"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well" ❤️

On Emerson | On His Birthday Today

The Dominant ‘Sage’ of the American Imagination!

& the Noble Sage of Concord

#onhisbirthdaytoday

25th May 2025

If Rousseau’s Emile envisages a wonderful pattern or a benchmark for the education of children, an education that goes the Krishnamurti way, through the Nature connect, Emerson’s phenomenal work titled, Nature, published first in 1836, nurtures in our hearts an exemplary rubric for restoring the human-nature-god connect, which, to him, and a host of transcendentalists of his ilk, has been lost somewhere down the way!

So what is Emerson’s “Nature” all about?

Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay “Nature,” published in 1836, is a foundational text of American Transcendentalism. It is a profound exploration of the relationship between humanity and the natural world, arguing for a deeper, spiritual connection to nature as a path to self-discovery and understanding of the divine.

Emerson argues that humans have become disconnected from nature by relying too much on tradition, societal norms, and the observations of past generations. 

He proposes that individuals should seek a direct, personal, and intuitive relationship with the natural world. Remember? Wordsworth’s “The World is too much with us?”

In other words, Emerson’s “Nature,” is also an exemplary benchmark of sorts, for it eulogises in such beautifully evocative language, the aesthetic, the spiritual and the practical advantages there are, to the American landscape, or in other words the benefits of the human-nature-god connect vis-à-vis the American landscape!

Interestingly, the year 1836 is memorable on many other counts too!

It was the year Carlyle published his Sartor Resartus and his subsequent The French Revolution: A History happened the next year, in 1837.

Coming back - 

Emerson’s ideas had a profound and lasting impact on generations of writers, thinkers, and philosophers. He was a mentor and friend to Henry David Thoreau and significantly influenced Walt Whitman, William James, and others.

His emphasis on individualism, self-discovery, and the spiritual connection with nature shaped the course of American Romanticism and continues to resonate in discussions about identity, spirituality, and environmentalism.

He is fondly referred to as the ‘Prophet of the American Religion’ by Harold Bloom,

Well, the Emerson impact on a generation of writers is then not quite a surprise though! Thoreau took a leaf out of Emerson’s book when he made his observations of Nature much more concretised, like there was to the Hegel – Marx duo!

Whitman, in his Leaves of Grass gave poetic wings to Emerson’s clarion call for a return to Nature!

Furthermore, the Emerson – John Muir connect is yet another pivotal topic for much interesting deliberation!

Here are some of his most famous quotes that are worth cherishing, relishing and emulating -

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

The only way to have a friend is to be one.

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

The earth laughs in flowers.

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

The ancestor of every action is a thought.

If Shakespeare’s titular claim to fame was ‘Bard of Avon,’ Emerson’s titular claim to fame rests in the sobriquet, Sage of Concord, and he remains - till date - the dominant ‘sage’ of the American imagination! 

PS: You may want to read our past post on Emerson’s The American Scholar HERE on our blog.