The American Scholar

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson ISBN: 9781465613172
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
ISBN: 9781465613172
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
I greet you on the re-commencement of our literary year. Our anniversary is one of hope, and, perhaps, not enough of labor. We do not meet for games of strength or skill, for the recitation of histories, tragedies, and odes, like the ancient Greeks; for parliaments of love and poesy, like the Troubadours; nor for the advancement of science, like our cotemporaries in the British and European capitals. Thus far, our holiday has been simply a friendly sign of the survival of the love of letters amongst a people too busy to give to letters any more. As such, it is precious as the sign of an indestructible instinct. Perhaps the time is already come, when it ought to be, and will be, something else; when the sluggard intellect of this continent will look from under its iron lids, and fill the postponed expectation of the world with something better than the exertions of mechanical skill. Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions, that around us are rushing into life, cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves. Who can doubt, that poetry will revive and lead in a new age, as the star in the constellation Harp, which now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the pole-star for a thousand years?
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
I greet you on the re-commencement of our literary year. Our anniversary is one of hope, and, perhaps, not enough of labor. We do not meet for games of strength or skill, for the recitation of histories, tragedies, and odes, like the ancient Greeks; for parliaments of love and poesy, like the Troubadours; nor for the advancement of science, like our cotemporaries in the British and European capitals. Thus far, our holiday has been simply a friendly sign of the survival of the love of letters amongst a people too busy to give to letters any more. As such, it is precious as the sign of an indestructible instinct. Perhaps the time is already come, when it ought to be, and will be, something else; when the sluggard intellect of this continent will look from under its iron lids, and fill the postponed expectation of the world with something better than the exertions of mechanical skill. Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions, that around us are rushing into life, cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves. Who can doubt, that poetry will revive and lead in a new age, as the star in the constellation Harp, which now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the pole-star for a thousand years?

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book Old Wine and New Occasional Discourses by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book The Story of the Greatest Nations and the World's Famous Events by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book By the Sea and Other Verses by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book International Language: Past, Present and Future With Specimens of Esperanto and Grammar by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book The Elm-tree on the Mall by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book Mr. John Stuart Mill and the Ballot: A Criticism of His Opinions As Expressed In Thoughts On Parliamentary Reform by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book Attila: A Romance (Complete) by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book The Book of Talismans, Amulets and Zodiacal Gems by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book The Heart's Secret; Or, the Fortunes of a Soldier: A Story of Love and the Low Latitudes by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book Myths and Legends of All Nations: Famous Stories from the Greek, German, English, Spanish, Scandinavian, Danish, French, Russian, Bohemian, Italian and Other Sources by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book L'Argent Des Autres: Les Hommes De Paille et La Pêche en Eau Trouble (Complete) by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book A Day With Keats by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book The Life of Buddha According to the Legends of Ancient India by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book O'er Many Lands, on Many Seas by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cover of the book Le renard by Ralph Waldo Emerson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy