culture can 
give4 ,certainly the best we can do is  
to      teach ourselves and children how
 to talk4 ,let conversation displace    
much that passes current under the name 
of recitation2 mostly sound      and    
parrotry1 a repeating by rote not by    
heart1 unmeaning sounds      from the   
memory and no more4 ',take my mind a    
moment1' says the      teacher1 'and see
 how things look through that prism1'   
and the      pupil sees prospects never 
seen before or surmised by him in that  
lively perspective4 ,so taught the      
masters2 ,plato1 ,plutarch1             
,pythagoras1 ,pestalozzi2 so            
,christianity was first published from  
lovely lips2 so every one teaches       
deserving the name of teacher or        
interpreter4 ,illustration always and   
apt2 life calling forth life2      the  
giving of life and a partaking4 ,nothing
 should be interposed      between the  
mind and its subject matter--cold sense 
is impertinent2      learning is        

insufficient--only life alone2 life like
 a torch      lighting the head at the  
heart4       ,next to thinking for      
themselves1 the best service any teacher
 can      render his scholars is to show
 them how to use books4 ,the wise       
teacher is the key for opening the mind 
to the books he places      before it4  
,stories are the idyls of childhood4    
,they cast about it the romance      it 
loves and lives in1 rendering the       
commonest circumstances and      things 
inviting and beautiful4 ,parables1      
poems1 histories1      anecdotes1 are   
prime aids in teaching2 the readiest    
means of      influence and inspiration2
 the liveliest substitutes for flagging 
spirits1 fatigued wits4       ,a little 
atlas of the body mythologically shown  
from the artist's      points of view1  
the plates displaying the person to the 
eye1 in a      set of draped figures1 is
 a book much wanted for first lines in  
drawing4 ,a child's piety is seen in its
 regards for its body and      the      

concern it shows in its carriage and    
keeping4 ,of all forms the      human   
form is most marvellous2 and the modest 
reverence for its      shadings         
intimates the proper mode of studying it
 rightly and      religiously as a      
pantheon of powers4 ,the prime training 
best opens      here as an idealism1 the
 soul fashioning her image in the form  
she      animates1 and so scrutinizing  
piously without plucking the            
forbidden fruits4       ,there is a want
 of suitable aids to the studies of     
these      mysteries4 ,the best books ,i
 know are poor enough4 ,in the want of a
      better1 we name for the study of  
matter in its connection with the       
mind1 including the proper              
considerations regarding health and     
temperance1 ,graham's ',laws of ,life1' 
a rather dull but earnest      book2 and
 for smaller classes and beginners ,dr4 
,alcott's ',house ,i      ,live ,in4'   
,miss ,catherine ,beecher's book for    
studies in ,physiology      and         

,calisthenics1 is a practical treatise1 
and should be in all      schools4 ,sir 
,john ,sinclair's ',code of ,health'    
contains a      republication of the    
,wisdom of the ,ancients1 on these      
subjects1 and      is a book for all    
persons and times4       ,perhaps we are
 correcting the old affection for       
flogging at some      risk of spoiling  
the boys of this generation4 ,girls have
 always      known how to cover with    
shame any insult of that sort1 but the  
power of persuasion comes slow as a     
promptitude to supersede its            
necessity4 ,who deals with a child1     
deals with a piece of divinity          
obeying laws as innate as those he      
transgresses2 and which he must         
treat tenderly1 lest he put spiritual   
interests in jeopardy4      ,punishment 
must be just1 else it cannot be accepted
 as good1 and      least of all by the  
wicked and weak4       ,the accomplished
 teacher combines in himself the art of 
teaching      and of ruling2 power over 

the intellect and the will1 inspiration 
and persuasiveness4 ,and this implies a 
double consciousness in its             
possessor that carries forward the      
teaching and ruling together2           
noting what transpires in motive as in  
act2 the gift that in seeing            
controls4 ,it is the sway of presence   
and of mien2 a conversion of      the   
will to his wishes1 without which other 
gifts are of little      avail4         
,be sure the liveliest dispensations1   
the holiest1 are his 7the      unruly   
boy's7--his as cordially as ours1 and   
sought for as kindly4      ,we must meet
 him where he is4 ,best to follow his   
bent if bent      beautifully2 else     
bending him gently1 not fractiously1    
lest we snap      or stiffen a          
stubbornness too stiff already4         
,gentleness now2 the      fair eye1 the 
conquering glances straight and sure2   
the strong      hand1 if you must1 till 
he fall penitent at the feet of         
,persuasion2      the stroke of grace   

before the smiting of the birch2 for    
only so is      the conquest complete1  
and the victory the ,lord's4 ,if she is 
good      enough she may strike strong  
and frequent1 till thanks come for it2  
but who is she1 much less he1 that dares
 do it more than once1 nor      repents 
in sorrow and shame for the strokes     
given8 ,only 'the      shining ones' may
 do it for good4       ,our teachers    
open their schools with readings from   
the ,new      ,testament1 and this      
reading is in some of the schools1 and  
would1      but for a diffident piety1  
be followed in all1 by devotions and the
      singing of some suitable morning  
hymn4 ,the spoken prayers and           
praises are not enjoined by our rules2  
and we think we show therein      that  
tender courtesy to the faiths of the    
heart that true piety      loves and    
cannot overstep4 ,an earnest and sweet  
disposition is the      spring from     
which children love to taste1 and best  
always if      insinuated softly in mild

 persuasions1 and so leading to the     
practice of the loves and graces that   
soften and save4 ,a course of           
readings from the ,picture ,testament   
might favor the best ends of            
spiritual culture4 ,a child should be   
approached with reverence1 as      a    
recipient of the spirit from above4 ,the
 best of books claims the      best of  
persons and the gracious moments to make
 its meanings      clear2 else the      
reading and listening are but a sound1 a
 pretence1      and of no account4 ,i   
have wished these books were opened with
 the      awe belonging to the eminent  
,personalities portrayed therein1       
thinking them best read when the glow of
 sentiment kindles the      meaning into
 life in the morning hour--the teacher  
opening her      school by opening their
 leaves4  ,the following earnest words  
respecting the duties of the ,state in  
regard to the education of its children1
 may fitly close these fragmentary      
extracts1 which give but the scantiest  

notions of the richness of suggestion in
 these reports3       ,it is difficult  
to reach the sources of ignorance and   
consequent      crime in a community    
like ours1 calling itself free1 and     
boasting      of its right to do what it
 will4 ,but freedom is a social not less
      than an individual concern1 and   
the end of the ,state is to protect     
it4 ,the first object of a free people  
is the preservation of their            
liberties4 ,it becomes1 then1 their     
first duty to assume the      training  
of all the children in the principles of
 right knowledge      and virtue1 as the
 only safeguard of their liberties4 ,we 
cannot      afford to wait at such      
hazards4 ,the simplest humanities are   
also      the least costly1 and the     
nearest home4 ,we should begin there4   
,the      ,state is stabbed at the      
hearth-side and here liberty and honor  
are      first sold4 ,it is injured by  
family neglect1 and should protect      
itself in securing its children's virtue

 against their parents'      vices2 for1
 by so doing1 can it alone redeem its   
pledges to      humanity and its        
citizens' liberties4 ,a virtuous        
education is the      greatest alms it  
can bestow on any of its children4      
,meetings for conversation with the     
parents of the scholars were a device of
 ,mr4 ,alcott for bringing the subject  
of education home to those whose concern
 in it should be the deepest4  ,his     
faith was from the first in             
conversation1 rather than in lecturing  
or in preaching4 ,preaching assumed too 
much in the single mind1 paid less than 
due respect to the minds of the hearers1
 and gave no opportunity for the instant
 exchange of thoughts4 ,lecturing was   
intellectual and even less sympathetic4 
,by conversation the best was drawn out 
and the best imparted4 ,all were put on 
an equality2 all were encouraged1 none  
oppressed4       ,truth1 ,mr4 ,alcott   
declares is spherical1 and seen         
differently      according to the       

culture1 temperament and disposition of 
those who      survey it from their     
individual standpoint4 ,of two or more  
sides1      none can be absolutely      
right1 and conversation fails if it find
 not      the central truth from which  
all radiate2 debate is angular1         
conversation circular and radiant of the
 underlying unity4 ,who      speaks1    
deeply excludes all possibility of      
controversy4 ,his      affirmation is   
self-sufficient2 his assumption final1  
absolute4      ,thus holding himself    
above the arena of dispute he gracefully
      settles a question by speaking so 
home to the core of the matter as       
to undermine the premise upon which an  
issue had been taken4 ,for      whoso   
speaks to the personality dives beneath 
the grounds of      difference1 and     
deals face to face with principles and  
ideas4       ,good discourse sinks      
differences and seeks agreements4 ,it   
avoids      argument1 by finding a      
common basis of agreement2 and thus     

escapes      controversy by rendering it
 superfluous4 ,pertinent to the         
platform1      debate is out of place in
 the parlor4 ,persuasion is the better  
weapon in this glittering game4         
,conversation presupposes a common      
sympathy in the subject1 a great        
equality in the speakers2 absence of    
egotism1 a tender criticism of      what
 is spoken4 ,good discourse wins from   
the bashful and discreet      what they 
have to speak1 but would not1 without   
this provocation4      ,the forbidding  
faces are ,fates to overbear and blemish
 true      fellowship4 ,we give what we 
are1 not necessarily what we know2      
nothing more1 nothing less1 and only to 
our kind2 those playing      best their 
parts who have the nimblest wits1 taking
 out the      egotism1 the nonsense1    
putting wisdom1 information in their    
place4  ,mr4 ,alcott therefore forsook  
the platform1 seldom entered the pulpit1
 adopted the parlor1 and made it what   
its name imports1 the talking place4    

,collecting a company of ladies and     
gentlemen1 larger or smaller1 as nearly 
as possible of similar tastes and       
culture1 he started a topic of general  
interest and broad scope--usually one of
 social concern with deep roots and wide
 branches1--and began his soliloquy in a
 calm and easy strain1 throwing out     
suggestions as he went on1 and enticing 
thoughts from the various minds present4
 ,if none responded or accompanied1 the 
discourse proceeded evenly till the     
measure of an hour was filled4 ,if the  
company was awake1 and sympathetic1 the 
soliloquy became conversation and an    
evening full of instruction and         
entertainment followed4 ,when           
circumstances favored--the room1        
decorations1 atmosphere1 mingling of    
elements--the season was delightful4    
,the unfailing serenity of the leader1  
his wealth of mental resource1 his      
hospitality of thought1 his wit1 his    
extraordinary felicity of language1 his 
delicacy of touch1 ready appreciation of

 different views1 and singular grace in 
turning opinions towards the light1 made
 it clear to all present that to this   
especial calling he was chosen4 ,for    
years ,mr4 ,alcott's conversations have 
been a recognized institution in        
,eastern and ,western cities4 ,every    
winter he takes the field1 and goes     
through the ,northern and ,north        
,western ,states1 with his scheme of    
topics4 ,the best minds collect about   
him1 and centres of influence are       
established that act as permanent       
distributors of culture4 ,the noble     
idealism never pales or falters4        
,neither politics1 science1 financial   
convulsion1 or civil war1 disturb the   
calm serenity of the soul that is sure  
that mind is its own place1 and that    
infinite and absolute mind is supreme   
above all4     ,,xi4  ,,the ,,critic4   
,margaret ,fuller--she was called       
,ossoli long after the time we are      
concerned with1 in a foreign land and   
amid foreign associations--,margaret    

,fuller died ,july #afth1 #ahej4 ,in    
#aheb her ,memoirs were published in    
,boston1 written by ,ralph ,waldo       
,emerson1 ,james ,freeman ,clarke1 and  
,william ,henry ,channing3 each giving  
an individual and personal account of   
her4 ,these three gentlemen--all        
remarkable for intellectual capacity1   
sympathetic appreciation1 and literary  
skill--undertook their task in the      
spirit of loving admiration1 and        
executed it with extraordinary          
frankness1 courage and delicacy4 ,no    
more unique or satisfactory book of     
biography was ever made4 ,they had known
 ,margaret personally and well2 were    
intimately acquainted with her mind1 and
 deeply interested in her character4    
,they had access to all the necessary   
materials4 ,the whole life--inward and  
outward--was open to them1 and they     
described it with no more reserve than  
good taste imposed4 ,those who are      
interested to know what sort of a person
 she was1 are referred to that book1    

from which the biographical materials   
for this little sketch have1 in the     
main1 been taken4 ,her place here is due
 to her association with the leaders of 
the ,transcendental movement1 and to the
 peculiar part she played in it4        
,strictly speaking1 she was not a       
,transcendentalist1 though ,mr4         
,channing declares her to have been in  
spirit and thought pre-eminently a      
transcendentalist2 and ,mr4 ,alcott     
wrote that she adopted the spiritual    
philosophy1 and had the subtlest        
perception of its bearings4 ,she was    
enthusiastic rather than philosophical1 
and poetic more than systematic4        
,emerson's judgment is that--           
,left to herself1 and in her            
correspondence1 she was much the        
victim of ,lord ,bacon's idols of the   
cave1 or self-deceived by her      own  
phantasms4444 ,her letters are tainted  
with a mysticism which1      to me1     
appears so much an affair of            
constitution1 that it claims no         

more respect than the charity or        
patriotism of a man who has dined       
well and feels better for it4 ,in our   
noble ,margaret1 her personal           
feeling colors all her judgment of      
persons1 of books1 of pictures1      and
 even of the laws of the world4444      
,whole sheets of warm1 florid           
writing are here1 in which the eye is   
caught by 'sapphire1'      'heliotrope1'
 'dragon1' 'aloes1' ',magna ,dea1'      
'limboes1' 'stars1'      and            
'purgatory'--but one can connect all    
this or any part of it      with no     
universal experience4       ,in short1  
,margaret often loses herself in        
sentimentalism2 that      dangerous     
vertigo nature1 in her case1 adopted1   
and was to make      respectable4444    
,her integrity was perfect1 and she was 
led and      followed by love2 and was  
really bent on truth1 but too indulgent 
to the meteors of her fancy4  ,she said 
of herself3       ,when ,i was in       
,cambridge ,i got ,fichte and ,jacobi2  

,i was much      interrupted1 but some  
time and earnest thought ,i devoted2    
,fichte ,i      could not understand at 
all1 though the treatise which ,i read  
was      one intended to be popular1 and
 which he says must compel to           
conviction4 ,jacobi ,i could understand 
in details1 but not in      system4 ,it 
seemed to me that his mind must have    
been moulded by      some other mind1   
with which ,i ought to be acquainted1 in
 order to      know him well--perhaps   
,spinoza's4 ,since ,i came home ,i have 
been      consulting ,buhle's and       
,tennemann's histories of philosophy1   
and      dipping into ,brown1 ,stewart1 
and that class of books4  ,this was in  
#ahcb1 before the transcendental        
movement began4 ,at the same period1    
writing to a friend on the subject of   
religious faith--a subject intimately   
allied with philosophy--she said3       
,i have not formed an opinion2 ,i have  
determined not to form      settled     
opinions at present2 loving or feeble   

natures need a      positive religion--a
 visible refuge1 a protection--as much  
in the      passionate season of youth  
as in those stages nearer to the grave4 
,but mine is not such4 ,my pride is     
superior to any feelings ,i have        
yet experienced2 my affection is strong 
admiration1 not the      necessity of   
giving or receiving assistance or       
sympathy4 ,when      disappointed1 ,i do
 not ask or wish consolation2 ,i wish to
 know and      feel my pain1 to         
investigate its nature and its source2  
,i will not      have my thoughts       
diverted or my feelings soothed2 'tis   
therefore      that my young life is so 
singularly barren of illusions4 ,i know 
,i      feel the time must come when    
this proud and impatient heart shall    
be stilled1 and turn from the ardors of 
search and action to lean      on       
something above4 ,but shall ,i say      
it8--the thought of that calmer      era
 is to me a thought of deepest sadness2 
so remote from my      present being is 

that future existence1 which still the  
mind may      conceive2 ,i believe in   
eternal progression2 ,i believe in a    
,god1 a      beauty and perfection1 to  
which ,i am to strive all my life for   
assimilation4 ,from these two articles  
of belief ,i draw the rules by          
which ,i strive to regulate my life2 but
 though ,i reverence all      religions 
as necessary to the happiness of man1 ,i
 am yet ignorant      of the religion of
 revelation4 ,tangible promises1        
well-defined      hopes1 are things of  
which ,i do not now feel the need4 ,at  
present1 my soul is intent on this life1
 and ,i think of religion as      its   
rule2 and in my opinion this is the     
natural and proper course      from     
youth to age4  ,the tone of this extract
 is negatively transcendental2 that is1 
it implies that the writer did not      
belong to the opposite school1 in any   
sense2 and that her mind was in         
condition to accept the cardinal truths 
of a philosophy1 the special doctrines  

whereof she did not apprehend or feel   
interested in4 ,had she entertained a   
philosophical creed1 it would have been 
the creed of ,schelling1 more likely    
than any other4  ,margaret ,fuller was a
 critic1 and a critic rather from       
natural gift than from trained          
perception4 ,her genius was her guide4  
,persons and things came to her for     
judgment1 and judgment they received4   
,searching and frank1 but hearty and    
loving1 she judged from the inside4 ,to 
her1 so her biographers tell1 with      
unanimous voice1 the secrets of all     
hearts were revealed4 ,in private       
intercourse1 in letters1 in parlor      
conversations on books1 pictures1       
statues1 architecture1 she was ever the 
judge4 ,the most unlike minds and       
characters receive their dues with      
entire impartiality2 ,goethe1 ,lessing1 
,novalis1 ,jean ,paul1 were each in kind
 honored4 ,the last is infinitely       
variegated1 and certainly most          
exquisitely colored1 but fatigues       

attention2 his philosophy and religion  
seem to be of the sighing sort4 ,she is 
steeped to the lips in enjoyment by     
,southey1 whom she was inclined to place
 next to ,wordsworth4 ,coleridge1       
,heine1 ,carlyle1 ,herschel1 attract her
 mind4 ,she ponders before ,michael     
,angelo's sibyls2 displays a singular   
penetration in her analysis of them1 and
 makes them all interpreters of the     
genius of woman4 ,the soul of ,greek    
art1 as contrasted with ,christian1 is  
disclosed to her with a clear           
perception2 the ,greek mythology gave up
 to her its secret2 emblems1 symbols1   
dark parables1 enigmas1 mysteries1 laid 
aside their vails4 ,a friend said of    
her3 ,she proceeds in her search after  
the unity of things1 the divine harmony1
 not by exclusion but by comprehension2 
and so no poorest1 saddest spirit but   
she will lead to hope and faith4 ,i have
 thought1 sometimes1 that her acceptance
 of evil was too great2 that her theory 
of the good to be educed proved too     

much2 but ,i understand her now better  
than ,i did4 ,atkinson1 the mesmeric    
atheist1 struck her as a fine           
instinctive nature1 with a head for     
,leonardo to paint1 who seems bound by  
no tie1 yet looks as if he had relatives
 in every place4 ,mazzini impressed her 
as one in whom holiness has purified1   
but somewhat dwarfed the man4 ,carlyle  
is arrogant and overbearing2 but in his 
arrogance there is no bitterness1 no    
self-love4 ,it is the heroic arrogance  
of some old ,scandinavian conqueror2 it 
is his nature1 and the untamable energy 
that has given him power to crush the   
dragon4 ,dr4 ,wilkinson1 the            
,swedenborgian1 is a sane1 strong1      
well-exercised mind2 but in the last    
degree unpoetical in its structure2 very
 simple1 natural1 and good2 excellent to
 see1 though one cannot go far with him4
 ,rachel1 ,fourier1 ,rousseau--she has a
 piercing glance for them all2 a word of
 warm admiration1 all the more weighty  
for being qualified by criticism4  ,it  

was probably this keen penetration1 this
 capacity to appreciate all kinds1 this 
inclusiveness of sympathy1 that prompted
 the selection of ,margaret ,fuller as  
chief editor of the ,dial1 the organ of 
transcendental thought4 ,thus she       
regarded the enterprise3       ,what    
others can do--whether all that has been
 said is the mere      restlessness of  
discontent1 or there are thoughts really
 struggling      for utterance1--will be
 tested now4 ,a perfectly free organ is 
to be      offered for the expression of
 individual thought and character4      
,there are no party measures to be      
carried1 no particular standards      to
 be set up2 a fair1 calm tone1 a        
recognition of universal                
principles1 will1 ,i hope1 pervade the  
essays in every form4 ,i trust          
there will be a spirit neither of       
dogmatism nor compromise1 and      that 
this journal will aim1 not at leading   
public opinion1 but at      stimulating 
each man to judge for himself1 and to   

think more deeply      and more nobly1  
by letting him see how some minds are   
kept alive by      a wise self-trust4   
,we must not be sanguine at the amount  
of talent      which will be brought to 
bear on this publication4 ,all concerned
      are rather indifferent1 and there 
is no great promise for the             
present4 ,we cannot show high culture1  
and ,i doubt about vigorous             
thought4 ,but we shall manifest free    
action as far as it goes1 and a         
high aim4 ,it were much if a periodical 
could be kept open1 not to              
accomplish any outward object1 but      
merely to afford an avenue for      what
 of liberal and calm thought might be   
originated among us1 by      the wants  
of individual minds4       ,mr4 ,emerson
 best knows what he wants2 but he has   
already said it      in various ways4   
,yet this experiment is well worth      
trying2 hearts      beat so high1 they  
must be full of something1 and here is a
 way to      breathe it out quite       

freely4 ,it is for dear ,new ,england   
that ,i want      this review4 ,for     
myself1 if ,i had wished to write a few 
pages now      and then1 there were ways
 and means enough of disposing of them4 
,but in truth ,i have not much to say2  
for since ,i have had leisure      to   
look at myself1 ,i find that1 so far    
from being an original      genius1 ,i  
have not yet learned to think to any    
depth1 and that the      utmost ,i have 
done in life has been to form my        
character to a      certain consistency1
 cultivate my tastes1 and learn to tell 
the      truth with a little better     
grace than ,i did at first4 ,for this   
the      world will not care much1 so ,i
 shall hazard a few critical remarks    
only1 or an unpretending chalk sketch   
now and then till ,i have      learned  
to do something4 ,there will be         
beautiful poesies2 about      prose we  
know not yet so well4 ,we shall be the  
means of publishing      the little     
,charles ,emerson left as a mark of his 

noble course1 and1      though it lies  
in fragments1 all who read will be      
gainers4  ,that these modest            
anticipations were justified and more1  
need not be said4 ,the beautiful poesies
 came1 and so did the various1 eloquent1
 well-considered prose4 ,the people who 
expected the whole gospel of            
,transcendentalism may have been        
disappointed2 for the editor gave the   
magazine more of a literary than        
philosophical or reformatory tone4 ,that
 she looked for from others1 and was    
more than willing to welcome4 ,she had a
 discerning eye for the evils of the    
time1 and a sincere respect for the men 
and women who were disposed to          
counteract them4 ,another extract from  
her correspondence at this              
time--#ahdj--taken1 like the former1    
from the second volume of the memoirs1  
leaves no doubt on this point4 ,after   
speaking of the tendency of             
circumstances1 since the separation from
 ,england1 to make our people           

superficial1 irreverent1 and more       
anxious to get a living than to live    
mentally and morally1 she continues3    
,new ,england is now old enough1 some   
there have leisure enough to      look  
at all this1 and the consequence is a   
violent reaction1 in a      small       
minority1 against a mode of culture that
 rears such fruits4      ,they see that 
political freedom does not necessarily  
produce      liberality of mind1 nor    
freedom in church institutions1 vital   
religion2 and1 seeing that these changes
 cannot be wrought from      without    
inwards1 they are trying to quicken the 
soul1 that they may      work from      
within outwards4 ,disgusted with the    
vulgarity of a      commercial          
aristocracy1 they become radicals2      
disgusted with the      materialistic   
working of rational religion they become
 mystics4      ,they quarrel with all   
that is because it is not spiritual     
enough4      ,they would1 perhaps1 be   
patient1 if they thought this the mere  

sensuality of childhood in our nation1  
which it might outgrow2 but      they   
think that they see the evil widening1  
deepening1 not only      debasing the   
life1 but corrupting the thought of our 
people2 and      they feel that if they 
know not well what should be done1 yet  
that      the duty of every good man is 
to utter a protest against what is      
done amiss4 ,is this protest            
undiscriminating8 ,are these opinions   
crude8 ,do these proceedings threaten to
 sap the bulwarks on which      men at  
present depend8 ,i confess it all1 yet  
,i see in these men      promise of a   
better wisdom than in their opponents4  
,their hope for      man is grounded on 
his destiny as an immortal soul1 and not
 as a      mere comfort-loving          
inhabitant of earth1 or as a subscriber 
to the      social contract4 ,it was not
 meant that the soul should cultivate   
the earth1 but that the earth should    
educate and maintain the soul4      ,man
 is not made for society1 but society is

