By Ralph Waldo Emerson
“To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At
least they have a superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into
the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are
still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of
manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food. In the presence
of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says—he is my
creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me. Not the sun or the
summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change
corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, from breathless noon to grimmest
midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health,
the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight,
under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have
enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. Almost I fear to think how glad I am. In the woods too, a man
casts off his years as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In
the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a
perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand
years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life—
no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare
ground—my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space—all mean egotism
vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal
Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds
then foreign and accidental. To be brothers, to be acquaintances—master or servant, is then a
trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I
find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and
especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own
nature.”
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
For Americans in the early years of the country’s history, belonging to a bold, young nation was
a tremendous source of group pride. Perhaps the greatest source of that pride was the high
value the group placed on individual liberty. In 1841, Emerson nourished this creed of
individualism with his essay “Self-Reliance.”
Answer each question thoroughly. Be prepared to discuss!
1. Emerson explains in his essay that “we but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that
divine idea which each of us represents.” Why, according to him, are we ashamed? In
what sense do we “half express ourselves?”
2. What does “Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to that iron string” mean?
3. In what sense is “society everywhere in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its
members?”
4. Why does Emerson believe that “nothing is sacred but the integrity of your own mind”?
5. What is the “hobgoblin of little minds”? And why does Emerson believe this?
6. Why does Emerson believe it is not bad to be misunderstood? (Be specific!)
By Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau argues that government should serve individuals, who are the real agents of change and
progress. He criticizes people for passively accepting governmental actions with which they disagree; he
says that if people defied the government in such a case, it would have to show more accountability to its
citizens. He tests this theory of civil disobedience by serving a jail sentence rather than pay a tax he
believes will help finance war with Mexico and the expansion of slavery. During his time in jail, Thoreau
recognizes that few of his neighbors will have the courage to follow his example. He concludes with the
hope that one day the state will be truly “free and enlightened.”
Essential Question:
Thoreau opens his essay with the quote “that government is best which governs not at all.”
What does he mean by this?
1. How does what Thoreau says throughout the excerpt support the assertion that “that government is best
which governs not at all”?
2. What should drive the actions of the American government, according to Thoreau?
3. What actually drives action?
4. Who is Thoreau angry at? Why?
5. What is an unjust law and how does Thoreau claim just men should react to them?
6. What could be a definition of an unjust law, according to Thoreau? What examples of unjust laws or
actions does he provide?
7. What does Thoreau compare the American government to? How?
8. What should just men do to this machine?
9. What is Thoreau’s main point in his conclusion?
10. This essay was originally titled “Resistance to Civil Government,” yet it is known as “Civil Disobedience.”
Even though disobedience is never mentioned in the excerpt, why might this essay be known as “Civil
Disobedience?”
11. Who might Thoreau have influenced, both among his contemporaries and future thinkers and actors?