 made for man4 ,no      institution can 
be good which does not tend to improve  
the      individual4 ,in these          
principles ,i have confidence so        
profound1 that      ,i am not afraid to 
trust those who hold them1 despite their
 partial      views1 imperfectly        
developed characters1 and frequent want 
of      practical sagacity4 ,i believe1 
if they have opportunity to state       
and discuss their opinions1 they will   
gradually sift them1      ascertain     
their grounds and aims with clearness1  
and do the work      this country needs4
 ,i hope for them as for the 'leaven    
that is      hidden in the bushel of    
meal till all be leavened4' ,the leaven 
is      not good by itself1 neither is  
the meal2 let them combine1 and we      
shall yet have bread4       ,utopia it  
is impossible to build up2 at least1 my 
hopes for the      race on this one     
planet are more limited than those of   
most of my      friends2 ,i accept the  
limitations of human nature1 and believe

 a      wise acknowledgment of them one 
of the best conditions of progress2     
yet every noble scheme1 every poetic    
manifestation1 prophesies to      man   
his eventual destiny2 and were not man  
ever more sanguine than      facts at   
the moment justify1 he would remain     
torpid1 or be sunk in      sensuality4  
,it is on this ground that ,i sympathize
 with what is      called the           
',transcendental ,party1' and that ,i   
feel their aim to be      the true one4 
,they acknowledge in the nature of man  
an arbiter for      his deeds--a        
standard transcending sense and         
time--and are1 in my      view1 the true
 utilitarians4 ,they are but at the     
beginning of their      course1 and     
will1 ,i hope1 learn to make use of the 
past1 as well as      to aspire for the 
future1 and to be true in the present   
moment4  ,margaret ,fuller's power lay  
in her faith in this spiritual capacity4
 ,the confidence began with herself1 and
 was extended to all others1 without    

exception4 ,mr4 ,channing says3         
,margaret cherished a trust in her      
powers1 a confidence in her             
destiny1 and an ideal of her being1     
place and influence1 so lofty      as to
 be extravagant4 ,in the morning hour   
and mountain air of      aspiration1 her
 shadow moved before her1 of gigantic   
size1 upon the      snow-white vapor4   
,mr4 ,clarke says3       ,margaret's    
life had an aim1 and she was1 therefore1
 essentially      a moral person1 and   
not merely an overflowing genius1 in    
whom      impulse gives birth to        
impulse1 deed to deed4 ,this aim was    
distinctly apprehended and steadily     
pursued by her from first to      last4 
,it was a high1 noble one1 wholly       
religious1 almost ,christian4      ,it  
gave dignity to her whole career1 and   
made it heroic4       ,this aim1 from   
first to last1 was ,,self-,,culture4 ,if
 she was ever      ambitious of         
knowledge and talent1 as a means of     
excelling others1      and gaining fame1

 position1 admiration--this vanity had  
passed      before ,i knew her1 and was 
replaced by the profound desire for a   
full development of her whole nature1 by
 means of a full experience      of     
life4  ,speaking of her demands on      
others1 her three biographers agree that
 they were based on the expectation in  
them of spiritual excellence3       ,one
 thing only she demanded of all her     
friends--that they should      have some
 'extraordinary generous seeking2' that 
they should not be      satisfied with  
the common routine of life--that they   
should aspire      to something higher1 
better1 holier1 than they had now       
attained4      ,where this element of   
aspiration existed1 she demanded no     
originality of intellect1 no greatness  
of soul4 ,if these were      found1     
well2 but she could love1 tenderly and  
truly1 where they      were not4        
,she never formed a friendship until she
 had seen and known this      germ of   
good1 and afterwards judged conduct by  

this4 ,to this germ      of good1 to    
this highest law of each individual1 she
 held them      true4       ,some of her
 friends were young1 gay1 and beautiful2
 some old1      sick1 or studious2 some 
were children of the world1 others pale 
scholars2 some were witty1 others       
slightly dull2 but all1 in order      to
 be ,margaret's friends1 must be capable
 of seeking      something--capable of  
some aspiration for the better4 ,and how
 did      she glorify life to all6 ,all 
that was tame and common vanishing      
away in the picturesque light thrown    
over the most familiar things      by   
her rapid fancy1 her brilliant wit1 her 
sharp insight1 her      creative        
imagination1 by the inexhaustible       
resources of her      knowledge1 and the
 copious rhetoric1 which found words and
 images      always apt and always      
ready4       ,margaret saw in each of   
her friends the secret interior         
capability1 which might be hereafter    
developed into some special      beauty 

or power4 ,by means of this penetrating1
 this prophetic      insight1 she gave  
each to himself1 acted on each to draw  
out his      best nature2 gave him an   
ideal1 out of which he could draw       
strength      and liberty1 hour by hour4
 ,thus her influence was ever ennobling1
      and each felt that in her society 
he was truer1 wiser1 better1 and        
yet more free and happy than elsewhere4 
,the 'dry light1' which ,lord           
,bacon loved1 she never knew3 her light 
was life1 was love1 was warm      with  
sympathy and a boundless energy of      
affection and hope4 ,though      her    
love flattered and charmed her friends1 
it did not spoil them1      for they    
knew her perfect truth2 they knew that  
she loved them1 not      for what she   
imagined1 but for what she saw1 though  
she saw it only      in the germ4 ,but  
as the ,greeks beheld a ,persephone and 
,athene in      the passing stranger1   
and ennobled humanity into ideal beauty1
      ,margaret saw all her friends thus

 idealized2 she was a balloon of        
sufficient power to take us all up with 
her into the serene depth      of       
heaven1 where she loved to float1 far   
above the low details of      earthly   
life2 earth lay beneath us as a lovely  
picture--its sounds      came up        
mellowed into music4       ,margaret    
was1 to persons younger than herself1 a 
,makaria and      ,natalia4 ,she was    
wisdom and intellectual beauty1 filling 
life with      a charm and glory 'known 
to neither sea nor land4' ,to those of  
her      own age1 she was sibyl and     
seer1--a prophetess1 revealing the      
future1 pointing the path1 opening their
 eyes to the great aims      only worthy
 of pursuit in life4 ,to those older    
than herself1 she      was like the     
,euphorion in ,goethe's drama1 child of 
,faust and      ,helen1--a wonderful    
union of exuberance and judgment1 born  
of      romantic fulness and classic    
limitation4 ,they saw with surprise her 
clear good sense1 balancing her flow of 

sentiment and ardent      courage4 ,they
 saw her comprehension of both sides of 
every      question1 and gave her their 
confidence1 as to one of equal age1     
because of so ripe a judgment4       ,an
 interview with her was a joyous event2 
worthy men and women who      had       
conversed with her1 could not forget    
her1 but worked bravely on      in the  
remembrance that this heroic approver   
had recognized their      aims4 ,she    
spoke so earnestly1 that the depth of   
the sentiment      prevailed1 and not   
the accidental expression1 which might  
chance to      be common4 ,thus ,i      
learned the other day1 that in a copy of
 ,mrs4      ,jameson's ',italian        
,painters1' against a passage describing
 ,coreggio      as a true servant of    
,god in his art1 above sordid ambition1 
devoted      to truth1 'one of those    
superior beings of whom there are so    
few2'      ,margaret wrote on the       
margin3 ',and yet all might be such4'   
,the book      lay long on the table of 

the owner1 in ,florence1 and chanced to 
be      read there by an artist of much 
talent4 ',these words' said he1         
months afterwards1 'struck out a new    
strength in me4 ,they revived           
resolutions long fallen away1 and made  
me set my face like a      flint4'      
',yes1 my life is strange2' she said1   
'thine is strange4 ,we are1      we     
shall be1 in this life1 mutilated       
beings1 but there is in my      bosom a 
faith1 that ,i shall see the reason2 a  
glory1 that ,i can      endure to be so 
imperfect2 and a feeling1 ever elastic1 
that fate      and time shall have the  
shame and the blame1 if ,i am mutilated4
 ,i      will do all ,i can1--and if one
 cannot succeed1 there is a beauty in   
martyrdom4'       ',would not genius be 
common as light if men trusted their    
higher      selves8'       ,she won the 
confidence and affection of those who   
attracted her1      by unbounded        
sympathy and trust4 ,she probably knew  
the cherished      secrets of more      

hearts than any one else1 because she   
freely      imparted her own4 ,with a   
full share both of intellectual and of  
family pride1 she preeminently          
recognized and responded to the         
essential brotherhood of all human kind1
 and needed but to know      that a     
fellow being required her counsel or    
assistance1 to render      her not      
merely willing1 but eager to impart it4 
,loving ease1      luxury1 and the      
world's good opinion1 she stood ready to
 renounce      them all1 at the call of 
pity or of duty4 ,i think no one1 not   
radically averse to the whole system of 
domestic servitude1 would      have     
treated servants1 of whatever class1    
with such uniform and      thoughtful   
consideration--a regard which wholly    
merged their      factitious condition  
in their antecedent and permanent       
humanity4 ,i      think few servants    
ever lived weeks with her1 who were not 
dignified and lastingly benefited by her
 influence and her      counsels4 ,they 

might be at first repelled1 by what     
seemed her too      stately manner and  
exacting disposition1 but they soon     
learned to      esteem and love her4    
,i have known few women1 and scarcely   
another maiden1 who had the      heart  
and the courage to speak with such frank
 compassion1 in mixed      circles1 of  
the most degraded and outcast portion of
 the sex4 ,the      contemplation of    
their treatment1 especially by the      
guilty authors      of their ruin1 moved
 her to a calm and mournful indignation1
 which      she did not attempt to      
suppress nor control4 ,others were      
willing to      pity and deplore2       
,margaret was more inclined to vindicate
 and to      redeem4       ',in the     
chamber of death1' she wrote1 ',i prayed
 in very early      years3 ,give me     
truth2 cheat me by no illusion4 ,o1 the 
granting of      this prayer is         
sometimes terrible to me6 ,i walk over  
burning      ploughshares1 and they sear
 my feet2 yet nothing but truth will do2

      no love will serve that is not    
eternal1 and as large as the            
universe2 no philanthropy1 in executing 
whose behests ,i myself      become     
unhealthy2 no creative genius which     
bursts asunder my life1      to leave it
 a poor black chrysalid behind2 and yet 
this last is too      true of me4'      
,margaret ,fuller did justice to the    
character of ,fourier1 admired his      
enthusiasm1 honored his devotion1       
acknowledged the terrible nature of the 
evils he gave the study of a life-time  
to correct1 and paid an unstinting      
tribute to the disinterested motives    
that impelled him2 but with his scheme  
for refashioning society she had no     
sympathy4 ,william ,h4 ,channing was an 
intimate friend1 whose sincerity had her
 deepest respect1 whose enthusiasm won  
her cordial admiration2 she listened to 
his brilliant expositions of socialism1 
but was not persuaded4 ,practical       
difficulties always appeared1 and she   
never could believe that any            

rearrangement of circumstances would    
effect the regeneration of mankind4 ,she
 was acquainted from the first with the 
experiment of ,brook ,farm2 knew the    
founders of it2 watched with genuine    
solicitude the inauguration of the      
scheme and its fortunes2 talked over the
 principles and details of it with the  
leading spirits2 visited the community2 
examined for herself the working of the 
plan2 gave her talent to the            
entertainment and edification of the    
associates2 discerned with clear eye the
 distinctions between this experiment   
and those of ,european origin2 but still
 questioned the practical wisdom of the 
institution1 and declined to join the   
fraternity1 even on the most flattering 
terms1 for the reason that1 interested  
as she was in the experiment1 it was1 in
 her judgment1 too purely an experiment 
to be personally and practically        
sanctioned by one who had no more faith 
in its fundamental principles than she4 
,she was not to be thrown off from her  

essential position1 the primacy and all 
sufficiency of the soul4 ,no misery or  
guilt daunted her1 no impatience at     
slowness tempted her to resort to       
artificial methods of cure4 ,her visit  
to ,sing ,sing1 and her intercourse with
 the abandoned women there was          
exceedingly interesting in this view4   
',they listened with earnest attention1 
and many were moved to      tears4 ,i   
never felt such sympathy with an        
audience as when1 at the      words ,men
 and ,brethren1 that sea of faces1      
marked with the scars      of every ill1
 were up-turned1 and the shell of       
brutality burst      apart at the touch 
of love4 ,i knew that at least heavenly 
truth      would not be kept out by self
 complacence and dependence on good     
appearances4444 ,these women were among 
the so-called worst1 and all      from  
the lowest haunts of vice4 ,yet nothing 
could have been more      decorous than 
their conduct1 while it was also frank2 
and they      showed a sensibility and  

sense of propriety which would not have 
disgraced any society4'       ,she did  
not hesitate to avow that1 on meeting   
some of these      abused1 unhappy      
sisters1 she had been surprised to find 
them      scarcely fallen morally below 
the ordinary standard of                
womanhood1--realizing and loathing their
 debasement2 anxious to      escape it2 
and only repelled by the sad            
consciousness that for them             
sympathy and society remained only so   
long as they should persist      in the 
ways of pollution4  ,margaret ,fuller's 
loyalty to principles was proof against 
bad taste2 which is saying a good deal1 
for many a reformer is of opinion that  
blunders are worse than crimes1 and that
 vulgarity is more offensive than       
wickedness4 ,she found the ,fourierites 
in ,europe terribly wearisome1 and yet  
did not forget that they served the     
great future which neither they nor she 
would live to see4 ,at home she could   
not endure the ,abolitionists--they were

 so tedious1 often so narrow1 always so 
rabid and exaggerated in their tone4    
,but1 after all1 they had a high motive1
 something eternal in their desire and  
life2 and if it was not the only thing  
worth thinking of1 it was really        
something worth living and dying for1 to
 free a great nation from such a blot1  
such a plague4 ,in ,europe she was      
disgusted at hearing ,americans urging  
the same arguments against the freedom  
of the ,italians that they urged at home
 against the emancipation of the blacks2
 the same arguments in favor of the     
spoliation of ,poland that they used at 
home in favor of the conquest of        
,mexico4 ,with her1 principles were     
independent of time and place4 ,she     
always believed in liberty as a         
condition of enlightenment1 and in      
enlightenment as a condition of         
progress4 ,this practical faith in the  
intellectual and moral nature is the key
 to all her work4 ,every chamber that   
opened she entered and occupied1        

fearless of ghosts and goblins4 ,the    
chambers that opened not she was content
 to leave unopened altogether4  ,on the 
table where the writer pens this poor   
tribute to a most remarkable woman1 are 
the bulky volumes of her unpublished    
letters and diaries1 revealing some     
things too personal for the public eye1 
but nothing in the least incongruous    
with the best things recorded by her    
biographers and suggested here2 and how 
much they tell that illustrates and     
confirms the moral nobleness and        
sweetness of her nature4 ,they contain a
 psychometric examination from two      
letters1 given after the manner familiar
 to those interested in such things1 by 
one of the chief of these spiritual     
vaticinators4 ,we shall not transcribe  
it1 for it is long and indistinct4 ,the 
indistinctness is the one interesting   
feature of the sketch4 ,the sensitive   
reporter confessed herself put out by   
the singular commingling of moods and   
dispositions1 and seemed to be          

describing several persons in one4 ,but 
through them all the same general       
impression was clear2 the impression of 
a fascinating1 lovable1 earnest and     
lofty spirit1 which1 whether sad or gay1
 intellectual or sentimental1 bore      
itself like a queenly woman4  ,when the 
news of her death reached ,boston1 one  
of ,boston's eminent men in letters and 
public affairs quietly remarked3 it is  
just as well so4 ,he was thinking of the
 agitation she might cause by her       
brilliant conversations and her         
lightning pen1 if she brought back from 
her ,italian heroisms the high spirit of
 liberty4 ,the times were growing dark  
in ,america4 ,the ,slave ,power was     
drawing its lines closer about the      
citadel of freedom4 ,the brave voices   
were few and fewer2 the conservatives   
were glad when one was hushed by death4 
,the movement she had encouraged was    
waning4 ,the high enthusiasm was        
smouldering in breasts that anticipated 
the battle which came ten years later4  

,the period of poetic aspiration and joy
 was ended1 and the priestess1 had she  
survived1 would have found a deserted   
shrine4  ,no accessible portrait of     
,margaret ,fuller exists1 that worthily 
presents her4 ,thomas ,hicks painted a  
likeness1 of cabinet size1 in ,rome1    
which her friends approved4 ,the        
daguerreotype was too painfully literal 
to be just2 the sun having no sentiment 
or imagination in his eye4 ,she was not 
beautiful in youth1 nor was she one of  
those who gain beauty with years4 ,her  
physical attractions were of the kind   
that time impairs soon1 and though she  
died at forty1 her personal charm was   
gone4 ,intellect gave her what beauty   
she had1 and they saw it who saw her    
intellect at play4 ,her image1          
therefore1 is best preserved in the     
memory of her friends4 ,they cannot put 
it on exhibition4     ,,xii4  ,,the     
,,preacher4   ,transcendentalism is     
usually spoken of as a philosophy4 ,it  
is more justly regarded as a gospel4 ,as

 a philosophy it is abstract and        
difficult--purely metaphysical in       
character1 resting on no basis of       
observed and scientifically-proven fact1
 but on the so-called data of           
consciousness1 which cannot be          
accurately defined1 distinctly verified1
 or generally recommended4 ,it must be1 
therefore1 inexact and inconclusive2 so 
far from uniform in its structure1 that 
it may rather be considered several     
systems than one4 ,as a gospel1 it      
possesses all the qualities desirable   
for effect4 ,it is worth remarking that 
its chief disciples have been clergymen4
 ,in ,germany1 ,schleiermacher--if we   
may count him a ,transcendentalist2 he  
was the author of the doctrine1 that the
 essence of religion consisted in the   
sense of dependence1 which figured      
largely in the sermons of ,new ,england 
divines--was a clergyman2 ,fichte       
assumed the prophetic tone2 the ,german 
professors associated religious teaching
 with the duties of their chairs4 ,in   

,england1 ,coleridge was a preacher by  
practice1 and1 part of his life1 by     
profession2 ,carlyle was never anything 
else1 his essays and even his histories 
being sermons in disguise1 and disguise 
of the most transparent sort4 ,in ,new  
,england1 ,emerson began his career as a
 ,unitarian minister2 so did ,walker2 so
 did ,ripley2 so did ,w4 ,h4 ,channing2 
so did ,j4 ,s4 ,dwight2 so did ,c4 ,p4  
,cranch4 ,dr4 ,channing1 a              
,transcendentalist without knowing it1  
was the greatest preacher of his        
generation4 ,brownson was a preacher of 
all orders in succession2 ,bartol       
preaches still2 ,clarke preaches still4 
,of the younger men1 ,johnson1          
,longfellow1 ,wasson1 ,higginson1 are1  
or were1 ,unitarian clergymen4 ,alcott  
is a preacher without a pulpit4 ,the    
order of mind that was attracted to the 
ministry was attracted to the           
,transcendental ideas4  ,the explanation
 is easy2 ,transcendentalism possessed  
all the chief qualifications for a      

gospel4 ,its cardinal facts were few and
 manageable4 ,its data were secluded in 
the recesses of consciousness1 out of   
the reach of scientific investigation1  
remote from the gaze of vulgar          
skepticism2 esoteric1 having about them 
the charm of a sacred privacy1 on which 
common sense and the critical           
understanding might not intrude4 ,its   
oracles proceeded from a shrine1 and    
were delivered by a priest or priestess1
 who came forth from an interior holy of
 holies to utter them1 and thus were    
invested with the air of authority which
 belongs to exclusive and privileged    
truths1 that revealed themselves to     
minds of a contemplative cast4 ,it dealt
 entirely with divine things1 eternal   
realities2 supersensible forms of       
thought2 problems that lay out of the   
reach of observation1 such as the       
essential cause1 spiritual laws1 the    
life after death1 the essence of the    
good1 the beautiful1 the true2 the ideal
 possibilities of the soul2 its organ   

was intuition2 its method was           
introspection3 its brightness was       
inspiration4 ,it possessed the character
 of indefiniteness and mystery1 full of 
sentiment and suggestion1 that          
fascinates the imagination1 and lends   
itself so easily to acts of             
contemplation and worship4 ,the ,german 
,mystics were in spirit                 
,transcendentalists4 ,the analogies are 
close between ,boehme and ,schelling2   
between ,eckardt and ,fichte2 ,frederick
 ,schlegel had much in common with      
,boehme2 ,coleridge acknowledged his    
debt to him and to other ,mystics2 even 
,hegel ran in line with them on some of 
his high roads4 ,minds as opposite as   
,alcott and ,parker met in communion    
here--,alcott going to the ,mystics for 
inspiration2 ,parker resorting to them  
for rest4 ,the ,mystics were men of     
feeling2 the ,transcendentalists were   
men of thought3 but thought and feeling 
sought the same object in the same      
region4 ,piety was a feature of         

,transcendentalism2 it loved devout     
hymns1 music1 the glowing language of   
aspiration1 the moods of awe and        
humility1 emblems1 symbols1 expressions 
of inarticulate emotion1 silence1       
contemplation1 breathings after         
communion with the ,infinite4 ,the      
poetry of ,transcendentalism is         
religious1 with scarcely an exception2  
the most beautiful hymns in our sacred  
collections1 the only deeply impressive 
hymns1 are by transcendental writers4   
,this was the aspect of                 
,transcendentalism that fascinated      
,theodore ,parker4 ,his intellect was   
constructed on the ,english model4 ,his 
acute observation2 his passion for      
external facts2 his faith in statistics2
 his hunger for information on all      
external topics of history and politics2
 his capacity for retaining details of  
miscellaneous knowledge2 his logical    
method of reasoning2 his ability to     
handle masses of raw mental material1 to
 distribute and classify2--all indicate 

intellectual power of the ,english      
rather than of the ,german type4 ,it was
 his custom to speak slightingly of the 
,bridgewater ,treatises and works of a  
similar class1 in which the processes of
 inductive argument are employed to     
establish truths of the ,pure ,reason2  
but he easily fell into the same habit1 
and pushed the inductive method as far  
as it would go4 ,his discourses on      
,providence1 the ,economy of ,pain and  
,misery1 ,atheism1 ,theism1 in the      
volume entitled ,theism1 ,atheism1 and  
,the ,popular ,theology1 are quite in   
the style of the ,bridgewater           
,treatises4 ,parker was1 in many        
respects1 the opposite of a ,mystic2 he 
was a realist of the most concrete      
description1 entirely at home among     
sensible things1 a good administrator1 a
 safe investor of moneys1 a wise        
counsellor in practical affairs4 ,but   
along with this intellectual quality    
which he inherited from his father1 was 
an interior1 sentimental1 devotional    

quality1 derived from his mother4 ,the  
two were never wholly blended2 often    
they were wide apart1 occupying         
different spheres1 and engaged in       
different offices2 sometimes they were  
in apparent opposition4 ,neither could  
subdue or overshadow the other2 neither 
could keep the other long in abeyance4  
,as a rule1 the dominion was divided    
between them3 the practical             
understanding assumed control of all    
matters pertaining to this world2 the   
higher reason claimed supremacy in all  
matters of faith4 ,but for the tendency 
to poetic idealism1 which came to him   
from his mother1 ,parker might1 from the
 constitution of his mind1 have belonged
 to an opposite school4 ,a passage in   
the letter from ,santa ,cruz1 entitled  
,theodore ,parker's ,experience as a    
,minister1 is curious1 as showing how   
the two tendencies of his mind          
overlapped2 he is speaking of the two   
methods of developing the contents of   
the instinctive intuitions of the       

divine1 the just1 and the immortal1--the
 inductive and the deductive4 ,after a  
few words respecting the inductive      
method of gathering facts from the      
history of mankind1 he speaks thus of   
the deductive3 ,next1 from the primitive
 facts of consciousness given by the    
power of instinctive intuition1 ,i      
endeavored to deduce the true notion of 
,god1 of justice1 and futurity4 ,then1  
forgetting that the power of instinctive
 intuition must be                      
self-authenticating--cannot1 at any     
rate1 be authenticated by miscellaneous 
facts in the religious history of       
mankind--he continues3       ,to learn  
what ,i could about the spiritual       
faculties of man1 ,i not      only      
studied the sacred books of various     
nations1 the poets and      philosophers
 who professedly treat thereof1 but also
 such as deal      with sleep-walking1  
dreams1 visions1 prophecies1            
second-sight1      oracles1 ecstasies1  
witchcraft1 magic-wonders1 the          

appearance of      devils1 ghosts1 and  
the like4 ,besides1 ,i studied other    
works which      lie out from the       
regular highway of theology2 the        
spurious books      attributed to famous
 ,jews and ,christians2 ,pseudepigraphy 
of the ,old      ,testament1 and the    
,apocrypha of the ,new2 with the strange
 fantasies      of the ,neoplatonists   
and ,gnostics4  ,very important reading 
all this for one who studied to qualify 
himself to instruct his fellow men in   
the natural history of the world's      
religions2 but not so valuable as       
illustrating the instinctive intuitions 
of human nature4 ,kant1 ,fichte1        
,schelling1 ,hegel1 ,boehme1 ,eckardt1  
never worked by that method1 which may  
properly be called the method of        
,sensationalism applied to              
,transcendentalism4 ,parker1 on the     
religious side1 was a pure              
,transcendentalist without guile1       
accepting the transcendental ideas with 
no shadow of qualification2 stating them

 with the concrete sharpness of         
scientific propositions1 and applying   
them with the exactness of mathematical 
principles4 ,he took them as he found   
them in the writings of the great       
,german thinkers2 shaped them as he1    
better than any body else1 could shape  
thought in form of words1--as he shaped 
the formula of republican               
government--government of the people1 by
 the people1 for the people--from the   
looser statement of ,daniel             
,webster1--and laid them down as        
corner-stones of a new theological      
structure4 ,the materials were furnished
 by ,schleiermacher1 ,spinoza1 ,jacobi1 
,schelling2 the architectural skill was 
his own4 ,consciousness he did not      
undertake to analyze2 the facts of      
consciousness he took on others'        
verification2 their spiritual import he 
perceived1 developed and applied4       
,transcendentalism put into his hands   
the implements he was in special need   
of4  ,it is not easy to determine the   

precise period at which ,parker fully   
accepted1 with all its consequences1 the
 transcendental philosophy4 ,he was not 
a ,transcendentalist--not distinctly and
 avowedly one--at the time of his       
ordination1 in #ahcg2 he clearly was in 
#ahdj1 the date of the ,levi ,blodgett  
letter1 which contains the most         
thorough-going statement of the         
transcendental idea to be found in any  
single tractate4 ,the probability is1   
that he always was one in sentiment1 and
 became more and more consciously one in
 thought1 as he found it necessary to   
shift his position in order to save his 
faith4 ,so long as the beliefs he       
cherished seemed to be satisfactorily   
supported on the old grounds1 he was    
content2 but as the old grounds1 one    
after another1 gave way1 the beliefs    
were transferred to the keeping of new  
principles4 ,then the sentiments of his 
youth hardened into ideas2 the delicate 
creatures that lived and gleamed beneath
 the waters of faith's tropical ocean1  

became reefs of white stone1 that lifted
 their broad surface above the level of 
the sea1 and offered immovable support  
to human habitations4  ,parker was1 more
 than anything1 a preacher2--preacher   
more than theologian1 philosopher or    
scholar4 ,whatever else he was1         
contributed to his greatness in this4   
,he had a profuse gift of language2     
expression was a necessity to him2 his  
thoughts came swiftly1 and clothed in   
attractive garments2 he had wit1 and he 
had humor2 laughter and tears were      
equally at his command4 ,his resources  
of illustration1 drawn from history1    
literature1 biography1 nature1 were     
simply inexhaustible2 the fruits of     
enormous reading were at the immediate  
disposal of a memory that never lost a  
trifle of the stores committed to it4   
,the religious emotions were as genuine 
with him as they were quick1 and as deep
 as they were glowing3 the human        
sympathies were wide as the widest1 and 
tender as the tenderest4 ,he had the    

power of persuasion and of rebuke1 a    
withering sarcasm1 a winning compassion4
 ,his indignation at wrong was not so   
qualified by sentimental regard for the 
wrong doer that invective was wasted on 
lifeless abstractions1 nor was his      
judgment of evil doers so austere that  
wickedness escaped by being made        
incredible4 ,it cannot be said of       
anybody that he has been able to        
discriminate nicely1 in hours of moral  
feeling1 between wrong doers and wrong  
deeds2 that cannot be done in the       
present state of psychological science4 
,we simply do not know what the limits  
of personal responsibility are2 how much
 power is entrusted to the will2 how    
much allowance is to be made for        
temperament and circumstance2 at what   
point the individual is detached from   
the mass of mankind1 and constituted an 
accountable person4 ,parker was guilty1 
as others are1 of personal injustice in 
holding individuals answerable for sins 
of their generation1 and for vices      

transmitted with their blood2 conscience
 and charity were occasionally at issue 
with him2 but if righteousness was      
betrayed into intemperance of zeal1     
peace made haste to offer its kiss of   
sorrow1 and unaffected tears damped down
 the flames of wrath when they          
threatened to consume the innocent4     
,this two-fold power of blasting and of 
blessing1 was vastly effective both on  
large audiences and on small4 ,the      
personal integrity which no one ever    
doubted1 the courage which was evident  
to even hasty observers1 the mental     
independence which justified the        
boldness of its position by an          
indefatigable purpose to discover truth1
 were prime qualifications for the      
office he filled4 ,the very             
disadvantages1--an unheroic presence1 an
 uninspired countenance1 an unmelodious 
and unpliable voice1 the necessity of   
interposing glasses between his clear   
blue eyes and his audience1 and thus    
veiling the heavens that lay behind     

them1--helped him by putting out of mind
 all thought of meretricious attempts at
 influence1 and compelling recognition  
of the intellectual and moral force     
which could so easily dispense with what
 most orators consider invaluable aids4 
,all that ,parker had went into his     
preaching2 the wealth of his library1   
the treasures of his heart1 the         
sweetness of his closet meditations1 the
 solemnity of his lonely musings4 ,but  
it was not this that gave him his great 
power as a preacher4 ,that1 we are      
persuaded1 was due in chief part to the 
earnestness of his faith in the         
transcendental philosophy4 ,how         
cordially he entertained that faith1    
what to him it signified in politics1   
ethics1 religion1 may be learned by any 
who will take pains to read a lecture by
 him on ,transcendentalism1 recently    
published by the ,free ,religious       
,association4 ,that he ascribed the     
popular interest in his preaching to his
 philosophical ideas will not perhaps be

 accepted as evidence on the point1 for 
men are apt to be mistaken in regard to 
the sources of their power2 but it is   
interesting as a testimony to his own   
belief1 to know that he did so4 ,in a   
sermon preached on ,november #adth1     
#aheb1 the occasion being his leaving   
the ,melodeon for the ,music ,hall1 he  
presents first the current modes of     
accounting for his success1 and then his
 own4       ,the first reason assigned  
for the audience coming together was    
this3 they came from vain curiosity1    
having itching ears to hear      'what  
this babbler sayeth4'       ,then it was
 said1 men came here because ,i taught  
utter irreligion1      blank immorality2
 that ,i had no love of ,god1 no fear of
 ,god1 no      love of man2 and that you
 thought1 if you could get rid of your  
conscience and soul1 and trample        
immortality under foot1 and were        
satisfied there was no ,god1 you should 
have a very nice time of it      here   
and hereafter4       ,then it was       

declared that ,i was a shrewd1 practical
 man1 perfectly      well 'posted up' in
 every thing that took place2 knew how  
to make      investments and get very   
large returns1--unluckily it has not    
been      for myself that this has been 
true4 ,and it was said that ,i          
collected large headed1 practical men to
 hear me1 and that you were      a      
'boisterous assembly4'       ,then1 that
 ,i was a learned man and gave learned  
discourses on      ecclesiastical       
history or political history1--things   
which have not      been found very     
attractive in the churches hitherto4    
,again1 that ,i was a philosopher1 with 
a wise head1 and taught men             
theological metaphysics2 and so a large 
company of men seemed all      at once  
smitten with a panic for metaphysics and
 abstract      preaching4 ,it was never 
so before4       ,next it was reported  
that ,i was a witty man1 and shot nicely
      feathered arrows very deftly into 
the mark2 and that men came to          

attend the sharp shooting of a wit4     
,then there was a seventh thing1--that  
,i was an eloquent man2 and ,i          
remember certain diatribes against the  
folly of filling churches      with     
eloquence4       ,then again1 it was    
charged against me that ,i was a        
philanthropist1      and taught the love
 of men1 but did not teach at all the   
love of      ,god2 and that men really  
loved to love one another1 and so came4 
,then it was thought that ,i was a      
sentimentalist1 and tickled the         
ears of 'weak women1' who came to       
delight themselves and be filled        
full of poetry and love4       ,the real
 thing they did not seem to hit2 that ,i
 preached an idea      of ,god1 of man  
and of religion1 which commended itself 
to the      nature of mankind4  ,the    
great preacher is always an idealist1   
and according to the fervor of his      
idealism is he great4 ,this was the     
source of ,channing's power2 it was the 
charm of ,emerson's4 ,in reply to a     

friend who questioned her as to the     
nature of the benefits conferred on her 
by ,mr4 ,emerson's preaching1 ,margaret 
,fuller wrote3       ,his influence has 
been more beneficial to me than that of 
any      ,american1 and from him ,i     
first learned what is meant by an inward
      life4 ,many other springs have    
since fed the stream of living          
waters1 but he first opened the         
fountain4 ,that the 'mind is its own    
place' was a dead phrase to me till he  
cast light upon my mind4      ,several  
of his sermons stand apart in memory1   
like landmarks of my      spiritual     
history4 ,it would take a volume to tell
 what this one      influence did for   
me4  ,mr4 ,parker's ministry had three  
periods1 in each of which the ideal     
element was the attraction4 ,the first  
was the period of quiet influence in    
,west ,roxbury1 where the stream of his 
spiritual life flowed peacefully through
 green pastures1 and enriched simple    
hearts with its unintermitted current4  

,accounts agree that at this time there 
was a soul of sweetness in his          
preaching1 that was a good deal more    
than the body of its thought4 ,the      
second was the period at the ,boston    
,melodeon1 the first of his experience  
before the crowd of a metropolis4 ,this 
was the controversial epoch1 and1 from  
the nature of the case1 was largely     
polemical and negative as towards the   
popular theology4 ,but even then the    
strain of spiritual faith was heard     
above the din of battle1 and souls that 
were averse to polemics were fed by the 
enthusiasm that came from the inner     
heights of aspiration4 ,the last period 
was that of the ,music ,hall--the famous
 period4 ,then the faith was defined and
 formulated2 the corner-stones were hewn
 and set2 the fundamental positions were
 announced with the fidelity of         
iteration that was customary with the   
painful preachers of the ,word in       
churches where people were duly         
stretched upon the ,five ,points of     

,calvin4 ,the three cardinal            
attestations of the universal human     
consciousness--    ,the ,absolute ,god1 
,the ,moral ,law1   ,the ,immortal      
,life1  were asseverated with all the   
earnestness of the man1 and declared to 
be the constituent elements of the ,rock
 of ,ages4  ,standing on this tripod1   
,parker spoke as one having authority2  
he judged other creeds--,orthodox1      
,unitarian1 ,scientific--with the       
confidence of one who felt that he had  
inspiration on his side4 ,it was        
difficult for him to understand how1    
without his faith1 others could be      
happy4 ,the believers in tradition      
seemed to him people who walked near    
precipices1 leaning on broken reeds2 the
 unbelievers were people who walked near
 the same precipices1 with bandaged     
eyes4       ,if to-morrow ,i am to      
perish utterly1 then ,i shall only take 
counsel for to-day1 and ask for         
qualities which last no longer4 ,my     
fathers will be to me only as the ground

 out of which my bread-corn      is     
grown2 dead1 they are like the rotten   
mould of earth1 their      memory of    
small concern to me4 ,posterity--,i     
shall care nothing for      the future  
generations of mankind4 ,i am one atom  
in the trunk of a      tree1 and care   
nothing for the roots below or the      
branches above2 ,i      shall sow such  
seed as will bear harvest to-day2 ,i    
shall know no      higher law2 passion  
enacts my statutes to-day2 to-morrow    
ambition      revises the statutes1 and 
these are my sole legislators2 morality 
will vanish1 expediency take its place2 
heroism will be gone1 and      instead  
of it there will be the brute valor of  
the he-wolf1 the      brute-cunning of  
the she-fox1 the rapacity of the        
vulture1 and the      headlong daring of
 the wild bull2 but the cool1 calm      
courage which1      for truth's sake1   
and for love's sake1 looks death firmly 
in the      face1 and then wheels into  
line1 ready to be slain--that will be a 

thing no longer heard of4       ,the    
atheist sits down beside the coffin of  
his only child--a      rose-bud         
daughter1 whose heart death slowly ate  
away2 the pale      lilies of the valley
 which droop with fragrance above that  
lifeless      heart1 are flowers of     
mockery to him1 their beauty is a cheat2
 they      give not back his child1 for 
whom the sepulchral monster opens his   
remorseless jaws4 ,the hopeless father  
looks down on the face of his      girl1
 silent--not sleeping1 cold--dead4444   
,he looks beyond--the      poor sad     
man--it is only solid darkness he looks 
on2 no rainbow      beautifies that     
cloud2 there is thunder in it1 not      
light2 night is      behind--without a  
star4  ,this is the way the ,protestant 
,christians spoke of him2 the           
,evangelicals spoke thus of the         
,unitarians2 the believers in miraculous
 revelations spoke thus of the          
rationalists4 ,they that are sure always
 speak so of those who1 in their        

judgment1 have no right to be sure at   
all4  ,yet ,parker had a hospitable     
mind1 and his hospitality was due also  
to his faith4 ,the spiritual philosophy 
which maintained the identity in all men
 of consciousness1 and the eternal      
validity of its promises1 which no error
 or petulance could discredit1 was      
indulgent to the unfortunates who had   
not the satisfaction of its assurance4  
,it pitied1 but did not reproach them4  
,they were children of ,god no less for 
being ignorant of their dignity4 ,it was
 impossible for ,parker to believe that 
rational beings could be utterly        
insensible to the essential facts of    
their own nature4 ,their error1         
misconception1 misconstruction1 to      
whatever cause due1 could be no more    
than incidental4 ,skepticism might make 
wild work of definitions1 but ultimate  
facts it could never disturb2 these     
would thrust themselves up at last1 as  
inevitably as the rocky substratum of   
the globe presents itself in the green  

field4 ,in a thanksgiving sermon he     
thanked ,god that atheism could freely  
deliver its creed and prove that it was 
folly4 ,he was persuaded that the       
disbelievers believed better than they  
knew2 in their paroxysms of denial1 he  
saw the blind struggles of faith2 he    
gave the enemies of religion credit for 
qualities that made their hostility look
 like a heroic protest against the      
outrages inflicted in the name of       
religion upon religion itself4       ,it
 is a fact of history1 that in old time1
 from ,epicurus to      ,seneca1 some of
 the ablest heads and best hearts of    
,greece and ,rome      sought to destroy
 the idea of immortality4 ,this was the 
reason3      they saw it was a torment  
to mankind2 that the popular notion of  
immortality was too bad to be true2 and 
so they took pains to break      down   
the ,heathen ,mythology1 though with it 
they destroyed the      notion of       
immortal life4 ,they did a great service
 to mankind in      ridding us from this

 yoke of fear4       ,many a philosopher
 has seemed without religion1 even to a 
careful      observer--sometimes has    
passed for an atheist4 ,some of them    
have to      themselves seemed without  
any religion1 and have denied that there
      was any ,god2 but all the while   
their nature was truer than their       
will2 their instinct kept their personal
 wholeness better than they      were   
aware4 ,these men loved absolute truth1 
not for its uses1 but      for itself2  
they laid down their lives for it1      
rather than violate      the integrity  
of their intellect4 ,they had the       
intellectual love of      ,god1 though  
they knew it not1 though they denied it4
       ,i have known philanthropists who
 undervalued piety2 they liked it       
not--they said it was moonshine1 not    
broad day2 it gave flashes of           
lightning1 all of which would not make  
light4444 ,yet underneath      their    
philanthropy there lay the absolute and 
disinterested love of      other men4   

,they knew only the special form1 not   
the universal      substance thereof4   
,men of science1 as a class1 do not war 
on the truths1 the goodness      and the
 piety that are taught as religion1 only
 on the errors1 the      evil1 the      
impiety which bear its name4 ,science is
 the natural ally      of religion4     
,shall we try and separate what ,god has
 joined8 ,we      injure both by the    
attempt4 ,the philosophers of this age  
have a      profound love of truth1 and 
show great industry and boldness in     
search thereof4 ,in the name of truth   
they pluck down the      strongholds of 
error--venerable and old4       ,all the
 attacks made on religion itself by men 
of science1 from      ,celsus to        
,feuerbach1 have not done so much to    
bring religion into      contempt as a  
single persecution for witchcraft1 or a 
,bartholomew      massacre made in the  
name of ,god4  ,parker had human        
sympathies strong and deep1 and could   
never have been indifferent to the pains

 and misery of his fellow creatures2 yet
 these sympathies owed their            
persistency1 their endurance1 and their 
indomitable sweetness1 to the spiritual 
faith which he professed4 ,he had a     
passionate head-strong nature2 he knew  
the charm of pleasant looks1 congenial  
companions1 elegant and luxurious       
circumstances4 ,his love of leisure was 
keen2 it was the desire of his life to  
enjoy the scholar's privilege of        
uninterrupted hours1 in the delicious   
seclusion of the library4 ,with a       
different philosophy he would have been 
a very different man4 ,the creed he held
 made self-indulgence impossible4  ,i   
have always taught1 he said--in a sermon
 before quoted1 the last he preached in 
the ,melodeon--that the religious       
faculty is the natural ruler in all the 
commonwealth of man2 the importance of  
religion1 and its commanding power in   
every relation of life4 ,this is what ,i
 have continually preached1 and some of 
you will remember that the first sermon 

,i addressed to you was on this         
theme3--,the absolute necessity of      
religion for safely conducting the life 
of the individual1 and the life of the  
,state4 ,you knew very well ,i did not  
begin too soon2 yet ,i did not then     
foresee that it would soon be denied in 
,america1 in ,boston1 that there was any
 law higher than an ,act of ,congress4  
,the allusion is to the ,fugitive ,slave
 ,bill then recently enacted1 which     
brought to a close issue the controversy
 between the ,abolitionists and the     
,government1 and imposed on ,mr4 ,parker
 and the rest who felt as he did1 duties
 of watchfulness and self-denial1 that  
for years put to flight all thoughts of 
personal ease4  ,he continues3          
,woman ,i have always regarded as the   
equal of man--more nicely      speaking1
 the equivalent of man2 superior in some
 things1 inferior      in some others2  
inferior in the lower qualities1 in bulk
 of body      and bulk of brain2        
superior in the higher and nicer        

qualities--in      the moral power of   
conscience1 the loving power of         
affection1 the      religious power of  
the soul2 equal on the whole1 and of    
course      entitled to just the same   
rights as man2 the same rights of mind1 
body and estate2 the same domestic1     
social1 ecclesiastical1 and             
political rights as man1 and only kept  
from the enjoyment of these      by     
might1 not right2 yet herself destined  
one day to acquire them      all4  ,the 
belief in the spiritual eminence of     
woman was part of the creed of the      
,transcendentalist2 it was intimately   
connected with his reverence for        
interior1 poetic1 emotional natures2    
with his preference for feeling above   
thought1 of spontaneity above will4 ,in 
the order of rank1 ,parker assigned the 
first place to the religious faculty1 as
 he termed it1 which gave immediate     
vision of spiritual truth2 the second   
place was given to the affections2      
conscience he ranked below these2 and   

lowest of all stood the intellect4 ,the 
rational powers were held subordinate to
 the instinctive1 or rather the rational
 and the instinctive were held to be    
coincident4 ,the feminine characteristic
 being affection1 which is spontaneous1 
and the masculine being intellect1 which
 is not1 the feminine was set above the 
masculine--love above light1 pity above 
justice1 sympathy above rectitude1      
compassion above equity4 ,parker had    
feminine attributes1 and was slightly   
enamored of them2 thought1 or tried to  
think them the glory of his manhood2 but
 the masculine greatly predominated in  
him4 ,to people in general he seemed to 
reverse his own order1 in practice4     
,weak1 dependent1 dreamy men he had no  
patience with2 sentimentalism was his   
aversion2 the moral element alone       
commanded his absolute respect4         
,masculine women were equally           
distasteful2 while he admired the genius
 of ,margaret ,fuller1 his personal     
attraction toward her seldom brought him

 into her society4 ,that a man          
constituted as he was1 self-reliant to  
aggressiveness1 inclined to be          
arbitrary1 dogmatical1 and imperious1 of
 prodigious force of will and masterly  
power of conscience1 entered as he did  
into advocacy of the rights of the      
,african and the prerogatives of woman1 
is evidence of the whole-heartedness    
with which he adopted the transcendental
 philosophy4 ,it was1 indeed1 a faith to
 him1 that ruled his life and appointed 
his career4 ,it gave him his commission 
as prophet1 reformer1 philanthropist4   
,it was the consecrating oil that       
sanctified him1 from the crown of his   
head to the soles of his feet4  ,parker 
believed in the gospel of               
,transcendentalism1 and was fully       
persuaded that it was to be the gospel  
of the future4 ,the religion ,i preach1 
he was accustomed to say1 will be the   
religion of enlightened men for the next
 thousand years4 ,he anticipated an     
earthly immortality for his thought1 an 

extensive circulation of his books1 a   
swift course for his word1 among the    
people4 ,the expectation seemed not     
unreasonable twenty years ago4  ,the    
prediction has not thus far been        
justified4 ,parker died in #ahfj1 on the
 eve of the civil war1 which he         
prognosticated1 sixteen years ago4 ,the 
war fairly ended1 efforts were made to  
revive the prophet's memory and carry   
out the cherished purpose of his heart4 
,but their ill success has gone far to  
prove--what needed no evidence--that    
prophecies may fail1 and tongues cease  
and knowledge pass away4 ,the philosophy
 that ,parker combated and ridiculed and
 cast scorn at1 declared to be          
self-refuted and self-condemned1 has    
revived under a new name1 as the        
philosophy of experience1 is professed  
by the ablest thinkers of the day1      
taught in high places1 in the name of   
science1 set forth as the hope of man2  
the creeds he pronounced irrational1 and
 fancied to be obsolete still hold      

nominal sway over the minds of men2 the 
,christianity of the letter and the form
 is the only ,christianity that is      
officially acknowledged2 the gospel is  
an institution still1 not a faith2      
revivalism has the monopoly of religious
 enthusiasm2 preaching is giving place  
to lecturing2 the pulpit has been taken 
down2 science alone is permitted to     
speak with authority2--literature1      
journalism1 politics1 trade1 attract the
 young men that once sought the         
ministry2 the noble preachers of a noble
 gospel are the few remaining idealists1
 who have kept the faith of their youth2
 they are growing old2 one by one they  
leave their place1 and there are none   
like them to fill it4 ,parker was one of
 the last of the grand preachers who    
spoke with power1 bearing commission    
from the soul4 ,the commissions which   
the soul issues are1 for the time being1
 discredited1 and discredited they will 
be1 so long as the ideal philosophy is  
an outcast among men4 ,should that      

philosophy revive1 the days of great    
preaching will return with it4 ,bibles  
will be read and hymns sung1 and sermons
 delivered to crowds from pulpits4 ,the 
lyceum and the newspaper will occupy a  
subordinate position as means of social 
and moral influence1 and the prophets   
will recover their waning reputation4   
,until then1 the work they did when     
living must attest their greatness with 
such as can estimate it at its worth4   
,,xiii4  ,,the ,,man ,,of ,,letters4    
,the man who was as influential as any  
in planting the seeds of the            
transcendental philosophy in good soil1 
and in showing whither its principles   
tended1 is known now1 and has from the  
first been known1 chiefly as a man of   
letters1 a thoughtful observer1 a       
careful student and a serious inquirer  
after knowledge4 ,george ,ripley1 one   
year older than ,emerson1 was one of the
 forerunners and prophets of the new    
dispensation4 ,he was by temperament as 
well as by training1 a scholar1 a reader

 of books1 a discerner of opinions1 a   
devotee of ideas4 ,a mind of such       
clearness and serenity1 accurate        
judgment1 fine taste1 and rare skill in 
the use of language1 written and spoken1
 was of great value in introducing1     
defining and interpreting the vast1     
vague thoughts that were burning in the 
minds of speculative men4 ,he was one of
 the first in ,america to master the    
,german language2 and1 his bent of mind 
being philosophical and theological1 he 
became a medium through which the       
,french and ,german thought found its   
way to ,new ,england4 ,he was an        
importer1 reader and lender of the new  
books of the living ,continental        
thinkers4 ,his library contained a rich 
collection of works in philosophy1      
theology1 hermeneutics1 criticism of the
 ,old and ,new ,testaments1 and divinity
 in its different branches of dogmatics 
and sentiment4 ,he was intimate with ,n4
 ,l4 ,frothingham and ,convers ,francis1
 the admirable scholar1 the hospitable  

and independent thinker1 the            
enthusiastic and humane believer1 the   
centre and generous distributor of      
copious intellectual gifts to all who   
came within his reach4 ,theodore ,parker
 was the intellectual product of these  
two men1 ,convers ,francis and ,george  
,ripley4 ,the former fed his passion for
 knowledge2 the latter1 at the period of
 his life in the divinity school1 gave  
direction to his thought4 ,the books    
that did most to determine the set of   
,parker's mind were taken from ,mr4     
,ripley's library4 ,for a considerable  
time1 in ,parker's early ministry1 they 
were close and thoroughly congenial     
friends4 ,they walked and talked        
together2 made long excursions2 attended
 conventions2 were members of the same  
club or coterie2 joined in the          
discussions at which ,emerson1          
,channing1 ,hedge1 ,clark1 ,alcott took 
part2 and1 though parted1 in after life1
 by circumstances which appointed them  
to different spheres of labor1--one in  

,boston1 the other in ,new ,york1--they 
continued to the end1 constant and      
hearty well wishers4 ,at the close of   
his life1 ,parker expressed a hope that 
,ripley might be his biographer4  ,mr4  
,ripley prepared for the ministry at the
 ,cambridge divinity school2 in #ahbf   
accepted a call to be pastor and        
preacher of the church1 organized but   
eighteen months before1 and within two  
months worshipping in their new         
meeting-house on ,purchase street1      
,boston4 ,the ordination took place on  
,wednesday1 ,nov4 #hth1 of the same     
year4 ,under his charge1 said his       
successor1 ,rev4 ,j4 ,i4 ,t4 ,coolidge1 
in #ahdh1 the society grew from very    
small beginnings to strength and        
prosperity4 ,as a preacher1 he awakened 
the deepest interest1 and as a devoted  
pastor1 the warmest affection1 which    
still survives1 deep and strong1 in the 
hearts of those who were the objects of 
his counsel and pastoral care4 ,after   
the lapse of almost fifteen years1 the  

connection was dissolved1 for reasons   
which affected not the least the        
relations of friendship and mutual      
respect between the parties4 ,it has    
been a great satisfaction to me1 as ,i  
have passed in and out among you1 to    
hear again and again the expressions of 
love and interest with which you        
remember the ministry of your first     
servant in this church4 ,that this was  
not merely the formal tribute which the 
courtesies of the profession exacted1 is
 proved1 as well as such a thing can be 
proved1 by the published correspondence 
between the pastor and his people1 by   
the frank declarations of the pastor in 
his farewell address1 and by a          
remarkable letter1 which discussed in   
full the causes that led to the         
separation of the pastor and his flock4 
,in this long and candid letter to the  
church1 ,mr4 ,ripley declared himself a 
,transcendentalist1 and avowed his      
sympathy with movements larger than the 
,christian ,church represented4  ,the   

declaration was hardly necessary4 ,mr4  
,ripley was known to be the writer of   
the review of ,martineau's ,rationale of
 ,religious ,enquiry1 which raised such 
heated controversy2 his translation of  
,cousin's ,philosophical ,miscellanies1 
with its important ,introduction1 had   
attracted the attention of literary     
circles2 a volume of discourses1        
entitled ,discourses on the ,philosophy 
of ,religion1 comprising seven sermons  
delivered in the regular course of his  
ministry1 left no doubt in any mind     
respecting his position4 ,the           
controversy with ,andrews ,norton on    
,the ,latest ,form of ,infidelity1 was  
carried on in #ahdj1 the year before    
,mr4 ,ripley's ministry ended4 ,the     
calmness of tone that characterized all 
these writings1 the clearness and       
serenity of statement1 the seemingly    
easy avoidance of extremes1 the absence 
of passion1 showed the supremacy of     
intellect over feeling4 ,yet of feeling 
there must have been a good deal4 ,there

 was a great deal in the community2     
there was a great deal among the clergy 
of his denomination2 that it had found  
expression within his own society1 is   
betrayed in the farewell sermon2 that   
his own heart was deeply touched1 was   
confessed by the fact that on the very  
day after his parting words to his      
congregation were spoken--on ,march     
#bith1 #ahda--,mr4 ,ripley took up his  
new ministry at ,brook ,farm4  ,the     
character of that ,association has been 
described in a previous chapter1 with as
 much minuteness of detail as is        
necessary1 and the purposes of its      
inaugurators have been sufficiently     
indicated4 ,the founder of it was not a 
doctrinaire1 but a philanthropist on    
ideal principles4 ,with the systems of  
socialism current in ,paris1 he was at  
that period wholly unacquainted4 ,the   
name of ,charles ,fourier was unfamiliar
 to him4 ,he had faith in the soul1 and 
in the soul's prophecy of good2 he saw  
that the prophecy was unheeded1 that    

society rested on principles which the  
soul abhorred2 that between the visions 
of the spiritual philosophy and the     
bitter realities of vice1 misery1 sin1  
in human life1 there was an unappeasable
 conflict2 and he was resolved to do    
what one man might to create a new earth
 in preparation for a new heaven4 ,he   
took the ,gospel at its word1 and went  
forth to demonstrate the power of its   
principles1 by showing the ,beatitudes  
to be something more substantial than   
dreams4 ,his costly library1 with all   
its beloved books1 was offered for sale 
at public auction1 and the price        
thereof1 with whatever else he          
possessed1 was consecrated to the cause 
of humanity that he had at heart4 ,he   
had no children1 and few ties of        
kindred2 but the social position of the 
clergy was above any secular position in
 ,new ,england at that time2 the        
prejudices and antipathies of the       
clerical order were stubborn2 the       
leaders of opinion in state and church  

were conservative1 to a degree it is    
difficult for us to believe2 the path of
 the reformer was strewn with thorns and
 beset with difficulties most formidable
 to sensitive spirits4 ,mr4 ,emerson had
 resigned his ministry nine years       
before1 and for the reason too that he  
was a ,transcendentalist1 but had       
retired to the peaceful walks of        
literature1 and had made no actual      
assault on social institutions4 ,mr4    
,ripley associated himself at once with 
people of no worldly consideration1     
avowed principles that were voted vulgar
 in refined circles1 and identified     
himself with an enterprise which the    
amiable called visionary1 and the       
unamiable wild and revolutionary4 ,but  
his conviction was clear1 and his will  
was fixed4 ,sustained by the entire     
sympathy of a very noble woman1 his     
wife--who was one with him in           
aspiration1 purpose1 and endeavor1 till 
the undertaking ended--he put the world 
behind him1 sold all1 and followed the  

,master4  ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,ripley were   
the life of the ,brook ,farm            
,association4 ,their unfaltering energy1
 unfailing cheer1 inexhaustible         
sweetness and gayety1 availed to keep up
 the tone of the institution1 to prevent
 its becoming common-place1 and to      
retain there the persons on whose       
character the moral and intellectual    
standard depended4 ,it was due to them  
that the experiment was tried as long as
 it was--six years2--that while it went 
on1 it avoided1 as it did1 the usual    
scandal and reproach that bring ruin on 
schemes of that description2 and that1  
when finally it ended in disaster1 it   
commanded sympathy rather than contempt1
 and left a sweet memory behind4 ,the   
originator was the last to leave the    
place of his toil and vain endeavor2 he 
left it1 having made all necessary      
provision for the discharge of debts1   
which only through arduous labors in    
journalism he was able afterwards to    
pay4  ,in ,mr4 ,ripley's mind the ,idea 

was supreme4 ,in #ahdd he1 with ,mr4    
,dana and ,mr4 ,channing1 lectured and  
spoke on the principles of              
,association1--the foreign literature on
 the subject being more familiar to him 
then1--commended the doctrine of        
,fourier1 and was prepared for a more   
sympathetic propagandism than he had    
meditated hitherto4 ,in #ahde1 the      
,harbinger was started1--a weekly       
journal1 devoted to ,social and         
,political ,progress2 published by the  
,brook ,farm ,phalanx4 ,the ,prospectus1
 written by ,mr4 ,ripley1 made this     
announcement3 ,the principles of        
universal unity taught by ,charles      
,fourier in their application to        
society1 we believe are at the          
foundation of all genuine social        
progress2 and it will ever be our aim to
 discuss and defend those principles    
without any sectarian bigotry1 and in   
the catholic and comprehensive spirit of
 their great discoverer4 ,an            
introductory notice by the same pen1    

among other things pertaining to the    
aims and intentions of the paper1       
contained this passage3       ,the      
interests of ,social ,reform will be    
considered as paramount to      all     
others in whatever is admitted into the 
pages of the      ,harbinger4 ,we shall 
suffer no attachment to literature1 no  
taste      for abstract discussion1 no  
love of purely intellectual theories1   
to seduce us from our devotion to the   
cause of the oppressed1 the      down   
trodden1 the insulted and injured masses
 of our fellow men4      ,every         
pulsation of our being vibrates in      
sympathy with the wrongs      of the    
toiling millions2 and every wise effort 
for their speedy      enfranchisement   
will find in us resolute and indomitable
 advocates4      ,if any imagine from   
the literary tone of the preceding      
remarks that      we are indifferent to 
the radical movement for the benefit of 
the      masses which is the crowning   
glory of the nineteenth century1 they   

will soon discover their egregious      
mistake4 ,to that movement1             
consecrated by religious principle1     
sustained by an awful sense of          
justice1 and cheered by the brightest   
hopes of future good1 all our           
powers1 talents1 and attainments are    
devoted4 ,we look for an      audience  
among the refined and educated circles1 
to which the      character of our paper
 will win its way2 but we shall also be 
read      by the swart and sweaty       
artisan2 the laborer will find in us    
another champion2 and many hearts       
struggling with the secret hope         
which no weight of care and toil can    
entirely suppress1 will pour      on us 
their benedictions1 as we labor for the 
equal rights of all4  ,in the four years
 of its existence1 the paper was        
faithful to this grand and high sounding
 promise4 ,a powerful company of writers
 contributed their labor to help forward
 the plan4 ,the ,journal was affluent   
and sparkling4 ,the literary criticism  

was the work of able pens2 the musical  
and art criticism was in the hands of   
the most competent judges in the        
country2 the aesthetics were not        
neglected2 the verse was excellent2 but 
the social questions were of first      
consideration4 ,these were never treated
 slightingly1 and the treatment of them 
never deviated from the high standard   
proposed by the editors4 ,the list of   
its contributors contained the names of 
,stephen ,pearl ,andrews1 ,albert       
,brisbane1 ,w4 ,h4 ,channing1 ,w4 ,e4   
,channing1 ,walter ,channing1 ,james    
,freeman ,clarke1 ,geo4 ,h4 ,calvert1   
,j4 ,j4 ,cooke1 ,a4 ,j4 ,h4 ,duganne1   
,c4 ,p4 ,cranch1 ,geo4 ,w4 ,curtis1     
,charles ,a4 ,dana1 ,j4 ,s4 ,dwight1    
,horace ,greeley1 ,parke ,godwin1 ,f4   
,h4 ,hedge1 ,t4 ,w4 ,higginson1 ,m4 ,e4 
,lazarus1 ,j4 ,r4 ,lowell1 ,osborn      
,macdaniel1 ,geo4 ,ripley1 ,s4 ,d4      
,robbins1 ,l4 ,w4 ,ryckman1 ,f4 ,g4     
,shaw1 ,w4 ,w4 ,story1 ,henry ,james1   
,john ,g4 ,whittier1 ,j4 ,j4 ,g4        

,wilkinson--a most remarkable collection
 of powerful names4  ,the departments   
seem not to have been systematically    
arranged1 but the writers sent what they
 had1 the same writer furnishing        
articles on a variety of topics4 ,mr4   
,f4 ,g4 ,shaw published1 in successive  
numbers1 an admirable translation of    
,george ,sand's ,consuelo1 and wrote    
against the iniquities of the principle 
of competition in trade4 ,c4 ,a4 ,dana  
noticed books1 reported movements1      
criticized men and measures1 translated 
poetry from the ,german1 and sent verses
 of a mystical and sentimental character
 of his own4 ,c4 ,p4 ,cranch contributed
 poems and criticisms on art and music4 
,j4 ,s4 ,dwight paid attention to the   
musical department1 but also wrote book 
reviews and articles on the social      
problem4 ,w4 ,h4 ,channing poured out   
his burning soul in denunciation of     
social wrong and painted in glowing     
colors the promise of the future4 ,g4   
,w4 ,curtis sent poetry and notes on    

literature and music in ,new ,york4 ,t4 
,w4 ,higginson printed there his ,hymn  
of ,humanity4 ,messrs4 ,brisbane1       
,godwin and ,greeley confined themselves
 to social problems1 doing a large part 
of the heavy work4 ,mr4 ,ripley1 the    
,managing ,editor1 supervised the whole2
 wrote much himself on the different    
aspects of ,association2 reported the   
progress of the cause at home and       
abroad2 answered the objections that    
were current in the popular prejudice1  
and gave to the paper the encouraging   
tone of his cheery1 earnest spirit4  ,as
 interpreted by the ,harbinger1 the     
cause of ,association was hospitable and
 humane4 ,the technicalities of special 
systems were avoided2 dry discussions of
 theory and method were put aside2      
generous sympathy was shown towards     
philanthropic workers in other fields2  
the tone of wailing was never heard1 and
 the anticipations of the future were   
steadily bright and bold4 ,when         
reformers of a pronounced type1 like the

 abolitionists1 spoke of it slightingly 
as a kid glove journal that was afraid  
of soiling its fingers with ugly matters
 like slavery1 the ,associationists     
explained that their plan was the more  
comprehensive2 that they struck at the  
root of every kind of slavery2 and that 
the worst evils would disappear when    
their beneficent principle should be    
recognized4 ,that the ,harbinger should 
have lived no longer than it did1 with  
such a corps of writers and so great a  
cause1--the last number is dated        
,february #aj1 #ahdi1--may be accounted 
for by the feeble hold that ,socialism  
had in this country4 ,in ,europe the    
hearts of the working people were in it4
 ,it originated among them1 expressed   
their actual sorrows1 answered their    
living questions1 promised satisfaction 
to their wants1 and predicted the only  
future they could imagine as in any way 
possible4 ,here it was an imported      
speculation2 the working people were not
 driven to it for refuge from their     

misery2 they did not ask the questions  
it proposed to answer1 nor did it hold  
out prospects that gladdened their eyes4
 ,the advocates of it were cultivated   
men1 literary and aesthetical1 who      
represented the best the old world had  
to give1 rather than the worst the ,new 
,world had experienced2 and their words 
met with no response from the multitudes
 in whose behoof they were spoken4      
,america was exercised then by questions
 of awful moment4 ,the agitation against
 slavery had taken hold of the whole    
country2 it was in politics1 in         
journalism1 in literature1 in the public
 hall and the parlor4 ,its issues were  
immediate and urgent4 ,people had       
neither heads nor hearts for schemes of 
comprehensive scope that must be        
patiently meditated and matured for     
generations4 ,no talents1 no brilliancy1
 no earnestness even1 would engage      
interest in what seemed visionary1      
however glorious the vision4 ,the       
socialistic enterprises in ,america were

 all short lived4 ,brook ,farm was an   
idyl2 and in the days of epics1 the idyl
 is easily forgotten4  ,the decease of  
the ,harbinger was the end of that phase
 of ,transcendentalism4 ,the dream of   
the kingdom of heaven faded4 ,the       
apostles were dispersed4 ,some kept     
their faith and showed their fidelity in
 other places and other work4 ,three or 
four went into the ,roman ,church1 and  
found rest on its ancient bosom4 ,others
 found a field for their talents in     
literature1 which they beautified with  
their genius1 and ennobled by their     
ideas4 ,others devoted themselves to    
journalism4 ,of the last was ,george    
,ripley4 ,the ,new ,york ,tribune       
offered him the post of literary critic 
on its editorial staff4 ,that position  
he has occupied for twenty-five years1  
in a way honorable to himself and to    
good letters4 ,it has been in his power 
to aid the development of literature in 
,america1 in many ways1 by encouraging  
young writers2 by giving direction to   

ambitious but immature gifts2 by        
erecting a standard of judgment1 high1  
without being unreasonable1 and strict1 
without being austere4 ,a large         
acquaintance with books1 a cultivated   
taste1 a hospitable appreciation1 a     
hearty love of good literary work1 a    
cordial dislike of bad1 a just          
estimation of the rights and duties of  
literary men1 and the office they should
 fill in a republican community1 have   
marked his administration of the        
department assigned to him4 ,he has held
 it to be his duty to make intelligent  
reports of current literature1 with     
enough of criticism to convey his own   
opinion of its character1 without       
dictating opinions to others4 ,worthless
 books received their due1 and worthy   
books received theirs in full measure4  
,the books in which worth and           
worthlessness were united were          
discriminatingly handled1 the emphasis  
being laid on the better qualities4     
,many of the reviews were essays1 full  

of discernment4 ,all showed that respect
 for mind which might be expected from  
one so carefully trained4  ,mr4 ,ripley 
has been true to the ideas with which he
 set out in his early life4 ,his period 
of philosophical propagandism being     
over2 his young enthusiasm having spent 
itself in experiments which trial proved
 to be premature1 to say the least1 if  
not essentially impracticable2 his      
dreams having faded1 when his efforts   
ended in disappointment1 he retired from
 public view neither dispirited1 nor    
morose4 ,his interest in philosophy     
continues undiminished2 his hope of man1
 though more subdued1 is clear2 his     
faith in the spiritual basis of religion
 is serene4 ,disappointment has not made
 him bitter1 reckless or frivolous4 ,his
 power of moral indignation at wrong and
 turpitude is unimpaired1 though it no  
longer breaks out with the former       
vehemence4 ,a cheerful wisdom gained by 
thought and experience of sorrow1       
tempers his judgment of men and         

measures4 ,his confidence is in culture1
 in literature1 generously interpreted  
and fostered1 in ideas honestly         
entertained and freely expressed4  ,the 
,transcendentalist keeps his essential  
faith4 ,generally the                   
,transcendentalists have done this4 ,it 
was a faith too deeply planted1 too     
nobly illustrated1 too fervent and      
beautiful in youth1 to be laid aside in 
age4 ,james ,walker died in the ripeness
 of it2 ,parker died in the strength of 
it2 others--old and grave men now--live 
in the joy of it4 ,the few who have     
relapsed1 have done so1 some under      
pressure of worldly seduction--they     
having no depth of root--and some under 
the influence of scientific teaching1   
which has shaken the foundation of their
 psychology4 ,the original disciples1   
undismayed by the signs of death1 still 
believe in the ,master1 and live in the 
hope of his resurrection4     ,,xiv4    
,,minor ,,prophets4   ,the so-called    
,minor ,prophets of the ,old ,testament 

owed that designation to the brevity1   
rather than to the insignificance of    
their utterances4 ,they were among the  
most glowing and exalted of the ,hebrew 
bards1 less sustained in their flight   
than their great fellows1 but with as   
much of the ancient fire as any of them4
 ,it is proper to say as much as this to
 justify the application of the title to
 the men who claim mention now as       
prominent in the transcendental         
movement4  ,william ,henry ,channing is 
not quite fairly ranked among minor     
prophets1 even on this explanation1 for 
he has been copious as well as intense4 
,a nephew of the great ,doctor          
,channing--a favorite nephew1 on account
 of his moral earnestness1 and the close
 sympathy he felt with views that did   
honor to human nature and glorified the 
existence of man1--he grew up in the    
purest atmosphere that ,new ,england    
supplied--the most intellectual1 the    
most quickening4 ,he was born in the    
same year with ,theodore ,parker1 and   

but three months earlier1 and was native
 to the same spiritual climate4 ,he was 
educated at ,harvard1 and prepared for  
the ministry at ,cambridge ,divinity    
,school1 where the new ideas were       
fermenting4 ,he was graduated the year  
before ,parker entered4 ,his name was   
conspicuous among the agitators of the  
new faith4 ,he was a contributor to the 
,dial4 ,in #ahdh he published the       
,memoirs of his uncle1 in three volumes1
 proving his fitness for the task by the
 sincerity in which he discharged it4   
,in #ahdj he translated ,jouffroy's     
,ethics1 in two volumes1 for ,ripley's  
,specimens of ,foreign ,standard        
,literature4 ,in #aheb he took part in  
writing the ,memoirs of ,margaret       
,fuller1 the second volume being chiefly
 his work4 ,the ,life and ,writings of  
,james ,h4 ,perkins1 of ,cincinnati1 a  
pioneer of rationalism at the ,west1    
came more fitly from his pen than from  
any other4 ,in the ,western ,messenger1 
which he edited for one year2 the       

,present1 and the ,spirit of the ,age1  
short-lived journals1 of which he was   
the soul2 in the ,harbinger1 to which he
 was a generous and sympathetic         
contributor--he exhibited a fine quality
 of genius4 ,the intensity of his       
nature1 his open-mindedness1 frankness1 
and spiritual sensitiveness1 his        
fervency of aspiration and his          
outspokenness1 made the office of       
settled pastor and steady routine       
preacher distasteful to him4 ,he was a  
prophet who went from place to place1   
with a message of joy and hope4         
,meadville1 ,cincinnati1 ,nashua1       
,rochester1 ,boston1 and ,new ,york1    
were scenes of his pastoral service4    
,his preaching was every where attended 
by the clearest heads and the deepest   
hearts4 ,in ,new ,york his society was  
composed of free elements altogether1   
come-outers1 reformers1 radicals of     
every description4 ,his command of      
language1 his free delivery1 his musical
 voice1 his expressive countenance1 his 

noble air1 his extraordinary power of   
kindling enthusiasm1 his affluence and  
boldness of thought1 his high standard  
of character1 made him in his prime an  
enchanting speaker4  ,very early in his 
career ,mr4 ,channing committed himself 
to the transcendental philosophy as     
interpreted by the ,french ,school1 for 
he possessed the swiftness of           
perception1 the felicity of exposition1 
the sensibility to effects1 the passion 
for clean statement and plausible       
generalization that distinguish the     
,french genius from the ,german and the 
,english4 ,the introduction to          
,jouffroy's ,ethics contained the       
principles of the ,french school of     
philosophy1 which1 to judge from his    
approving tone1 he had himself accepted3
  ,that ,psychology is the basis of     
,philosophy4  ,that the highest problems
 of ,ontology may be solved by          
inductions from the facts which         
,psychology ascertains4  ,that          
,psychology and the ,history of         

,philosophy reciprocally explain each   
other4  ,with these ideas firmly fixed  
in his mind he went forth on a prophetic
 mission1 to which he remained          
unfalteringly true4  ,we saw him first  
at a convention in ,boston called by the
 reformers who demanded the abolition of
 the gallows4 ,there were several       
speakers--,edwin ,h4 ,chapin1 then in   
the days of his moral enthusiasm1       
,wendell ,phillips1 already known as an 
agitator and an orator--all spoke well  
from their different grounds1 but the   
image of ,channing is the most distinct 
in mind to-day4 ,his manner1 attitude1  
speech1 are all recalled4 ,the arguments
 he used abide in memory4 ,he wasted    
words on no incidental points of detail1
 but at once took his stand on the      
principle of the idealist that man is a 
sacred being1 and life a sacred gift1   
and love the rule of the divine law4    
,chapin thundered2 ,phillips criticized 
and stung2 ,channing burned with a pure 
enthusiasm that lifted souls into a     

celestial air and made all possibilities
 of justice seem practicable4 ,he did   
not argue or denounce2 he prophesied4   
,there was not a word of scorn or       
detestation2 but there were passages of 
touching power1 describing the influence
 of gentleness and the response that the
 hardest hearts would give to it1 that  
shamed the listeners out of their       
vindictiveness4 ,on the anti-slavery    
platform his attitude was the same4     
,there was no more persuasive speaker4  
,in the controversy between the         
,unitarians of the transcendental and   
those of the opposite school1 ,mr4      
,channing's sympathies were with the    
former1 but he took no very prominent   
public part in it4 ,he was averse to    
controversy2 questions of sectarian     
opinion and organization had little     
interest for him4 ,his mind lived in    
broad principles and positive ideas2 the
 method he believed in was that of      
winning minds to the truth by generous  
appeals1 and so planting out error4     

,against everything like injustice or   
illiberality1 his protest was eager1 but
 he was willing to leave polemics to    
others2 what he said was in the strain  
of faith in larger and more inclusive   
beliefs4 ,he had a passion for          
catholicity1 which came partly from his 
temperament1 and partly from the        
eclecticism he professed4 ,his word was 
reconciling1 like his influence1 which  
was never associated with partisanship4 
,mr4 ,channing was early attracted to   
the bearings of the spiritual philosophy
 on the problems of society1 the        
elevation of the working classes1 the   
rescue of humanity from pauperism and   
crime4 ,as an interpreter of ,christian 
socialism his activity was incessant4   
,he took part in the discussions that   
led to the experiment of ,brook ,farm1  
and was acquainted intimately with the  
projecting of it1 having himself entire 
faith in the reorganization of society  
on principles of equity4 ,had           
circumstances permitted--he was then    

minister to a church in ,cincinnati1 and
 much occupied with professional        
duties--he would have connected himself 
with the ,brook ,farm ,association4 ,as 
it was1 he visited it whenever he could1
 spending several days at a time4 ,in   
#ahdd1 when the union was formed with   
the ,new ,york ,socialists and the      
leaders went out to enlighten and       
stimulate public sentiment on the       
subject1 ,mr4 ,channing did faithful    
work as a lecturer4 ,he was president of
 the ,boston ,union of ,associationists1
 and wrote a book on the ,christian     
,church and ,moral ,reform4 ,from the   
first1 being of a speculative1          
philosophical and experimental turn of  
mind1 he entertained more systematic    
views than were common among ,new       
,england socialists1 but the principle  
of love was always more to him than     
opinions or schemes4 ,his views         
coincided with ,fourier1 but his heart  
was ,christian4 ,on the failure of the  
associated plans of his friends1 and the

 cessation of interest in ,socialism on 
this side of the ,atlantic1 his thoughts
 turned towards the ,christian ,church  
as the providentially appointed means of
 obtaining what the ,utopians had failed
 of reaching4 ,he was never a           
,churchman2 never abandoned the views   
that made him an independent preacher2  
but he never lost faith in the ministry2
 his hopes turned toward the            
institutions of religion as having in   
them the ideal potencies he trusted2 he 
looked for faith and love in the        
,gospel1 and sought to draw out the     
lessons of charity that were inculcated 
by ,jesus2 to deliver these from the    
hands of the formalists and sectarians2 
to make peace between parties and       
churches2 to discover common ground for 
all believers to stand and labor on--was
 his aim4 ,had his faith not been       
inclusive of all forms of the religious 
sentiment1 he might1 in ,england1 where 
he resided so long1 have been a         
broad-churchman4 ,but ,christianity1 in 

his view1 was but one of many religions1
 all essentially divine1 and he could   
not belong to any church less wide than 
the church universal4  ,during a portion
 of the civil war1 ,mr4 ,channing was in
 ,washington preaching the gospel of    
liberty and loyalty1 and laboring in the
 hospitals with unflagging devotion1    
thankful for an opportunity to put into 
work the enthusiasm of his passionate   
soul4 ,later1 he revisited his native   
country1 and showed his interest in the 
cause of religious freedom and unity4   
,the name of ,channing is conspicuous in
 the history of ,american idealism4     
,another nephew of ,dr4 ,channing1      
,william ,ellery ,channing1--a man of   
original force of mind and character1 a 
bold adventurer in literature and life1 
of independent ideas1 principles and    
deeds1 an abolitionist1 a friend of     
,garrison and ,parker1 reformer and     
philosopher1 author of many             
volumes--wrote poetry and prose for the 
,dial and1 in #ahgc1 a life of ,henry   

,thoreau4  ,in the list of the          
,transcendentalists ,cyrus ,augustus    
,bartol must not be forgotten1 a soaring
 mind enamored of thoughts on divine    
things1 inextricably caught in the toils
 of speculation4 ,acute and brilliant1  
but wayward2 with a quick eye for       
analogies1 fanciful and eccentric1 of   
clear intuitions1 glimpses1 perceptions 
astonishingly luminous2 but without     
fixed allegiance to system1 and         
therefore difficult to classify under   
any school4 ,in the ,unitarian          
controversy1 which was a tryer of       
spirits1 it was not always plain to     
observers in which camp he belonged2 not
 that his fundamental principle was     
unsteady1 but because his curious and   
critical mind was detained by           
considerations that others did not see2 
and his absolute sincerity gave         
expression to the moods of feeling as   
they passed over him4 ,some words in    
,parker's farewell letter to him seem to
 imply that at critical junctures they  

had been on opposite sides1 but the     
difference could scarcely have touched  
fundamental truths4 ,no man was further 
from the school of ,locke1 ,paley or    
,bentham than ,c4 ,a4 ,bartol4 ,his     
,transcendentalism had a cast of its    
own2 it was not made after any pattern2 
it took its color from an original      
genius illuminated by various reading of
 books1 and by deep meditation in the   
privacy of the closet1 and the          
companionship of nature of which he is a
 child-like worshipper4 ,no wealth of   
human sympathy prevents his being a     
solitary4 ,his song is lyrical2 his     
prophecy drops like a voice from the    
clouds4 ,in the agitations of his time  
he has had small share2 organized and   
associated effort did not attract him4  
,to many he represents the model        
,transcendentalist1 for he seems a man  
who lives above the clouds1--not always 
above them1 either4  ,his faith in the  
soul has never known eclipse4 ,it waxes 
strong by its wrestling1 and becomes    

jubilant in proportion as nature and    
life try to stare it out of countenance4
 ,ballast is wings to him4              
,transcendentalism relies on those ideas
 in the mind which are laws      in the 
life4 ,pantheism is said to sink man and
 nature in ,god2      ,materialism to   
sink ,god and man in nature1 and        
,transcendentalism to      sink ,god and
 nature in man4 ,but the                
,transcendentalist at least is          
belied and put in jail by the definition
 which is so neat at the      expense of
 truth4 ,he made consciousness1 not     
sense1 the ground of      truth2 and in 
the present devotion to physical        
science1 and turn of      philosophy to 
build the universe on foundations of    
matter1 we need      to vindicate and   
reassert his promise4 ,is the soul      
reared on the      primitive rock8 or is
 no rock primitive1 but the deposit of  
spirit--therefore in its lowest form    
alive1 and ever rising into             
organism to reach the top of the eternal

 circle again1 as in the      well one  
bucket goes down empty and the other    
rises full8 ,the      mistake is to make
 the everlasting things subjects of     
argument      instead of sight4         
,our soul is older than our organism4   
,it precedes its clothing4 ,it      is  
the cause1 not the consequence1 of its  
material elements2 else1      as        
materialists understand1 it does not    
exist4       ,what is it that accepts   
misery from the ,most ,high1 defends the
      ,providence that inflicts its     
woes1 espouses its chastiser's cause1   
purges itself in the pit of its misery  
of all contempt of ,his      commands1  
and makes its agonies the beams and     
rafters of the      triumph it builds8  
,it is an immortal principle4 ,it is an 
indestructible essence4 ,it is part and 
parcel of the ,divinity it      adores4 
,it can no more die than he can4 ,it    
needs no more insurance      of life    
than its author does4 ,prove its title8 
,it is proof itself      of all things  

else4 ,it is substantive1 and everything
 adjective      beside4 ,it is the      
kingdom all things will be added to4    
,this was published in #ahgb1 and proves
 that one ,transcendentalist has kept   
his faith4  ,james ,freeman ,clarke as  
little deserves to be ranked among the  
,minor ,prophets as any1 for he was one 
of the earliest ,transcendentalists1 a  
contemporary and intimate ally of       
,parker1 a co-worker with ,channing1 a  
close friend and correspondent of ,miss 
,fuller1 a sympathizer with ,alcott in  
his attempts to spiritualize education1 
a frequent contributor to the ,dial1 the
 intellectual fellow of the brilliant   
minds that made the epoch what it was4  
,but his interest was not confined to   
the school1 nor did the technicalities  
or details of the transcendental        
movement embarrass him2 his catholic    
mind took in opinions of all shades1 and
 men of all communions4 ,his place is   
among theologians and divines rather    
than among philosophers4 ,but1 though   

churchly tastes led him away from the   
company of thinkers where he            
intellectually belonged1 and an         
unfailing common sense saved him from   
the extravagances into which some of    
them fell1 a ,transcendentalist he was1 
and an uncompromising one4 ,the         
intuitive philosophy was his guide4 ,it 
gave him his assurance of spiritual     
truths2 it interpreted for him the      
gospels and ,jesus2 it inspired his     
endeavors to reconcile beliefs1 to      
promote unity among the discordant      
sects1 to enlighten and redeem mankind4 
,his mission has been that of a         
spiritual peace-maker4 ,but while doing 
this1 he has worked faithfully at       
particular causes2 was an avowed and    
earnest abolitionist in the anti-slavery
 days2 was ever a disbeliever in war1 an
 enemy of vindictive and violent        
legislation1 a hearty friend and laborer
 in the field of woman's election to the
 full privileges of culture and         
citizenship2 a man in whom faith1 hope  

and charity abounded and abound2 a man  
of intellectual convictions which made a
 groundwork for his life4  ,mr4 ,clarke 
is a conspicuous example of the way in  
which the intuitive philosophy leavened 
the whole mind4 ,it associated him      
closely both with radicals and          
conservatives2 with the former1 because 
his principle involved faith in         
progress2 with the latter1 because it   
implied respect for the progress of past
 times which institutions preserved4    
,his conservatism attested the fidelity 
of his radicalism1 and both avouched the
 loyalty of his idealism4 ,the          
conservative aspect of                  
,transcendentalism which was exhibited  
in the case of ,mr4 ,channing1 who never
 left the ,christian ,church1 was yet   
more strikingly illustrated by ,mr4     
,clarke4 ,all his books1 but            
particularly the ,ten ,great ,religions1
 show the power of the transcendental   
idea to render justice to all forms of  
faith1 and give positive interpretations

 to doctrines obscure and revolting4 ,it
 detects the truth in things erroneous1 
the good in things evil4  ,a more       
remarkable instance of this tendency is 
,samuel ,johnson's volume on the        
religions of ,india4 ,none save a       
,transcendentalist could have succeeded 
in extracting so much deep spiritual    
meaning from the symbols and practices  
of those ancient faiths4 ,the intuitive 
idea takes its position at the centre1  
and at once all blazes with glory4      
,man is divinely prescient of his       
infinity of mind as soon as he          
begins to meditate and respire4         
,that a profound theistic instinct1 the 
intuition of a divine and      living   
whole1 is involved in the primitive     
mental processes we are      here       
studying1 ,i hold to be beyond all      
question4       ,from the first stages  
of its growth onwards1 the spirit weaves
 its      own environment2 nature is    
forever the reflex of its life1 and what
      but an unquenchable aspiration to 

truth could have made it choose         
,light as its first and dearest symbol1 
reaching out a child's hand      to     
touch and clasp it1 with the joyous cry1
 ',tis mine1 mine to      create1 mine  
to adore6'       ,man could not forget  
that pregnant dawn of revelation1 the   
discovery of his own power to rekindle  
the life of the universe4       ,man is 
here dimly aware of the truth that he   
makes and remakes his      own          
conception of the divine2 that the      
revealing of duty must come      in the 
natural activity of his human powers4   
,as far back as we can trace the life of
 man1 we find the river of      prayer  
and praise flowing as naturally as it is
 flowing now2 we      cannot find its   
beginning1 because we cannot find the   
beginning of      the soul4  ,these     
passages give the key to ,mr4 ,johnson's
 explanation of the oriental religions1 
and to his little monograph on ,the     
,worship of ,jesus1 and to the printed  
lectures1 addresses1 essays1 sermons1 in

 which subjects of religion1 philosophy1
 political and social reform have been  
profoundly treated4  ,mr4 ,johnson came 
forward when the excitement of          
transcendentalism was passing by2 the   
,dial no longer marked the intellectual 
hours2 the ,unitarian controversy had   
spent its violence4 ,it was in part     
owing to this1 but more to the spiritual
 character of his genius1 that his      
,transcendentalism was free from polemic
 and dogmatic elements2 but it was none 
the less positive and definite for      
that--if anything1 it was more so4 ,in  
the divinity school he was an ardent    
disciple of the intuitive philosophy4   
,on leaving ,cambridge he became an     
independent minister of the most        
pronounced views1 but of most reverent  
spirit2 a fideist or faith man1 he loved
 to call himself2 his aim and effort was
 to awaken the spiritual nature1 to     
interpret the spiritual philosophy1 and 
to apply the spiritual laws to all      
personal1 domestic and social concerns4 

,like all the ,transcendentalists1 he   
was a reformer1 and an enthusiastic one2
 interested in liberty and progress1 but
 primarily in intellectual emancipation 
and the increase of rational ideas4 ,the
 alteration of the lot was incidental to
 the regeneration of the person4 ,so    
absolute is his faith in the soul that  
he renders poetic justice to its        
manifestations1 seeing indications of   
its presence where others see none1 and 
glorifying where others are inclined to 
pity4 ,the ideal side is never turned   
away from him4 ,he discerned the angel  
in the native ,african1 the saint in the
 slave1 the devotee in the idolater4    
,during the civil war1 his faith in the 
triumph of justice and the establishment
 of a pure republic1 converted every    
defeat into a victory2 as in the vision 
of ,ezekiel1 the ,son of ,man was ever  
visible riding on the monstrous beasts4 
,if at any time his sympathy has seemed 
withdrawn from any class of social      
reformers1 it has been because the phase

 of reform they presented held forth no 
promise of intellectual or moral        
benefit4  ,mr4 ,johnson illustrates the 
individualism of the ,transcendentalist4
 ,while ,mr4 ,channing trusted in social
 combinations1 and ,mr4 ,clarke put his 
faith in organized religion1 he had a   
clear eye to the integrity of the       
separate soul4 ,he attended no          
conventions1 joined no societies1 worked
 with no associations1 had confidence in
 no parties1 sects1 schemes1 or         
combinations1 but nursed his solitary   
thought1 delivered his personal message1
 bore his private witness1 and there    
rested4  ,were ,mr4 ,johnson more known1
 were his thoughts less interior1 his   
genius less retiring1 his method less   
private1 his form of statement less     
close and severe1 he would be one of the
 acknowledged and conspicuous leaders of
 the ideal philosophy in the ,united    
,states1 as he is one of the most       
discerning1 penetrating1 sinewy1 and    
heroic minds of his generation4  ,a     

contemporary and intimate friend of     
,johnson1 a ,transcendentalist equally  
positive1 but of more mystical type1 is 
,samuel ,longfellow4 ,the two are       
interestingly contrasted1 and by        
contrast1 blended4 ,between them they   
collected and published a book of       
hymns--,hymns of the ,spirit--to which  
both contributed original pieces1       
remarkably rich in sentiment1 and of    
singular poetical merit4 ,johnson's were
 the more intellectual1 ,longfellow's   
the more tender2 ,johnson's the more    
aspiring1 ,longfellow's the more devout2
 ,johnson's the more heroic and         
passionate1 ,longfellow's the more      
mystical and reflective4 ,like his      
friend1 ,longfellow is quiet and        
retiring--not so scholarly1 not so      
learned1 but meditative4 ,his sermons   
are lyrics2 his writings are serene     
contemplations1 not white and cold1 but 
glowing with interior and suppressed    
radiance4 ,a recluse and solitary he is1
 too1 though sunny and cheerful2 a      

thinker1 but not a dry one2 of          
intellectual sympathies1 warm and       
generous2 of feeble intellectual        
antipathies1 being rather unconscious of
 systems that are foreign to him than   
hostile to them4 ,he enjoys his own     
intellectual world so much1 it is so    
large1 rich1 beautiful1 and satisfying1 
that he is content to stay in it1 to    
wander up and down in it1 and hold      
intercourse with its inhabitants2 yet he
 understands his own system well1 is    
master of its ideas1 and abundantly     
competent to defend them1 as his essays 
published in the ,radical during its    
short existence1 testify4 ,he has       
published little2 ill health has        
prevented his taking a forward place    
among reformers and teachers2 but where 
he has ministered1 his influence has    
been deep and pure4 ,not few are the men
 and women who ascribe to him their best
 impulses1 and owe him a debt of lasting
 gratitude for the moral faith and      
intellectual enthusiasm he awakened in  

them4  ,another remarkable man1 of the  
same school1 but of still different     
temper--a man who would have been       
greatly distinguished but for the       
disabilities of sickness--is ,david ,a4 
,wasson4 ,though contemporary1 he came  
forward later2 but when he came1 it was 
with a power that gave promise of the   
finest things4 ,as his latent faith in  
the intuitive philosophy acquired       
strength1 he broke away from the        
,orthodoxy in which he had been reared1 
with an impulse that carried him beyond 
the lines of every organized body in    
,christendom1 and bore him into the     
regions of an intellectual faith1 where 
he found satisfaction4 ,he has been a   
diligent writer1 chiefly on ,ethical and
 ,philosophical themes1 on the border   
land of theology4 ,his published        
pamphlets and sermons on religious      
questions1 even the best of them1 give  
scarcely more than an indication of his 
extraordinary powers4 ,he is a poet too1
 of fine quality2 not a singer of       

sentimental songs1 nor a spinner of     
elegant fancies1 but a discerner of the 
spirit of beauty4 ,all's ,well1 ,ideals1
 ,the ,plover1 ,at ,sea1 are worthy of a
 place in the best collections4  ,it has
 been the appointed task of ,mr4 ,wasson
 to be on the alert against assaults on 
the intuitive philosophy from the side  
of material science4 ,like              
,transcendentalists generally1 he has   
accepted the principles of his          
philosophy on the testimony of          
consciousness and as self-evidencing2   
but more than most1 he has regarded them
 as essential to the maintenance of     
truths of the spiritual order2 and as a 
believer in those truths1 he has been   
holily jealous of the influence of men  
like ,herbert ,spencer1 ,mill1 ,bain1   
and the latest school of experimental   
psychologists4 ,his doctrine1 in its own
 essence1 and as related to the         
objective or material system1 is closely
 stated in the essay on the ,nature of  
,religion1 contained in the volume1     

entitled ,freedom and ,fellowship in    
,religion1 recently published by the    
,free ,religious ,association4 ,it is   
not easily quotable1 but must be read   
through and attentively4 ,whoever will  
take pains to do that1 may understand1  
not merely what ,mr4 ,wasson's position 
is1 but what fine analysis the intuitive
 philosophy can bring to its defence4 ,a
 volume of ,mr4 ,wasson's prose essays  
and poems would be a valuable           
contribution to the literature of       
,transcendentalism2 for he is1 on the   
whole1 the most capable critic on its   
side4 ,unfortunately for the breadth of 
his fame and the reach of his power1 he 
writes for thinkers1 and the multitude  
will never follow in his train4  ,the   
names of the disciples and prophets of  
,transcendentalism multiply as they are 
told off4 ,there is ,t4 ,w4 ,higginson1 
the man of letters--whom every body     
knows--a born ,transcendentalist1 and an
 enthusiastic one1 from the depth of his
 moral nature1 the quickness of his     

poetic sensibility1 his love of the     
higher culture4 ,his sympathies early   
led him to the schools of the ideal     
philosophy4 ,he edited the works of     
,epictetus2 speaks glowingly on the     
,sympathy of ,religions2 is interested  
in the pacification of the sects and    
churches on the basis of spiritual      
fellowship in truths of universal       
import2 lectures appreciatingly on      
,mohammed and ,buddha2 holds ,spencer in
 light esteem by the side of ,emerson4  
,in the controversial period--which was 
not ended when he left the ,divinity    
,school--he was entirely committed to   
the party of progress4 ,hennell's       
,christian ,theism lay on his table at  
,divinity ,hall4 ,he was an ally of     
,parker2 an abolitionist2 the colonel of
 a black regiment in the civil war2 and 
from the first has been a champion of   
woman's claim to fulness of culture and 
the largest political rights4 ,a clear  
and powerful mind1 that in controversy  
would make its mark1 if controversy were

 to its taste1 as it is not4  ,earlier  
mention should have been made of ,john  
,weiss1 who wrote philosophical articles
 thirty years ago1 that won encomiums   
from the most competent judges--a       
student at ,heidelberg1 a scholar of    
,kant1 and an admirer of his system4 ,he
 too has a paper on ,religion and       
,science1 in the volume of ,freedom and 
,fellowship1 which will convince the    
most skeptical that the days of         
,transcendentalism are not numbered2 a  
man of insight2 poetical1 according to  
,emerson's definition2 supremely        
intellectual1 capable of treading1 with 
steady step1 the hair lines of thought2 
a poet too1 as verses in the ,radical   
bear witness4 ,the ,philosophical and   
,a,esthetic ,letters and ,essays of     
,schiller were presented to the         
,american public by his hand4 ,he wrote 
the preface to the ,american edition of 
,smith's ,memoir of ,fichte4 ,the       
,boston ,quarterly1 the ,massachusetts  
,quarterly1 the ,christian ,examiner1   

the ,radical1 were illuminated by his   
brilliant thoughts on subjects of       
religious philosophy4 ,the volume       
entitled ,american ,religion1 published 
in #ahga1 shows the power of the        
spiritual philosophy to extract noble   
meanings from the circumstances of the  
,new ,world4 ,weiss treads the          
border-land between religion and        
science1 recognizing the claims of both1
 and bringing to their adjustment as    
fine intellectual scales as any of his  
contemporaries4 ,his method is peculiar 
to himself2 his is not the exulting mood
 of ,emerson1 or the defiant mood of    
,wasson2 it is purely poetic1           
imaginative4 ,the doctrine of the divine
 immanence is glorious in his eyes2 the 
faith in personal immortality is taken  
into the inner citadel of metaphysics1  
where ,parker seldom penetrated4  ,these
 men1 ,weiss and ,wasson and ,higginson1
 nursed in the transcendental school1   
thoroughly imbued with its principles1  
committed to them1 wedded to them by the

 conflicts they waged in their defence  
when they were assailed by literalists1 
dogmatists1 and formalists1 look out now
 upon the advancing ranks of the new    
materialism as the holders of a royal   
fortress looked out on a host of        
insurgents2 as the king and queen of    
,france looked out on the revolution    
from the palace at ,versailles3 the     
onset of the new era they instinctively 
dread1 feeling that dignity1            
princeliness1 and spiritual worth are at
 stake4 ,they will fight admirably to   
the last2 but should they be defeated1  
it is yet possible that the revolution  
may bring compensations to humanity1    
which will make good the overthrow of   
their diademed towers4  ,in these       
sketches of transcendental leaders--as  
in this study of the transcendental     
movement1--few have been included but   
those whom the intuitive philosophy drew
 away from their former church          
connections and gathered into a party by
 themselves--a party of protestants     

against literalism and formalism4 ,the  
transcendental philosophy in its main   
ideas1 was held by eminent orthodox     
divines who accepted it as entirely in  
accordance with the ,christian scheme1  
and used it in fact as an efficient     
support for the doctrines of the church4
 ,the most eminent divines of ,new      
,england did this1 and were considered  
entirely orthodox in doing it1 their    
,christian faith gaining warmth and     
color from the intuitive system4 ,as has
 already been said1 the ,trinitarian    
scheme has close affinities with        
,platonism4 ,but none of these men      
called themselves or were called        
,transcendentalists4 ,the               
,transcendentalist substituted the      
principles of his ,philosophy and the   
inferences therefrom for the creed of   
the church1 and became a separatist4    
,with him the soul superseded the       
church2 the revelations of the soul took
 the place of bible1 creed and          
priesthood4 ,the men that have been     

named all did this1 with the exception  
of ,james ,freeman ,clarke1 who adhered 
to the ministry and the church4 ,but his
 intimacy with the transcendental       
leaders1 and his cooperation with them  
in some of their most important works1  
to say nothing of the unique position   
his transcendental ideas compelled him  
to assume1 as well in ecclesiastical    
matters as in social reform1 entitle him
 to mention4 ,convers ,francis--parish  
minister at ,watertown from #ahai till  
#ahdb1 and ,parkman1 professor of       
,pulpit ,eloquence and the ,pastoral    
,care at ,cambridge from #ahdb till     
#ahfc--though never conspicuous either  
as preacher or minister1 and never      
recognized as a representative apostle1 
was influential as a believer in the    
spiritual philosophy1 among young men4  
,to him ,theodore ,parker acknowledged  
his debt2 to him successive classes of  
divinity students owed the stimulus and 
direction that carried them into the    
transcendental ranks2 ,johnson1         

,longfellow1 ,higginson were his pupils 
at ,cambridge1 and carried thence ideas 
which he had shaped if not originated4  
,in many things conservative1           
disagreeing on some points with         
,emerson1 whom he revered and loved as a
 man1 regretting much that seemed       
sarcastic1 arrogant1 derisive in        
,parker's ,discourse of ,religion1 he   
gave his full assent to the principles  
of the intuitive philosophy1 and used   
them as the pillars of ,christianity4   
,had he been as electric and penetrating
 as he was truthful and obedient1       
high-minded and sincere1 hearty and     
simple1 he would have been a force as   
well as an influence4 ,in #ahcf he      
foresaw the rupture between the ,old or 
,english school belonging to the sensual
 and empiric philosophy1--and the ,new  
or ,german school1 belonging to the     
spiritual philosophy1 and gave all his  
sympathy to the latter as having the    
most of truth4 ,he was the senior member
 of the ,transcendental ,club1 composed 

of the liberal thinkers who met to      
discuss literary and spiritual subjects 
on the ground of reason and the soul's  
intuitive perceptions4 ,with deep       
interest he followed the course of      
speculative and practical reform to the 
close of his life4 ,some1 of whom he was
 not one1 engaged in the discussions for
 a little while1 attended the meetings1 
and set forth bold opinions1 but retired
 within their close fellowships as soon 
as plans for propagandism or schemes of 
organization were proposed4 ,their      
sympathies were literary and within the 
recognized limits of literature2 but    
they had either too little courage of   
conviction1 or too little conviction1 to
 depart from accustomed ways or break   
with existing associations4 ,the number 
of professed transcendentalists in the  
restricted sense1 was never large1 and1 
after the first excitement1 did not     
greatly increase4 ,there was but one    
generation of them4 ,the genuine        
transcendentalists became so in their   

youth1 ripened into full conviction in  
middle life1 and1 as a rule1 continued  
so to old age4 ,the desertions from the 
faith were not many4 ,half a dozen      
perhaps became catholics2 as many became
 episcopalians2 but by far the greater  
part maintained their principles and    
remained serene dissenters1 in the      
world1 but not of it4                   
,transcendentalism was an episode in the
 intellectual life of ,new ,england2 an 
enthusiasm1 a wave of sentiment1 a      
breath of mind that caught up such as   
were prepared to receive it1 elated     
them1 transported them1 and passed      
on1--no man knowing whither it went4    
,its influence on thought and life was  
immediate and powerful4 ,religion felt  
it1 literature1 laws1 institutions4 ,to 
the social agitations of forty years ago
 it was invaluable as an inspiration4   
,the various reforms owed everything to 
it4 ,new ,england character received    
from it an impetus that never will be   
spent4 ,it made young men see visions   

and old men dream dreams4 ,there were   
mounts of ,transfiguration in those     
days1 upon which multitudes thought they
 communed visibly with lawgivers and    
prophets4 ,they could not stay there    
always1 but the memory will never cease 
to be glorious4 ,transcendentalism as a 
special phase of thought and feeling was
 of necessity transient--having done its
 work it terminated its existence4 ,but 
it did its work1 and its work was       
glorious4 ,even its failures were       
necessary as showing what could not be  
accomplished1 and its extravagances as  
defining the boundaries of wise         
experiment4 ,its successes amply        
redeemed them all1 and would have       
redeemed them had they been more glaring
 and grotesque4 ,had it bequeathed      
nothing more than the literature that   
sprung from it1 and the lives of the men
 and women who had their intellectual   
roots in it1 it would have conferred a  
lasting benefit on ,america4     ,,xv4  
,,literature4   ,a few words on the     

literary fruits of ,transcendentalism   
will fitly close this history4 ,to      
gather them all would be exceedingly    
difficult1 but that is not necessary1   
and will not be required4 ,the chief    
results have already been indicated4    
,the indirect influence may be left     
unestimated in detail4                  
,transcendentalism has more than        
justified itself in literature4 ,the ten
 volumes of ,emerson's writings1        
including the two volumes of poetry1 are
 a literature by themselves2 a classic  
literature that loses no charm by age1  
and which years prepare new multitudes  
of readers to enjoy4  ,the writings of  
,theodore ,parker contain much that     
entitles them to a permanent place in   
letters4 ,could they be sifted1         
compressed1 strained1 the incidental and
 personal portion discarded1 and the    
human alone preserved1 the remainder    
would interest1 for many years yet1 a   
numerous class of men4 ,in their present
 condition they are too diffuse1 as well

 as too voluminous and miscellaneous to 
be manageable4 ,the sermon style is     
unsuited to literature1 and ,parker's   
sermon style was especially so1 from its
 excessive redundancy4 ,he paid little  
heed to the literary laws in his        
compositions1 which were all designed   
for immediate effect4 ,aside from the   
fatal injury that the process must do to
 the intellectual harmony of the work1  
there is an objection to abbreviating   
and abstracting when an author does not 
perform the task for himself1 for no    
other is credited with ability or       
judgment to do it for him4 ,in ,parker's
 case the difficulty would be more than 
commonly great1 for the reason that it  
is not a question of omitting volumes1  
or even chapters1 but of straining the  
contents of pages1--boiling down masses 
of material1 till the spiritual residue 
alone is left4 ,there is no likelihood  
that such a task will ever be performed1
 and therefore his writings must be     
placed in the rank of occasional        

literature1 valuable for many days1 but 
not precious for generations4           
,brownson's writings were astonishingly 
able1 particularly his discussions in   
the ,boston ,quarterly ,review2 but     
their interest ceased with their        
occasion4 ,his philosophical pieces have
 no value4 ,they served polemically an  
incidental purpose1 but having no merit 
of idea or construction1 they perished4 
,the papers of ,mr4 ,alcott in ,tablets 
and ,concord ,days1 are thoughtful and  
quaint1 written with a lucid simplicity 
that will always possess a charm for a  
small class of people2 but they have not
 the breadth of humanity that commends  
writings to the general acceptance2 nor 
have they the raciness that makes books 
of their class spicy and aromatic to the
 literary epicures who never tire of    
,selden or ,sir ,thomas ,browne4  ,the  
writings of ,margaret ,fuller possess a 
lasting value1 and will continue to be  
read for their wit and wisdom1 when     
those of her more ambitious companions  

are forgotten4 ,for she treated         
ever-recurring themes in a living       
way--vigorous and original1 but human4  
,her taste was educated by study of the 
,greek classics1 and she had the        
appreciation of form that belongs to the
 literary order of mind4 ,her writings  
are not for those who read as they run1 
but for those who read for instruction  
and suggestion4 ,as the number of such  
increases1 it is not unreasonable to    
expect an increase in her audience4     
,with her1 thinking and talking were    
serious matters4 ,she discussed nothing 
in a spirit of frivolity2 her thoughts  
came from a penetrating1 and not from a 
merely acute mind2 the trains of        
reflection that she started are still in
 motion1 from the momentum she gave1 and
 the goal she aimed at is not yet       
discerned by professed disciples of her 
own ideas4  ,the ,dial is a treasury of 
literary wealth4 ,there are pieces in it
 of prose and verse that should not and 
will not be lost4 ,the character for    

oddity and extravagance which           
,transcendentalism bore in its day1 and 
has borne on the strength of tradition  
ever since1 would have to be borne no   
longer1 if the contents of that         
remarkable magazine could be submitted  
to the calmer judgment of to-day4 ,not  
that the sixteen rich numbers contain a 
great deal that would be pleasing to the
 hasty mental habit of this generation1 
but to the lovers of earnest thinking   
and eloquent writing they have the      
flavor of a choice intellectual vintage4
 ,it is the misfortune of periodical    
literature to be ephemeral4 ,the        
magazine sows1 but does not harvest4 ,it
 brings thoughts suddenly to the light1 
but buries them in season for the next  
issue1 which must have its turn to live4
 ,volumes that are compiled from        
magazines have lost their bloom4 ,the   
chapters have already discharged their  
virtue1 and spent their perfume on the  
air2 the smell of the old numbers clings
 to the pages1 which are not of to-day1 

but of the day before yesterday4 ,we    
call for living mind1 and fancy that    
butterflies1 because we see them        
fluttering in the garden1 are more alive
 than the phoenix that has risen        
unscathed from the ashes of consuming   
fires4  ,the thoughts of ,william ,henry
 ,channing1 though keen1 brilliant1 of  
great potency in their time1 and        
admirable in expression1 were addressed 
to the exigencies of the hour1 and      
absorbed by them4 ,such as were         
committed to paper in the ,harbinger1   
the ,spirit of the ,age1 and other      
periodicals1 will never be heard of     
again2 and such as were printed in books
 passed from memory with the themes he  
dealt with4 ,his biographical works     
deserve a place with the prominent      
contributions of that department4  ,the 
poetry of ,william ,ellery ,channing has
 a recognized place in ,american        
literature1 though much of it has       
disappeared4 ,dana's ,household ,book of
 ,poetry contains a single piece of his 

on ,death1 that is characterized by a   
depth of sentiment and a richness of    
expression1 which his more distinguished
 contemporary1 ,mr4 ,bryant1 does not   
surpass4 ,mr4 ,emerson's ,parnassus     
contains eight1 the last of which1      
entitled ,a ,poet's ,hope1 closes with  
the wonderful line--      ,if my bark   
sink1 'tis to another sea4  ,of         
,cranch's poems1 several have been      
adopted by collectors1--notably the     
lines--      ,thought is deeper than all
 speech--        ,feeling deeper than   
all thought2      ,soul to soul can     
never teach        ,what unto itself was
 taught4  ,weiss1 ,wasson1 and          
,higginson are true artists in letters4 
,the essays of the last named of the    
three are the best known1 partly by     
reason of their greater popularity of   
theme2 but ,mr4 ,wasson's discussions on
 ethical and philosophical subjects are 
distinguished by their luminous quality4
 ,except for the vein of                
unhopefulness--partly due to ill        

health--that pervades them1 the chill   
communicated by the regions he sails by1
 three or four of them would1 without   
hesitation1 be classed among the gems of
 speculative literature4 ,the best work 
of ,weiss1 his lectures on the ,greek   
,ideas for example1 stands apart by     
itself1 perhaps unrivalled as an attempt
 to unveil the glory of the ancient     
mythology4 ,the interpretation of       
religious symbols is his province1      
where1 by the power of sympathetic      
perception1--to use ,mr4 ,wasson's fine 
phrase--he penetrates the secret of     
mysteries1 and brings the soul of dark  
enigmas to the light2 and his beauty of 
expression more than restores to the    
imagination the splendors which the     
unpoetic interpreter reduces to         
meretricious fancy4  ,the influence of  
,transcendentalism on pulpit            
literature--if there be such a          
thing--has probably been sufficiently   
indicated2 but the privilege of printing
 a sermon of ,mr4 ,emerson's--the only  

one ever published1 the famous one1 that
 was the occasion of his leaving the    
ministry and adopting the profession of 
literature--affords opportunity for a   
special illustration4 ,the sermon--which
 is interesting in itself1 from the     
subject1 the occasion that called it    
forth1 the insight it gives into ,mr4   
,emerson's mind and character--is       
interesting as an example of the method 
and spirit which ,transcendentalism     
introduced into discussions that are    
usually dry and often angry4       ,the 
,kingdom of ,god is not meat and drink1 
but righteousness1 and      peace1 and  
joy in the ,holy ,ghost4--,,romans      
,,xiv4 #ag4  ,in the history of the     
,church no subject has been more        
fruitful of controversy than the ,lord's
 ,supper4 ,there never has been any     
unanimity in the understanding of its   
nature1 nor any uniformity in the mode  
of celebrating it4 ,without considering 
the frivolous questions which have been 
lately debated as to the posture in     

which men should partake of it2 whether 
mixed or unmixed wine should be served2 
whether leavened or unleavened bread    
should be broken2 the questions have    
been settled differently in every       
church1 who should be admitted to the   
feast1 and how often it should be       
prepared4 ,in the ,catholic ,church1    
infants were at one time permitted and  
then forbidden to partake2 and1 since   
the ninth century1 the laity receive the
 bread only1 the cup being reserved to  
the priesthood4 ,so1 as to the time of  
the solemnity4 ,in the fourth ,lateran  
,council1 it was decreed that any       
believer should communicate at least    
once in a year--at ,easter4 ,afterwards 
it was determined that this ,sacrament  
should be received three times in the   
year--at ,easter1 ,whitsuntide1 and     
,christmas4 ,but more important         
controversies have arisen respecting its
 nature4 ,the famous question of the    
,real ,presence was the main controversy
 between the ,church of ,england and the

 ,church of ,rome4 ,the doctrine of the 
,consubstantiation taught by ,luther was
 denied by ,calvin4 ,in the ,church of  
,england1 ,archbishops ,laud and ,wake  
maintained that the elements were an    
,eucharist or sacrifice of ,thanksgiving
 to ,god2 ,cudworth and ,warburton1 that
 this was not a sacrifice1 but a        
sacrificial feast2 and ,bishop ,hoadley1
 that it was neither a sacrifice nor a  
feast after sacrifice1 but a simple     
commemoration4 ,and finally1 it is now  
near two hundred years since the        
,society of ,quakers denied the         
authority of the rite altogether1 and   
gave good reasons for disusing it4  ,i  
allude to these facts only to show that1
 so far from the supper being a         
tradition in which men are fully agreed1
 there has always been the widest room  
for difference of opinion upon this     
particular4  ,having recently given     
particular attention to this subject1 ,i
 was led to the conclusion that ,jesus  
did not intend to establish an          

institution for perpetual observance    
when he ate the ,passover with his      
disciples2 and1 further1 to the opinion1
 that it is not expedient to celebrate  
it as we do4 ,i shall now endeavor to   
state distinctly my reasons for these   
two opinions4  ,i4 ,the authority of the
 rite4  ,an account of the last supper  
of ,christ with his disciples is given  
by the four ,evangelists1 ,matthew1     
,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john4  ,in ,st4      
,matthew's ,gospel 7,matt4 ,,xxvi4      
#bf-cj7 are recorded the words of ,jesus
 in giving bread and wine on that       
occasion to his disciples1 but no       
expression occurs intimating that this  
feast was hereafter to be commemorated4 
,in ,st4 ,mark 7,mark ,,xiv4 #bc7 the   
same words are recorded1 and still with 
no intimation that the occasion was to  
be remembered4  ,st4 ,luke 7,luke       
,,xxii4 #ae71 after relating the        
breaking of the bread1 has these words3 
,this do in remembrance of me4  ,in ,st4
 ,john1 although other occurrences of   

the same evening are related1 this whole
 transaction is passed over without     
notice4  ,now observe the facts4 ,two of
 the ,evangelists1 namely1 ,matthew and 
,john1 were of the twelve disciples1 and
 were present on that occasion4 ,neither
 of them drops the slightest intimation 
of any intention on the part of ,jesus  
to set up anything permanent4 ,john1    
especially1 the beloved disciple1 who   
has recorded with minuteness the        
conversation and the transactions of    
that memorable evening1 has quite       
omitted such a notice4 ,neither does it 
appear to have come to the knowledge of 
,mark who1 though not an eye-witness1   
relates the other facts4 ,this material 
fact1 that the occasion was to be       
remembered1 is found in ,luke alone1 who
 was not present4 ,there is no reason1  
however1 that we know1 for rejecting the
 account of ,luke4 ,i doubt not1 the    
expression was used by ,jesus4 ,i shall 
presently consider its meaning4 ,i have 
only brought these accounts together1   

that you may judge whether it is likely 
that a solemn institution1 to be        
continued to the end of time by all     
mankind1 as they should come1 nation    
after nation1 within the influence of   
the ,christian religion1 would have been
 established in this slight manner in a 
manner so slight1 that the intention of 
commemorating it should not appear1 from
 their narrative1 to have caught the ear
 or dwelt in the mind of the only two   
among the twelve who wrote down what    
happened4  ,still we must suppose that  
the expression1 ,this do in remembrance 
of me1 had come to the ear of ,luke from
 some disciple who was present4 ,what   
did it really signify8 ,it is a         
prophetic and an affectionate           
expression4 ,jesus is a ,jew1 sitting   
with his countrymen1 celebrating their  
national feast4 ,he thinks of his own   
impending death1 and wishes the minds of
 his disciples to be prepared for it4   
,when hereafter1 he says to them1 you   
shall keep the ,passover1 it will have  

an altered aspect to your eyes4 ,it is  
now a historical covenant of ,god with  
the ,jewish nation4 ,hereafter1 it will 
remind you of a new covenant sealed with
 my blood4 ,in years to come1 as long as
 your people shall come up to ,jerusalem
 to keep this feast1 the connection     
which has subsisted between us will give
 a new meaning in your eyes to the      
national festival1 as the anniversary of
 my death4 ,i see natural feeling and   
beauty in the use of such language from 
,jesus1 a friend to his friends2 ,i can 
readily imagine that he was willing and 
desirous1 when his disciples met1 his   
memory should hallow their intercourse2 
but ,i cannot bring myself to believe   
that in the use of such an expression he
 looked beyond the living generation1   
beyond the abolition of the festival he 
was celebrating1 and the scattering of  
the nation1 and meant to impose a       
memorial feast upon the whole world4    
,without presuming to fix precisely the 
purpose in the mind of ,jesus1 you will 

see that many opinions may be           
entertained of his intention1 all       
consistent with the opinion that he did 
not design a perpetual ordinance4 ,he   
may have foreseen that his disciples    
would meet to remember him1 and that    
with good effect4 ,it may have crossed  
his mind that this would be easily      
continued a hundred or a thousand       
years--as men more easily transmit a    
form than a virtue--and yet have been   
altogether out of his purpose to fasten 
it upon men in all times and all        
countries4  ,but though the words1 ,do  
this in remembrance of me1 do not occur 
in ,matthew1 ,mark1 or ,john1 and       
although it should be granted us that1  
taken alone1 they do not necessarily    
import so much as is usually thought1   
yet many persons are apt to imagine that
 the very striking and personal manner  
in which this eating and drinking is    
described1 indicates a striking and     
formal purpose to found a festival4 ,and
 ,i admit that this impression might    

probably be left upon the mind of one   
who read only the passages under        
consideration in the ,new ,testament4   
,but this impression is removed by      
reading any narrative of the mode in    
which the ancient or the modern ,jews   
have kept the ,passover4 ,it is then    
perceived that the leading circumstances
 in the ,gospels are only a faithful    
account of that ceremony4 ,jesus did not
 celebrate the ,passover1 and afterwards
 the ,supper1 but the ,supper was the   
,passover4 ,he did with his disciples   
exactly what every master of a family in
 ,jerusalem was doing at the same hour  
with his household4 ,it appears that the
 ,jews ate the lamb and the unleavened  
bread1 and drank wine after a prescribed
 manner4 ,it was the custom for the     
master of the feast to break the bread  
and to bless it1 using this formula1    
which the ,talmudists have preserved to 
us1 ,blessed be ,thou1 ,o ,lord our     
,god1 the ,king of the world1 who hast  
produced this food from the earth1--and 

to give it to every one at the table4   
,it was the custom of the master of the 
family to take the cup which contained  
the wine1 and to bless it1 saying1      
,blessed be ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 who givest 
us the fruit of the vine1--and then to  
give the cup to all4 ,among the modern  
,jews who in their dispersion retain the
 ,passover1 a hymn is also sung after   
this ceremony1 specifying the twelve    
great works done by ,god for the        
deliverance of their fathers out of     
,egypt4  ,but still it may be asked1 why
 did ,jesus make expressions so         
extraordinary and emphatic as           
these--,this is my body which is broken 
for you4 ,take2 eat4 ,this is my blood  
which is shed for you4 ,drink it4--,i   
reply they are not extraordinary        
expressions from him4 ,they were        
familiar in his mouth4 ,he always taught
 by parables and symbols4 ,it was the   
national way of teaching and was largely
 used by him4 ,remember the readiness   
which he always showed to spiritualize  

every occurrence4 ,he stooped and wrote 
on the sand4 ,he admonished his         
disciples respecting the leaven of the  
,pharisees4 ,he instructed the woman of 
,samaria respecting living water4 ,he   
permitted himself to be anointed1       
declaring that it was for his interment4
 ,he washed the feet of his disciples4  
,these are admitted to be symbolical    
actions and expressions4 ,here1 in like 
manner1 he calls the bread his body1 and
 bids the disciples eat4 ,he had used   
the same expression repeatedly before4  
,the reason why ,st4 ,john does not     
repeat his words on this occasion1 seems
 to be that he had reported a similar   
discourse of ,jesus to the people of    
,capernaum more at length already 7,john
 ,,vi4 #bg74 ,he there tells the ,jews1 
,except ye eat the flesh of the ,son of 
,man and drink ,his blood1 ye have no   
life in you4 ,and when the ,jews on that
 occasion complained that they did not  
comprehend what he meant1 he added for  
their better understanding1 and as if   

for our understanding1 that we might not
 think his body was to be actually      
eaten1 that he only meant1 we should    
live by his commandment4 ,he closed his 
discourse with these explanatory        
expressions3 ,the flesh profiteth       
nothing2 the words that ,i speak to you1
 they are spirit and they are life4     
,whilst ,i am upon this topic1 ,i cannot
 help remarking that it is not a little 
singular that we should have preserved  
this rite and insisted upon perpetuating
 one symbolical act of ,christ whilst we
 have totally neglected all             
others--particularly one other which had
 at least an equal claim to our         
observance4 ,jesus washed the feet of   
his disciples and told them that1 as he 
had washed their feet1 they ought to    
wash one another's feet2 for he had     
given them an example1 that they should 
do as he had done to them4 ,i ask any   
person who believes the ,supper to have 
been designed by ,jesus to be           
commemorated forever1 to go and read the

 account of it in the other ,gospels1   
and then compare with it the account of 
this transaction in ,st4 ,john1 and tell
 me if this be not much more explicitly 
authorized than the ,supper4 ,it only   
differs in this1 that we have found the 
,supper used in ,new ,england and the   
washing of the feet not4 ,but if we had 
found it an established rite in our     
churches1 on grounds of mere authority1 
it would have been impossible to have   
argued against it4 ,that rite is used by
 the ,church of ,rome1 and by the       
,sandemanians4 ,it has been very        
properly dropped by other ,christians4  
,why8 ,for two reasons3 7#a7 because it 
was a local custom1 and unsuitable in   
western countries2 and 7#b7 because it  
was typical1 and all understand that    
humility is the thing signified4 ,but   
the ,passover was local too1 and does   
not concern us1 and its bread and wine  
were typical1 and do not help us to     
understand the redemption which they    
signified4  ,these views of the original

 account of the ,lord's ,supper lead me 
to esteem it an occasion full of solemn 
and prophetic interest1 but never       
intended by ,jesus to be the foundation 
of a perpetual institution4  ,it appears
 however in ,christian history that the 
disciples had very early taken advantage
 of these impressive words of ,christ to
 hold religious meetings1 where they    
broke bread and drank wine as symbols4  
,i look upon this fact as very natural  
in the circumstances of the church4 ,the
 disciples lived together2 they threw   
all their property into a common stock2 
they were bound together by the memory  
of ,christ1 and nothing could be more   
natural than that this eventful evening 
should be affectionately remembered by  
them2 that they1 ,jews like ,jesus1     
should adopt his expressions and his    
types1 and furthermore1 that what was   
done with peculiar propriety by them1   
his personal friends1 with less         
propriety should come to be extended to 
their companions also4 ,in this way     

religious feasts grew up among the early
 ,christians4 ,they were readily adopted
 by the ,jewish converts who were       
familiar with religious feasts1 and also
 by the ,pagan converts whose idolatrous
 worship had been made up of sacred     
festivals1 and who very readily abused  
these to gross riot1 as appears from the
 censures of ,st4 ,paul4 ,many persons  
consider this fact1 the observance of   
such a memorial feast by the early      
disciples1 decisive of the question     
whether it ought to be observed by us4  
,for my part ,i see nothing to wonder at
 in its originating with them2 all that 
is surprising is that it should exist   
among us4 ,there was good reason for his
 personal friends to remember their     
friend and repeat his words4 ,it was    
only too probable that among the half   
converted ,pagans and ,jews1 any rite1  
any form1 would find favor1 whilst yet  
unable to comprehend the spiritual      
character of ,christianity4  ,the       
circumstance1 however1 that ,st4 ,paul  

adopts these views1 has seemed to many  
persons conclusive in favor of the      
institution4 ,i am of opinion that it is
 wholly upon the epistle to the         
,corinthians1 and not upon the ,gospels1
 that the ordinance stands4 ,upon this  
matter of ,st4 ,paul's view of the      
,supper1 a few important considerations 
must be stated4  ,the end which he has  
in view1 in the eleventh chapter of the 
first epistle is1 not to enjoin upon his
 friends to observe the ,supper1 but to 
censure their abuse of it4 ,we quote the
 passage now-a-days as if it enjoined   
attendance upon the ,supper2 but he     
wrote it merely to chide them for       
drunkenness4 ,to make their enormity    
plainer he goes back to the origin of   
this religious feast to show what sort  
of feast that was1 out of which this    
riot of theirs came1 and so relates the 
transactions of the ,last ,supper4 ,i   
have received of the ,lord1 he says1    
that which ,i delivered to you4 ,by this
 expression it is often thought that a  

miraculous communication is implied2 but
 certainly without good reason1 if it is
 remembered that ,st4 ,paul was living  
in the lifetime of all the apostles who 
could give him an account of the        
transaction2 and it is contrary to all  
reason to suppose that ,god should work 
a miracle to convey information that    
could so easily be got by natural means4
 ,so that the import of the expression  
is that he had received the story of an 
eye-witness such as we also possess4    
,but there is a material circumstance   
which diminishes our confidence in the  
correctness of the ,apostle's view2 and 
that is1 the observation that his mind  
had not escaped the prevalent error of  
the primitive church1 the belief1       
namely1 that the second coming of       
,christ would shortly occur1 until which
 time1 he tells them1 this feast was to 
be kept4 ,elsewhere he tells them1 that1
 at that time the world would be burnt  
up with fire1 and a new government      
established1 in which the ,saints would 

sit on thrones2 so slow were the        
disciples during the life1 and after the
 ascension of ,christ1 to receive the   
idea which we receive1 that his second  
coming was a spiritual kingdom1 the     
dominion of his religion in the hearts  
of men1 to be extended gradually over   
the whole world4  ,in this manner we may
 see clearly enough how this ancient    
ordinance got its footing among the     
early ,christians1 and this single      
expectation of a speedy reappearance of 
a temporal ,messiah1 which kept its     
influence even over so spiritual a man  
as ,st4 ,paul1 would naturally tend to  
preserve the use of the rite when once  
established4  ,we arrive then at this   
conclusion1 first1 that it does not     
appear1 from a careful examination of   
the account of the ,last ,supper in the 
,evangelists1 that it was designed by   
,jesus to be perpetual2 secondly1 that  
it does not appear that the opinion of  
,st4 ,paul1 all things considered1 ought
 to alter our opinion derived from the  

evangelists4  ,one general remark before
 quitting this branch of the subject4   
,we ought to be cautious in taking even 
the best ascertained opinions and       
practices of the primitive church1 for  
our own4 ,if it could be satisfactorily 
shown that they esteemed it authorized  
and to be transmitted forever1 that does
 not settle the question for us4 ,we    
know how inveterately they were attached
 to their ,jewish prejudices1 and how   
often even the influence of ,christ     
failed to enlarge their views4 ,on every
 other subject succeeding times have    
learned to form a judgment more in      
accordance with the spirit of           
,christianity than was the practice of  
the early ages4  ,but it is said3 ,admit
 that the rite was not designed to be   
perpetual4 ,what harm doth it8 ,here it 
stands1 generally accepted1 under some  
form1 by the ,christian world1 the      
undoubted occasion of much good2 is it  
not better it should remain8  ,,ii4     
,this is the question of expediency4  ,i

 proceed to state a few objections that 
in my judgment lie against its use in   
its present form4  #a4 ,if the view     
which ,i have taken of the history of   
the institution be correct1 then the    
claim of authority should be dropped in 
administering it4 ,you say1 every time  
you celebrate the rite1 that ,jesus     
enjoined it2 and the whole language you 
use conveys that impression4 ,but if you
 read the ,new ,testament as ,i do1 you 
do not believe he did4  #b4 ,it has     
seemed to me that the use of this       
ordinance tends to produce confusion in 
our views of the relation of the soul to
 ,god4 ,it is the old objection to the  
doctrine of the ,trinity1--that the true
 worship was transferred from ,god to   
,christ1 or that such confusion was     
introduced into the soul1 that an       
undivided worship was given nowhere4 ,is
 not that the effect of the ,lord's     
,supper8 ,i appeal now to the           
convictions of communicants--and ask    
such persons whether they have not been 

occasionally conscious of a painful     
confusion of thought between the worship
 due to ,god and the commemoration due  
to ,christ4 ,for1 the service does not  
stand upon the basis of a voluntary act1
 but is imposed by authority4 ,it is an 
expression of gratitude to ,christ1     
enjoined by ,christ4 ,there is an       
endeavor to keep ,jesus in mind1 whilst 
yet the prayers are addressed to ,god4  
,i fear it is the effect of this        
ordinance to clothe ,jesus with an      
authority which he never claimed and    
which distracts the mind of the         
worshipper4 ,i know our opinions differ 
much respecting the nature and offices  
of ,christ1 and the degree of veneration
 to which he is entitled4 ,i am so much 
a ,unitarian as this3 that ,i believe   
the human mind cannot admit but one     
,god1 and that every effort to pay      
religious homage to more than one being1
 goes to take away all right ideas4 ,i  
appeal1 brethren1 to your individual    
experience4 ,in the moment when you make

 the least petition to ,god1 though it  
be but a silent wish that he may approve
 you1 or add one moment to your         
life1--do you not1 in the very act1     
necessarily exclude all other beings    
from your thought8 ,in that act1 the    
soul stands alone with ,god1 and ,jesus 
is no more present to the mind than your
 brother or your child4  ,but is not    
,jesus called in ,scripture the         
,mediator8 ,he is the mediator in that  
only sense in which possibly any being  
can mediate between ,god and man--that  
is an ,instructor of man4 ,he teaches us
 how to become like ,god4 ,and a true   
disciple of ,jesus will receive the     
light he gives most thankfully2 but the 
thanks he offers1 and which an exalted  
being will accept1 are not              
compliments--commemorations1--but the   
use of that instruction4  #c4 ,passing  
other objections1 ,i come to this1 that 
the use of the elements1 however        
suitable to the people and the modes of 
thought in the ,east1 where it          

originated1 is foreign and unsuited to  
affect us4 ,whatever long usage and     
strong association may have done in some
 individuals to deaden this repulsion1  
,i apprehend that their use is rather   
tolerated than loved by any of us4 ,we  
are not accustomed to express our       
thoughts or emotions by symbolical      
actions4 ,most men find the bread and   
wine no aid to devotion and to some1 it 
is a painful impediment4 ,to eat bread  
is one thing2 to love the precepts of   
,christ and resolve to obey them is     
quite another4  ,the statement of this  
objection leads me to say that ,i think 
this difficulty1 wherever it is felt1 to
 be entitled to the greatest weight4 ,it
 is alone a sufficient objection to the 
ordinance4 ,it is my own objection4     
,this mode of commemorating ,christ is  
not suitable to me4 ,that is reason     
enough why ,i should abandon it4 ,if ,i 
believed that it was enjoined by ,jesus 
on his disciples1 and that he even      
contemplated making permanent this mode 

of commemoration1 every way agreeable to
 an eastern mind1 and yet1 on trial1 it 
was disagreeable to my own feelings1 ,i 
should not adopt it4 ,i should choose   
other ways which1 as more effectual upon
 me1 he would approve more4 ,for ,i     
choose that my remembrances of him      
should be pleasing1 affecting1          
religious4 ,i will love him as a        
glorified friend1 after the free way of 
friendship1 and not pay him a stiff sign
 of respect1 as men do to those whom    
they fear4 ,a passage read from his     
discourses1 a moving provocation to     
works like his1 any act or meeting which
 tends to awaken a pure thought1 a flow 
of love1 an original design of virtue1  
,i call a worthy1 a true commemoration4 
#d4 ,fourthly1 the importance ascribed  
to this particular ordinance is not     
consistent with the spirit of           
,christianity4 ,the general object and  
effect of this ordinance is             
unexceptionable4 ,it has been1 and is1  
,i doubt not1 the occasion of indefinite

 good2 but an importance is given by    
,christians to it which never can belong
 to any form4 ,my friends1 the apostle  
well assures us that the kingdom of ,god
 is not meat and drink1 but             
righteousness and peace and joy1 in the 
,holy ,ghost4 ,i am not so foolish as to
 declaim against forms4 ,forms are as   
essential as bodies2 but to exalt       
particular forms1 to adhere to one form 
a moment after it is out-grown1 is      
unreasonable1 and it is alien to the    
spirit of ,christ4 ,if ,i understand the
 distinction of ,christianity1 the      
reason why it is to be preferred over   
all other systems and is divine is this1
 that it is a moral system2 that it     
presents men with truths which are their
 own reason1 and enjoins practices that 
are their own justification2 that if    
miracles may be said to have been its   
evidence to the first ,christians1 they 
are not its evidence to us1 but the     
doctrines themselves2 that every        
practice is ,christian which praises    

itself1 and every practice unchristian  
which condemns itself4 ,i am not engaged
 to ,christianity by decent forms1 or   
saving ordinances2 it is not usage1 it  
is not what ,i do not understand1 that  
binds me to it--let these be the sandy  
foundations of falsehoods4 ,what ,i     
revere and obey in it is its reality1   
its boundless charity1 its deep interior
 life1 the rest it gives to my mind1 the
 echo it returns to my thoughts1 the    
perfect accord it makes with my reason  
through all its representation of ,god  
and ,his ,providence2 and the persuasion
 and courage that come out thence to    
lead me upward and onward4 ,freedom is  
the essence of this faith4 ,it has for  
its object simply to make men good and  
wise4 ,its institutions1 then1 should be
 as flexible as the wants of men4 ,that 
form out of which the life and          
suitableness have departed1 should be as
 worthless in its eyes as the dead      
leaves that are falling around us4  ,and
 therefore1 although for the            

satisfaction of others1 ,i have labored 
to show by the history that this rite   
was not intended to be perpetual2       
although ,i have gone back to weigh the 
expressions of ,paul1 ,i feel that here 
is the true point of view4 ,in the midst
 of considerations as to what ,paul     
thought1 and why he so thought1 ,i      
cannot help feeling that it is time     
misspent to argue to or from his        
convictions1 or those of ,luke and      
,john1 respecting any form4 ,i seem to  
lose the substance in seeking the       
shadow4 ,that for which ,paul lived and 
died so gloriously2 that for which      
,jesus gave himself to be crucified2 the
 end that animated the thousand martyrs 
and heroes who have followed his steps1 
was to redeem us from a formal religion1
 and teach us to seek our well-being in 
the formation of the soul4 ,the whole   
world was full of idols and ordinances4 
,the ,jewish was a religion of forms4   
,the ,pagan was a religion of forms2 it 
was all body--it had no life--and the   

,almighty ,god was pleased to qualify   
and send forth a man to teach men that  
they must serve him with the heart2 that
 only that life was religious which was 
thoroughly good2 that sacrifice was     
smoke1 and forms were shadows4 ,this man
 lived and died true to this purpose2   
and now1 with his blessed word and life 
before us1 ,christians must contend that
 it is a matter of vital                
importance--really a duty1 to           
commemorate him by a certain form1      
whether that form be agreeable to their 
understandings or not4  ,is not this to 
make vain the gift of ,god8 ,is not this
 to turn back the hand on the dial8 ,is 
not this to make men--to make           
ourselves--forget that not forms1 but   
duties2 not names1 but righteousness and
 love are enjoined2 and that in the eye 
of ,god there is no other measure of the
 value of any one form than the measure 
of its use8  ,there remain some         
practical objections to the ordinance   
into which ,i shall not now enter4      

,there is one on which ,i had intended  
to say a few words2 ,i mean the         
unfavorable relation in which it places 
that numerous class of persons who      
abstain from it merely from             
disinclination to the rite4  ,influenced
 by these considerations1 ,i have       
proposed to the brethren of the ,church 
to drop the use of the elements and the 
claim of authority in the administration
 of this ordinance1 and have suggested a
 mode in which a meeting for the same   
purpose might be held free of objection4
  ,my brethren have considered my views 
with patience and candor1 and have      
recommended unanimously an adherence to 
the present form4 ,i have1 therefore1   
been compelled to consider whether it   
becomes me to administer it4 ,i am      
clearly of opinion ,i ought not4 ,this  
discourse has already been so far       
extended1 that ,i can only say that the 
reason of my determination is shortly   
this3--,it is my desire1 in the office  
of a ,christian minister1 to do nothing 

which ,i cannot do with my whole heart4 
,having said this1 ,i have said all4 ,i 
have no hostility to this institution2  
,i am only stating my want of sympathy  
with it4 ,neither should ,i ever have   
obtruded this opinion upon other people1
 had ,i not been called by my office to 
administer it4 ,that is the end of my   
opposition1 that ,i am not interested in
 it4 ,i am content that it stand to the 
end of the world1 if it please men and  
please heaven1 and ,i shall rejoice in  
all the good it produces4  ,as it is the
 prevailing opinion and feeling in our  
religious community1 that it is an      
indispensable part of the pastoral      
office to administer this ordinance1 ,i 
am about to resign into your hands that 
office which you have confided to me4   
,it has many duties for which ,i am     
feebly qualified4 ,it has some which it 
will always be my delight to discharge1 
according to my ability1 wherever ,i    
exist4 ,and whilst the recollection of  
its claims oppresses me with a sense of 

my unworthiness1 ,i am consoled by the  
hope that no time and no change can     
deprive me of the satisfaction of       
pursuing and exercising its highest     
functions4  ,september #i1 #ahcb4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,the influence of ,transcendentalism on 
general literature can be only indicated
 in loose terms4 ,its current was so    
strong1 that like the ,orinoco rushing  
down between the ,south ,american       
continent and the island of ,trinidad1  
it made a bright green trail upon the   
dark sea into which it poured1 but the  
vehemence of the flood forbade its      
diffusion4 ,the influence was chiefly   
felt on the departments of philosophy   
and ethics4 ,it created the turbulent   
literature of reform1 the literature    
born of the ,enthusiasm of ,humanity1   
the waves whereof are still rolling1    
though not with their original force4   
,the literature of politics was         
profoundly affected by it2 the political
 radicals1 philosophical democrats1     

anti-slavery whigs or republicans1      
enthusiasts for ,american ideas1        
prophets of ,america's destiny1 being1  
more or less wittingly1 controlled by   
its ideas4 ,in this department ,parker  
made himself felt1 not on the popular   
mind alone1 but on the recognized       
leaders of opinion ,east and ,west4 ,the
 writings of ,sumner and his school owe 
their vigor to these ideas4 ,in history 
,bancroft was its great representative1 
his earliest volumes especially         
revealing in the richness1 depth1 and   
hopefulness of their interpretations of 
men and measures1 the faith in humanity 
so strongly characteristic of the       
philosophy he professed4  ,in poetry the
 influence is distinctly traceable1     
though here also it was confined within 
somewhat narrow limits4 ,bryant betrays 
scarcely perceptible marks of it1 though
 he ascribed to ,wordsworth a fresh     
inspiration of love for nature4 ,it is  
hardly perceptible in ,longfellow1 whose
 verse1 bubbling from the heart1 gently 

meanders over the meadows and through   
the villages1 gladdening daily existence
 with its music4 ,neither ,bryant nor   
,longfellow had the intellectual passion
 that ,transcendentalism roused4 ,the   
earlier pieces of ,lowell1 the          
anti-slavery lyrics and poems of        
sentiment1 were inspired by it4         
,whittier was wholly under its sway4    
,the delicious sonnets of ,jones ,very  
were oozings from its spring4 ,julia    
,ward ,howe's ,passion ,flowers1 though 
published as late as #ahed1 burn and    
throb with feeling that had its source  
in these heights4  ,the writers of      
elegant literature1 essays1 romances1   
tales1 owed to ,transcendentalism but a 
trifling debt1 not worth acknowledging4 
,they were out of range4 ,it was their  
task to entertain people of leisure1 and
 they derived their impulse from the    
pleasure their writings gave them or    
others4 ,it was not to be expected that 
authors like ,irving1 ,paulding1        
,cooper1 would feel an interest in ideas

 so grave and earnest1 or would catch a 
suggestion from them4 ,but ,lydia ,maria
 ,child1 whose ,letters from ,new       
,york--#ahda1 #ahdc--were models in     
their kind2 whose stories for young     
people have not been surpassed by those 
of any writer1 except ,andersen2 whose  
more labored works have a quality that  
entitles them to a high place among the 
products of mind1 is a devotee of the   
transcendental faith4 ,a very remarkable
 book in the department of fiction was  
,sylvester ,judd's ,margaret2 a tale of 
the ,real and the ,ideal2 ,blight and   
,bloom4 ,it contained the material for  
half a dozen ordinary novels2 was full  
of imagination1 aromatic1 poetical1     
picturesque1 tender1 and in the dress of
 fiction set forth the whole gospel of  
,transcendentalism in religion1         
politics1 reform1 social ethics1        
personal character1 professional and    
private life4  ,as has been already     
remarked1 the transcendental faith found
 expression in magazines and newspapers1

 which it called into existence1 and    
which no longer survive4 ,its elaborate 
compositions were1 from the nature of   
the case1 few2 its intellectual         
occupancy was too brief for the creation
 of a permanent literature4 ,had        
,transcendentalism been chiefly         
remarkable as a literary curiosity1 the 
neglect of the smallest scrap of paper  
it caused to be marked with ink would be
 culpable4 ,as it was1 primarily and to 
the end1 an intellectual episode1       
turning on a few cardinal ideas1 it is  
best studied in the writings and lives  
of its disciples4 ,they knew better than
 any body what they wanted2 they were   
best acquainted with their own ideas1   
and should be permitted to speak for    
themselves4 ,earnest men and women no   
doubt they were2 better educated men and
 women did not live in ,america2 they   
were well born1 well nurtured1 well     
endowed4 ,their generation produced no  
warmer hearts1 no purer spirits1 no more
 ardent consciences1 no more devoted    

wills4 ,their philosophy may be unsound1
 but it produced noble characters and   
humane lives4 ,the philosophy that takes
 its place may rest on more scientific  
foundations2 it will not more completely
 justify its existence or honor its day4
   ,,the ,,end4     ,,index4     ,a4    
,alcott1 ,bronson1 contributes to ,the  
,dial1 #acc2     on the transcendental  
philosophy1 tribute to ,emerson quoted1 
#bdf2     the mystic1 #bdi2     a       
follower of ,pythagoras1 #bea2          
,concord ,days quoted1 #bee2     a      
leader of the transcendentalists1 #beg2 
school in ,cheshire1 ,conn41 #bfb2      
school in ,england named for1 #bfg2     
presides at reform meetings in ,england1
 #bgb2     superintendent of schools1   
#bge2     his conversations1 #bhc2      
writings of1 #ceh4    ,alcott1 ,wm4 ,a41
 writes on physical training1 #bfb4     
,alexandria1 school of1 #fa4            
,american ,unitarian ,association1 tract
 published by1 #abj4    ,aristotle1     
categories of1 #aaa4    ,arius1 advocate

 of ,unitarian philosophy1 #aji4     ,b4
    ,bacon1 ,lord ,francis1 ,macaulay on
 his philosophy1 #aci4    ,bain1        
principles of the sensational philosophy
 stated by1 #bje4    ,bancroft1 ,george1
 his account of ,herder1 #dg2           
,history of the ,united ,states quoted1 
#aag2     champion of the spiritual     
philosophy1 #aag1 #aah2     traces of   
transcendentalism in his historical     
writings1 #cha4    ,barni1 ,jules1      
translates ,kant into ,french1 #fa4     
,bartol1 ,c4 ,a41 belongs to the        
transcendental school1 #cda4    ,baur1  
follower of the ,hegelian ideas1 #ahf4  
,biblical repository1 articles on       
transcendentalism in1 #acg4             
,bibliotheca ,sacra1 article on         
transcendentalism in1 #ib4              
,biographia ,literaria1 of ,coleridge1  
quoted1 #hb2     criticised by          
,edinburgh ,review1 #ia2                
,wordsworth's poetry considered in1 #ig4
    ,blithedale ,romance1 published by  
,hawthorne1 #age4    ,blodgett1 ,levi1  

nom de plume of ,theodore ,parker1 #abe4
    ,boehme1 ,jacob1 doctrine of1 #beg4 
,boston ,quarterly ,review started by   
,o4 ,a4 ,brownson1 #abh4    ,bouillet   
translates ,plotinus1 #fa4    ,brisbane1
 ,albert1 disciple of ,fourier1 #aef4   
,brook ,farm1 the experiment at1 #aeg2  
constitution quoted1 #aei2     mode of  
life there1 #afd-afi2     breaking up of
 the society1 #agj4    ,brooks1 ,c4 ,t41
 makes translations from ,german        
authors1 #ef2     ,german lyrics        
translated by1 #aaf4    ,brownson1      
,orestes ,a41 description of1 #abh2     
converted to ,romanism1 #aca2           
writings1 #ceh4    ,bruno1 ,giordano1   
founder of the ,dynamic ,system1 #ha4   
,bryant1 ,wm4 ,c41 transcendental spirit
 not found in his writings1 #cha4       
,butler fights against infidelity in his
 ,analogy1 #ahe4     ,c4    ,cabanis1   
philosophy of1 #fc2     skeptic of the  
#ahth century1 #ahg4    ,cabot1 ,eliot1 
contributes to ,the ,dial1 #acc4        
,calvin1 denies doctrine of             

consubstantiation1 #cfd4    ,cambridge  
,divinity ,school1 address before1 by   
,james ,walker1 #aba-abc4    ,carlyle1  
,thomas1 interprets the ,german         
thinkers1 #eb2     quoted1 #eb2         
translates ,wilhelm ,meister1 #ef2      
opinion of ,coleridge quoted1 #gg-ib2   
change in his mode of thought1 #id2     
the preacher of transcendentalism1 #ajc2
     articles on ,richter and ,german   
literature1 #aaf4    ,chalybaeus1 his   
verdict on ,jacobi quoted1 #be4         
,channing1 ,dr4 ,william1 not a         
transcendentalist in theory1 #aaa2      
feeling toward ,christ1 #aaa2           
letters of1 quoted1 #aab2               
transcendentalist in sentiment1 #aac2   
quoted1 #aac2     contributes to ,the   
,dial1 #acc2     tribute to ,alcott1    
#bei2     judgment of ,margaret ,fuller1
 #bic2     writings of1 #cej4           
,channing1 ,william ,ellery1 writings   
of1 #cdj4    ,channing1 ,wm4 ,h41       
version of ,jouffroy published1 #aaf2   
contributes to ,the ,dial1 #acc2        

writes on social topics1 #ccj2     works
 of1 #ccf2     as an orator1 #cch2      
writings of1 #cfj4    ,chapin1 ,e4 ,h41 
speaks against capital punishment1 #ccg4
    ,chauvet1 on philosophy of the      
ancients1 #fa4    ,cheever1 ,geo4 ,b41  
article in ,n4 ,a4 ,review1 #ib4        
,cheshire1 ,conn41 school at1 #bfb4     
,child1 ,lydia ,maria1 a writer of the  
transcendental school1 #chb4            
,christian ,examiner1 account of ,herder
 in1 #dg2     article by ,f4 ,d4 ,hedge 
in1 #ib2     article by ,james ,walker  
in1 #abj2     articles on               
transcendentalism in1 #acg2     review  
on ,emerson in1 #ach4    ,clarke1 ,james
 ,freeman1 edits ,de ,wette1 #aaf2      
contributes to ,the ,dial1 #acc2        
judgment of ,margaret ,fuller1 #bic2    
an early transcendentalist1 #cdc4       
,coleridge1 ,samuel ,taylor1 influence  
of ,schelling on1 #dj2     the prophet  
of transcendentalism in ,england1 #gf2  
his studies in ,germany1 #gi2     on    
,schelling's works1 #hj2     alleged    

plagiarism from ,schelling1 #ha4        
,coleridge1 ,biographia ,literaria1     
quoted1 #hb2     the true founder of the
 ,broad church1 #hi2     described by   
,talfourd and ,hazlitt1 #ij4            
,coleridge1 ,carlyle's verdict on1 #ib2 
his sympathy with ,german literature1   
#if2     the philosopher of             
transcendentalism1 #ajc2     makes      
,lessing's works familiar1 #aaf2        
article on by ,mill1 #bjf4              
,coleridge1 ,sarah1 note by1 in         
,biographia ,literaria1 #hh4            
,communism in ,massachusetts1 #aeg4     
,concord ,days1 by ,a4 ,b4 ,alcott1     
quoted1 #bdf4    ,condillac1 doctrine   
of1 #fb2     skeptic of the #ahth       
century1 #ahg4    ,congregationalists1  
followers of ,schleiermacher among1 #ej4
    ,constant1 ,english translations    
from1 by ,geo4 ,ripley1 #aaf4           
,consubstantiation taught by ,luther1   
#cfd2     denied by ,calvin1 #cfd4      
,consuelo translated by ,f4 ,g4 ,shaw1  
#cbi4    ,copernicus revolutionizes     

astronomy1 #aj4    ,cousin1 ,victor1    
philosophical works of1 #fa2     ,french
 follower of the ,scotch school1 #ff2   
his system of philosophy1 #fg-ge2       
,english translations from1 #aaf2       
philosophical miscellanies noticed by   
the press1 #aag4    ,cranch1 ,c4 ,p41   
contributes to ,the ,dial1 #acc2        
lines from1 quoted1 #adf2     writes for
 ,the ,harbinger1 #ccj4    ,curtis1     
,geo4 ,wm41 writes for ,the ,harbinger1 
#ccj4     ,d4    ,dana1 ,chas4 ,a41     
writes for ,the ,harbinger1 #ccj4       
,degerando1 lectures on ,kant's         
philosophy1 in ,paris1 #aae4            
,descartes1 doctrine of innate ideas    
ascribed to1 #ae4    ,de ,wette1        
students of1 in the ,united ,states1    
#aaf2     ,theodor and ,ethics1 ,english
 edition of1 #aaf2     living faith in  
,god aided by1 #aba4    ,d',holbach1    
skeptic of the #ahth century1 #ahg4     
,dial1 the1 publisher's letter on       
,herder1 #dg2     ,tribute to           
,wordsworth in1 quoted1 #ig-ii2         

articles in1 #acb2     writes for1 #acc2
     ancient scriptures printed in1     
#ace2     article on ,margaret ,fuller  
in1 #agf2     contains account of       
,english reform meetings1 #bgc4         
,digby1 ,sir ,kenelm1 story related by1 
#aii4    ,dietetics1 theory and practice
 of1 introduced by transcendentalists1  
#aej4    ,discourses on ,religion1 work 
by ,schleiermacher1 #dh4    ,dwight1 ,j4
 ,s41 makes translations from ,german   
authors1 #ef2     edits selections from 
,goethe and ,schiller1 #aaf2            
contributes to ,the ,dial1 #acc2        
quoted1 #adh2     writes musical        
articles for ,the ,harbinger1 #ccj4     
,dynamic system1 the1 begun by ,giordano
 ,bruno1 #hj4     ,e4    ,eckermann's   
conversations with ,goethe translated   
into ,english1 #aaf4    ,edinburgh      
,review contains article by ,carlyle1   
#eb2     criticises ,biographia         
,literaria1 #ia4    ,edwards1 ,jonathan1
 spirit of his writings1 #ajh4          
,elements of ,psychology1 work by ,c4   

,s4 ,henry1 published1 #ge4    ,emerson1
 ,charles1 contributes to ,the ,dial1   
#acc2     articles quoted1 #bbb4        
,emerson1 ,r4 ,w41 edits ,carlyle's     
,miscellanies1 #ic-aaf2     on          
,wordsworth1 #ii2     an idealist1 #aae2
     retires from the ministry1 #abj2   
publication of ,nature1 #abb2     essays
 published1 #abg2     quoted1 #adb2     
edits ,the ,dial1 #acb2     lecture on  
transcendentalism quoted1 #ace2         
lecture on ,the ,reformer quoted1 #aec2 
address before ,divinity ,college1 #bjj2
     tribute paid by ,tyndall to1       
#bad-bdc2     appreciation of by ,german
 readers1 #bah2     published works1    
#bbd2     works quoted from1 #bbh2      
letter to his church1 #bcb2     judgment
 of ,margaret ,fuller1 #bhe2     sermon 
of1 reprinted1 #cfc4                    
,encyclopaedists1 influence of1 in      
,france1 #ahg4    ,england1 idealists   
of1 #a2     metaphysical schools in1 #b2
     transcendentalism in1 #gh-aje4     
,epictetus1 works of1 edited by         

,higginson1 #cej4    ,excursion1        
,wordsworth's1 quoted1 #aja4     ,f4    
,felton1 ,prof4 ,c4 ,c41 translates     
,menzel1 #eh2     edits ,menzel's       
,german literature1 #aaf4    ,fichte1   
,johann ,gotlieb1 treatises of1 #bh2    
effect of ,kant's system upon1 #bh2     
outline of his system of reasoning1     
#ca-dj2     the idealists of ,new       
,england his followers1 #df2     few    
copies of his works found in the ,united
 ,states1 #aaf4    ,fiske1 ,john1 cosmic
 philosophy quoted1 #baa4    ,foreign   
,review1 contains article on ,novalis1  
#eb4    ,fourierism not welcomed by     
transcendentalists1 #aef4    ,france1   
philosophy in1 #fj2                     
transcendentalism in1 #aje2             
skepticism in1 #ahi4    ,francis1       
,convers2 apostle of transcendentalism1 
#cec4    ,franck1 ,adolphe1 explains the
 ,jewish ,kabbala1 #ga4    ,frederick   
the ,great1 court of1 #ahg4             
,frothingham1 ,dr4 ,n4 ,l41 student of  
,german literature1 #dg4    ,fuller1    

,margaret1 article on ,goethe1 #eg2     
translates from the ,german1 #aaf2      
edits ,the ,dial1 #acb2     ,women in   
the #aith ,century quoted1 #agg-aha2    
memoirs of1 published1 #bhd2            
judgment of1 by ,emerson1 #bhe2     on  
metaphysics and religion1 #bhf2     as a
 critic1 #bhg2     edits ,the ,dial1    
#bhi2     biographical account of1 #bic2
     writings of1 #ceh4    ,furness1 ,w4
 ,h41 maintains belief in the miracles1 
#bjb4     ,g4    ,galileo1 experiments  
of1 #h4    ,greaves1 ,james ,pierrepont1
 founds the ,alcott ,school near        
,london1 #bfg2     letter of1 #bfg4     
,grimm1 ,herman1 essay on ,r4 ,w4       
,emerson1 #bah4    ,grote1 opinion on   
moral intuition1 #baf4    ,german       
,lyrics1 translation by ,chas4 ,brooks1 
#aaf4    ,germany1 transcendentalism in1
 #ad-aje2     philosophy of1 #fj2       
under the influence of idealism1 #ahf4  
,gibbon1 his history assailed by the    
church1 #ahe4    ,goethe1 appreciation  
of1 in ,new ,england1 #eg4     ,h4      

,hamilton1 ,sir ,william1 ,mill's       
criticism of1 #bjg4    ,harbinger1 ,the1
 started in #ahde1 #cbg2     list of    
contributors to1 #cbi4    ,haureau      
writes on philosophy of the middle ages1
 #fa4    ,hawthorne1 ,nathaniel1 notes  
on ,brook ,farm quoted1 #aga2           
,blithedale ,romance1 #age4    ,hazlitt1
 ,william1 account of ,coleridge's      
preaching1 #ij4    ,hedge1 ,f4 ,k41     
,german translations made by1 #ef2      
writes articles in ,christian ,examiner1
 #ib4    ,hegel1 the successor of       
,schelling1 #dc2     verdict on ,jacobi 
quoted1 #bf2     system of philosophy1  
#dc-de4    ,helvetius1 skeptic of the   
#ahth century1 #ahg4    ,henry1 ,c4 ,l41
 publishes elements of psychology1 #ge2 
his admiration for ,coleridge1 #hi4     
,herder1 translations of1 into ,english1
 #dg2     works of1 read in the ,united 
,states1 #aaf4    ,higginson1 ,t4 ,w41 a
 disciple of transcendentalism1 #cej4   
,history of ,philosophy1 by ,cousin1    
#ge4    ,hume1 his system of reasoning1 

#af4     ,i4    ,idealism in ,england1  
#g2     in ,new ,england1 #aae2     in  
,germany1 #ahf4     ,j4    ,jacobi1     
,frederick1 his system of faith1 #bd2   
idealists of ,new ,england his          
followers1 #df2     his works in the    
,united ,states1 #aaf4    ,janet1 ,paul1
 explains ,plato1 #fa4    ,jeffrey      
criticised ,coleridge's ,biographia     
,literaria1 #ia4    ,johnson1 ,samuel1  
work on the ,religions of ,india1       
quoted1 #cde2     belongs to the        
transcendental school1 #cdg4            
,jouffroy1 ,theodore1 ,french follower  
of the ,scotch school1 #ff2             
,introduction to ,ethics1 ,english      
edition of1 #aad4    ,judd1 ,sylvester1 
a novelist of the transcendental school1
 #chb4     ,k4    ,kant1 ,immanuel1     
publishes ,critique of ,pure ,reason    
7#agha71 #f2     ,character of his work1
 #f2     starting-point of his          
philosophy1 #i2     ,critique of ,pure  
,reason quoted1 #ad2     ,outline of his
 system of reasoning1 #af-ba2           

,carlyle on his philosophy1 #ec2        
,menzel on his philosophy1 #eg2         
translated into ,french1 #fa2           
reintroduces the ,dynamic system1 #ha2  
lectures on his philosophy in ,paris1   
#aae2     few copies of his works in the
 ,united ,states1 #aaf4                 
,knickerbocker ,magazine1 articles on   
transcendentalism in1 #acg4     ,l4     
,laromiguiere1 disciple of ,condillac1  
#fe4    ,leibnitz1 theory of1 #ae4      
,letters to a ,young ,theologian1 by    
,herder1 #dg4    ,lewes1 ,george ,h41   
criticism on ,john ,locke cited1 #e2    
,problems of ,life and ,mind1 quoted    
#bab4    ,linberg1 ,h4 ,g41 translator  
of ,cousin1 #ge4    ,locke1 ,john1      
,essay on the ,human ,understanding1 #c2
     called ,father of ,modern          
,psychology1 #c2     character of his   
work1 #d2     opposes the doctrine of   
innate ideas1 his ideas introduced into 
,france1 #fa2     piety of1 #fb2        
framed a constitution for the ,new      
,world1 #aag2     ,bancroft on1 #aah4   

,longfellow1 ,h4 ,w41 the transcendental
 spirit not in his writings1 #chb4      
,longfellow1 ,samuel1 transcendentalist 
of the mystical type1 #cdg2     hymns   
by1 #cdg4    ,lord1 ,d4 ,n41 writer in  
,lord's ,theological ,journal1 #ib4     
,lord's ,supper1 the1 sermon on1 by     
,emerson1 #cfc4    ,lord's ,theological 
,journal1 #ib4    ,lowell1 ,j4 ,r41 his 
early poems breathe the transcendental  
spirit1 #chb4    ,luther1 ,martin1      
teaches doctrine of consubstantiation1  
#cfd4     ,m4    ,macaulay1 ,t4 ,b41    
article on ,lord ,bacon1 quoted1 #aci4  
,maine de ,biran1 philosophy of1 #fe4   
,margaret1 novel setting forth the      
gospel of transcendentalism1 #chb4      
,marsh1 ,dr4 ,james1 translates         
,herder's ,spirit of ,hebrew ,poetry1   
#dg4    ,martineau1 ,harriet1 calls     
,alcott the ,american ,pestalozzi1 #bfg4
    ,martineau1 ,james1 letter of       
,channing to1 #aab4    ,mathematics1    
progress in1 #g4    ,maurice1 ,frederick
 ,denison1 admirer of ,coleridge1 #adb4 

,may1 ,rev4 ,s4 ,j41 account of         
,alcott's school1 #bfb4    ,menzel1     
opinion of ,goethe quoted1 #eg2         
,german ,literature1 ,english edition   
of1 #aaf4    ,mill1 principles of       
sensational philosophy stated by1 #bje2 
article on ,coleridge1 #bjf2     work on
 logic quoted1 #bjh2     commends       
,taine's work1 #bab4     ,n4    ,nature1
 by ,r4 ,w4 ,emerson1 quoted1 #cab4     
,new ,england ,maga41 articles on       
transcendentalism in1 #acg4    ,new     
,england1 transcendentalism in1 #aje2   
religion of1 #ajg2     idealism in1     
#aae4    ,new ,hegelians1 the1 #de4     
,new ,york ,review1 #ib4                
,nominalists1 the1 tenets maintained by1
 #b4    ,north ,american ,review1 #ib4  
,norton1 ,andrews1 assails              
,schleiermacher1 #dh2     attacks       
transcendentalism1 #abc2     controversy
 with ,george ,ripley1 #abd4            
,novalis1 article on1 by ,carlyle1 #eb2 
his philosophy defined by ,carlyle1 #ee4
     ,o4    ,orphic ,sayings of ,alcott 

quoted1 #bei4    ,osgood1 ,samuel1 edits
 ,de,wette1 #aaf4     ,p4    ,parker1   
,theodore1 referred to by ,channing1    
enters into the       transcendental    
controversy1 #abe2     contributes to   
,the ,dial1 #acc2     work meditated by1
 #aib2     strong faith in immortality1 
#aif2     ,levi ,blodgett letter quoted1
 #bjj2     blending of realism and      
transcendentalism in1 #cje2     as a    
preacher of transcendental views1 #cjh2 
writings of1 #ceg4    ,passover1 the    
feast of1 celebrated by ,jesus1         
#cfd-cff2     as kept by ,jews1 #cfh4   
,paul of ,samosata1 advocate of         
,unitarian theology1 #aji4    ,peabody1 
,elizabeth1 writes record of a school1  
#bfe4    ,pelagius1 advocate of         
,unitarian theology1 #aji4    ,penn1    
,wm41 framed constitution for the ,new  
,world1 #aag2     ,bancroft on1 #aah4   
,perfect ,life1 the work by ,dr4        
,channing1 #aac4    ,phillips1 ,wendell1
 speaks against capital punishment1     
#ccg4    ,physics established as a      

science1 #h4    ,platonism1             
transcendental in its essence1 #ajh4    
,plotinus translated by ,bouillet1 #fa4 
,porter1 ,noah1 writes article in       
,bibliotheca ,sacra1 #ib4    ,princeton 
,review1 articles on transcendentalism  
in1 #acg4    ,priestley1 ,joseph1 able  
representative of ,unitarianism1 #ahe4  
,pythagoras1 the ancient teacher of     
dietetics1 #aea2     ,h4 ,b4 ,alcott on1
 #bea4     ,q4    ,quakerism1 tribute   
to1 by ,george ,bancroft1 #aag2         
compared with transcendentalism1 #aai4  
,r4    ,rahn1 ,johanna1 letter of       
,fichte to1 #bi4    ,rationale of       
,religious ,inquiry1 by ,martineau1     
#abc4    ,ravaisson1 ,felix1 writes     
reports on ,french philosophy1 #fa4     
,realists1 the1 tenets maintained by1   
#b4    ,religious affections1 the1      
treatise on1 by ,jonathan ,edwards1     
#ajh4    ,remusat1 ,charles de1 writer  
on ,french philosophy1 #fa4    ,review1 
,north ,american1 account of ,herder in1
 #dg4    ,reymond1 ,dubois1 address to  

,german naturalists quoted1 #bej4       
,richter1 ,carlyle on his philosophy1   
#ee2     works of1 #ef4    ,ripley1     
,george1 his account of ,herder1 #dg2   
account of ,schleiermacher1 #dh2        
estimate of ,cousin's philosophy1 #gd2  
edits specimens of foreign standard     
literature1 #aaf2     review of ,james  
,martineau1 #abc2     reply to ,andrews 
,norton1 #abe2     contributes to ,the  
,dial1 #acc2     his influence in       
spreading transcendentalism1 #cbb2      
published works of1 #cbd2               
controversy with ,andrews ,norton1 #cbe2
     at ,brook ,farm1 #cbe4    ,ripley1 
,george1 edits ,the ,harbinger1 #cbh2   
literary critic of ,the ,tribune1 #ccb4 
,robbins1 ,samuel ,d41 quoted1 #ade4    
,romanism not at home in ,new ,england1 
#ajg4    ,rousseau1 ,j4 ,j41 the ideas  
of the new philosophy expressed by1 #ag4
    ,rousselot writes on philosophy of  
the middle age1 #fa4    ,royer-,collard1
 ,french followers of the ,scotch       
school1 #ff4    ,russell edits first    

journal of education1 #bfb4     ,s4     
,saint ,hilaire1 ,barthelemy1 ,french   
philosopher1 #fa4    ,saisset1 ,emil1   
translates ,spinoza1 #fa4    ,schelling1
 system of philosophy1 #dj-dc2          
,transcendental ,idealism published1    
#hj2     few copies of his works found  
in the ,united ,states1 #aaf4           
,schiller1 letter on ,kant's philosophy 
quoted1 #ed2     on ,richter1 #ed4      
,schleiermacher1 influence of1 #dh2     
quoted1 #di2     philosophy of1 #ej2    
students of1 in the ,united ,states1    
#aaf2     faith in ,god promoted by1    
#abb4    ,schoolmen1 the1 their use of  
the word transcendental1 #aa4           
,sensationalism in ,england1 #b2        
reaction against1 #ahh2     the ,god of1
 #aij2     ideas of immortality1        
#aic-aig2     its philosophy revived by 
,mill and others1 #bje4    ,shaw1       
,francis ,g41 translates ,consuelo for  
,the ,harbinger1 #cbi4    ,simon1       
,jules1 explains the ,alexandrian       
school1 #fa4    ,skepticism in ,france1 

#ahth century1 #ahg2     brought to     
,america1 #ahh4    ,smith1 ,william1    
publishes memoirs of ,fichte 7#ahde71   
#bg4    ,socialists1 ,new ,york union   
of1 #cci4    ,socinius1 advocate of     
,unitarian theology1 #aji4    ,southern 
,literary ,messenger1 #ib4    ,specimens
 of ,foreign ,standard ,literature1     
edited by ,george ,ripley1 #aaf4        
,spencer1 principles of the sensational 
philosophy stated by1 #bje2     system  
of1 hostile to intuitive philosophy1    
#bjh4    ,spinoza1 translated by        
,saisset1 #fa4    ,spirit of ,hebrew    
poetry1 by ,herder1 #dg4    ,stael1     
,madame de1 gives an account of ,kant's 
philosophy1 #aae4    ,stahl1 experiments
 of1 #h4    ,stone1 ,thomas ,t41 article
 in ,the ,dial quoted1 #add4    ,st4    
,paul1 his view of the ,lord's ,supper1 
#cga4    ,strauss a disciple of ,hegel1 
#ahf4     ,t4    ,taine1 principles of  
the sensational philosophy stated by1   
#bje2     work on ,intelligence quoted1 
#bab2     criticism of ,tyndall1 #bab4  

,talfourd1 ,sergeant1 his account of    
,coleridge1 #ij4    ,tennyson1 ,alfred1 
rising glory of1 #ajc4    ,thoreau1     
,henry ,d41 contributes to ,the ,dial1  
#acc4    ,tissot translates ,kant into  
,french1 #fa4    ,torricelli1           
experiments of1 #h4                     
,transcendentalism1 chiefly communicated
 through ,german literature1 #ea2       
influence on ,german literature1 #ea2   
its apostles in the ,new ,world1 #ajc2  
in ,new ,england1 #aje2     borders on  
,platonism1 #ajg2     an enlarged       
orthodoxy1 #ajh2     imported in foreign
 packages1 #aae2     ,quakerism compared
 with1 #aai2     advocated by ,james    
,walker1 #abb2     attacked by ,andrews 
,norton1 #abc2     legitimate fruits of1
 #adc2     defined by ,emerson1 #abg2   
literary achievements of1 #acb2         
essentially poetic1 #acd2     a distinct
 system of philosophy1 #acf2            
misconceptions of1 #ach2     practical  
usefulness of the disciples of1 #adj2   
objections to1 #adi2     inaugurated the

 practice of dietetics1 #aej2           
favorable to all reform movements1 #aee2
     ideas of women1 #aha2     relation 
to questions of religion1 #ahd2         
reaction against sensationalism1 #ahi2  
the faith of1 #aij-aib2     asserts     
immortality of the soul1 #aic-aif2      
accepts the miracles1 #bja2     its view
 of ,christianity1 #bjd2     superseded 
by idealism1 #bae2     as a gospel1     
#cjb2     end of one phase of1 #ccb2    
defined by ,bartol1 #cdb2     minor     
followers of1 #cee-cef2     literature  
of1 #ceg-cgb4    ,trinitarianism of     
,platonic origin1 #ajg2     avowed by   
idealists1 #aji2     its debt to        
,unitarianism1 #aac4    ,tuckerman1 ,h4 
,t41 writes for ,southern ,literary     
,messenger1 #ib4    ,tuebingen1 follower
 of the ,hegelian idea1 #ahf4           
,tyndall1 ,john1 address of1 quoted1    
#baj2     objections to1 by ,taine1     
#bab4     ,u4    ,unitarians1 the1      
belong to the school of ,locke1 #aji2   
of ,new ,england1 #aaj2     friends to  

free thought1 #aad4    ,unitarianism    
represented in ,england by ,priestley1  
#aae4     ,v4    ,vacherot1 ,etienne1   
explains the ,alexandrian school1 #fa4  
,vere1 ,aubrey de1 lines on ,coleridge1 
#gh4    ,volney popular in the          
eighteenth century1 #ahg4    ,voltaire  
introduces ,locke's ideas into ,france1 
#fa2     the great name among eighteenth
 century skeptics1 #ahg4     ,w4        
,walker1 ,james1 avows transcendental   
views1 #abj2     quoted1 #abj1 #aba2    
his theory of moral intuition1 #bae4    
,wasson1 ,d4 ,a41 sermons and poems of1 
#cdi4    ,wedgewood1 ,josiah and        
,thomas1 send ,coleridge to ,germany1   
#gi4    ,weiss1 ,john1 philosophical    
writings and translations1 #cea4        
,westminster ,review contains article by
 ,mill1 #bjf4    ,whig ,review1 articles
 on transcendentalism in1 #acg4         
,whittier1 ,john ,g41 under the sway of 
transcendental ideas1 #chb4             
,wordsworth1 ,wm41 in ,germany with     
,coleridge1 #gi2     kinship between    

,coleridge and1 #if2     his poetry     
discussed in ,biographia ,literaria1    
#ig2     preface to his poems quoted1   
#ajj2     ,ode to ,immortality and      
,excursion quoted1 #aja2     the poets  
of the transcendentalists1 #ajc2        
lines from1 quoted1 #ada4     ,,books   
,,by ,,octavius ,b4 ,,frothingham4      
,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,humanity4 ,,an  
,,essay4  ,third ,edition--,revised4    
,price1 #a4ej4       ,nobody can peruse 
this book without respect for the       
learning1      mental honesty and skill 
in the statement of his convictions1    
possessed by the author1 and for the    
essential integrity and                 
philanthropic tendency of his           
spirit4--,springfield ,republican4      
,a profoundly sincere book1 the work of 
one who has read largely1      studied  
thoroughly1 reflected patiently4444 ,it 
is a model of      scholarly culture and
 of finished and vigorous               
style4--,boston      ,globe4       ,a   
marked book1 forming a most important   

contribution to our      religious      
literature4--,boston ,register4  ,,the  
,,child',s ,,book ,,of ,,religion4  ,for
 ,sunday-,schools and ,homes4 ,price1   
#a4jj4  ,,the ,,safest ,,creed1 ,,and   
,,other ,,discourses4  #abmo1 ,cloth1   
#a4ej4       ,we commend these          
discourses1 not as food for babes1 but  
as full      of suggestion for earnest  
and thoughtful men4  ,,stories ,,from   
,,the ,,lips ,,of ,,the ,,teacher4      
,with ,frontispiece4 ,cloth1 #a4jj4     
,the ,parables are so re-told as to     
absorb the attention of the      reader1
 and to fasten upon the mind what the   
writer believes to      have been the   
impression the ,saviour meant to convey4
 ,it is in      style and thought a     
superior book1 and will interest alike  
young      and old4--,zion's ,herald    
7,methodist47  ,,stories ,,of ,,the     
,,patriarchs4  ,with ,frontispiece4     
,cloth1 #a4jj4       ,a work of culture 
and taste2 it will be welcome to all    
ages1 and      gives the sublimest      

lessons of manhood in the simple        
language of a      child4--,springfield 
,republican4  ,,beliefs ,,of ,,the      
,,unbelievers4 ,a ,,lecture4  #abmo1    
,paper1 #be cents4                      
,,transcendentalism ,,in ,,new          
,,england4 ,a ,,history4 ,with sketches 
and      studies of ,emerson1 ,alcott1  
,parker1 ,margaret ,fuller1 the         
,brook-,farm      ,community1 etc4      
#hvo1 ,cloth extra1 with steel portrait 
of the author1 #b4ej4  ,,the ,,life ,,of
 ,,theodore ,,parker4  #hvo4 ,with      
,portrait1 #c4jj4     ,,selections      
,,from ,,recent ,,publications4   ,,the 
,,keys ,,of ,,the ,,creeds4 ,by ,,edward
 ,,maitland4  #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4be4     
,may be said to be the ,darwinian theory
 of development applied to      creeds  
444 ably written1 full of novelty1      
reverential in tone1 and      certain to
 be widely read4--,memphis ,appeal4     
,,the ,,pilgrim ,,and ,,the ,,shrine4   
,by ,,edward ,,maitland4  #abmo1 ,cloth1
 #a4ej4       ,one of the wisest and    

most charming of books4--,westminster   
,review4  ,,higher ,,law4 ,a ,,romance4 
,by ,,edward ,,maitland4  #abmo1 ,cloth1
 #a4ge4       ,there is no novel1 in    
short1 which can be compared to it for  
its      width of view1 its cultivation1
 its poetry1 and its deep human         
interest1 except 444                    
',romola4'--,westminster ,review4  ,,by 
,,and ,,by4 ,,an ,,historical ,,romance 
,,of ,,the ,,future4  ,by ,,edward      
,,maitland4 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4ge4       
,the author shows here1 not only the    
same philosophic culture and            
brilliant style which were so           
conspicuous in his former works1 but    
he has thrown over the whole the highest
 charm which imaginative      genius can
 bestow4--,westminster ,review4         
,,spiritualism1 ,,and ,,allied ,,causes 
,,and ,,conditions ,,of ,,nervous       
,,derangement4 ,by ,,wm4 ,a4 ,,hammond1 
,m4,d41 ,professor of ,diseases of the  
,mind and ,nervous ,system in the       
,university of the ,city of ,new ,york4 

#hvo1 ,cloth1 with cuts4  ,,religion    
,,as ,,affected ,,by ,,modern           
,,materialism4  ,by ,,james ,,martineau1
 ,,ll4,d4 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #ge cents4     
,,modern ,,materialism4 ,by ,,james     
,,martineau1 ,,ll4,d4  #abmo1 ,cloth1   
#a4jj4       ,the ablest analyses of    
,tyndall and his school of thought that 
have      yet appeared4--,london        
,spectator4       ,,outlines ,,of ,,the 
,,history ,,of ,,philosophy4 ,by ,j4 ,j4
 ,,elmendorf1      ,professor of ,mental
 and ,moral ,philosophy in ,racine      
,college4 #abmo1      ,cloth1 7in       
press47   ,g4 ,p4 ,,putnam',s ,,sons1   
#ahb ,,fifth ,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york4    
,,transcriber',s ,,note3      ,obvious  
typographical and printer errors have   
been corrected without     comment4     
,inconsistencies in use of spelling1    
punctuation and accent marks     have   
been retained as in the original        
version4      ,page numbers have added  
for two items in the index which did not
     have page references3              

,plotinus4444 page #fa     ,lord's      
,supper4444 page #cfc      ,quotation   
marks around quoted verses of poetry are
 used     inconsistently4 ,when only a  
closing quotation mark was present in   
the original1 an opening quote has been 
added4 ,when no quotation     marks were
 present1 none have been added4         
,footnotes have been moved to the end of
 the paragraph containing the           
footnote tag4