Emerson wrote on a number of subjects, never espousing fixed philosophical tenets, but developing certain ideas such as individuality, freedom, the ability for man to realize almost anything, and the relationship between the soul and the surrounding world. Emerson's "nature" was more philosophical than naturalistic; "Philosophically considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul.―
While his writing style can be seen as somewhat impenetrable, and was thought so even in his own time, Emerson's essays remain one of the linchpins of American thinking, and Emerson's work has influenced nearly every generation of thinker, writer and poet since his time. When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was "the infinitude of the private man."
Emerson's formal schooling began at the Boston Latin School in 1812 when he was nine.In October 1817, at 14, Emerson went to Harvard College and was appointed freshman messenger for the president, requiring Emerson to fetch delinquent students and send messages to faculty. Midway through his junior year, Emerson began keeping a list of books he had read and started a journal in a series of notebooks that would be called "Wide World". He took outside jobs to cover his school expenses, including as a waiter for the Junior Commons and as an occasional teacher working with his uncle Samuel in Waltham, Massachusetts By his senior year, Emerson decided to go by his middle name, Waldo. Emerson served as Class Poet; as was custom, he presented an original poem on Harvard's Class Day, a month before his official graduation on August 29, 1821, when he was 18. He did not stand out as a student and graduated in the exact middle 1826, faced with poor health, Emerson went to seek out warmer climates. He first went to Charleston, South Carolina, but found the weather was still too cold. He then went further south, to St. Augustine, Florida, where he took long walks on the beach, and began writing poetry. While in St. Augustine, he made the acquaintance of Prince Achille Murat. Murat, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, was only two years his senior; the two became extremely good friends and enjoyed one another's company. The two engaged in enlightening discussions on religion, society, philosophy, and government, and Emerson considered Murat an important figure in his intellectual education. While in St. Augustine, Emerson had his first experience of slavery. At one point, he attended a meeting of the Bible Society while there was a slave auction taking place in the yard outside. He wrote, "One ear therefore heard the glad tidings of great joy, whilst the other was regaled with 'Going, gentlemen, going'!"
Early life, family, and education
• Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 25, 1803, son of Ruth Haskins and the Rev. William Emerson, a Unitarian minister. He was named after his mother's brother Ralph and the father's great-grandmother Rebecca Waldo. Ralph Waldo was the second of five sons who survived into adulthood; the others were William, Edward, Robert Bulkeley, and Charles. Three other children— Phebe, John Clarke, and Mary Caroline–died in childhood. • The young Ralph Waldo Emerson's father died from stomach cancer on May 12, 1811, less than two weeks before Emerson's eighth birthday.Emerson was raised by his mother, with the help of the other women in the family; his aunt Mary Moody Emerson played an important role. Aunt Mary had a profound effect on Emerson. She lived with the family off and on, and maintained a constant correspondence with Emerson until her death in 1863.
Ralph Waldo Emerson 爱默生简介
---------方涵琦
生平简介
• 拉尔夫· 沃尔多· 爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson， 1803年－1882年），生于波士顿。 美国思想家、 文学家，诗人。 爱默生是确立美国文化精神的代 表人物。 美国前总统林肯称他为“美国的孔子”、 “美国文明之父”。1803年5月6日出生于马萨诸 塞州波士顿附近的康考德村，1882年4月27日在 波士顿逝世。他的生命几乎横贯19世纪的美国， 他出生时候的美国热闹却混沌，一些人意识到它 代表着某种新力量的崛起，却无人能够清晰的表 达出来。
早年经历
• 爱默生出身牧师家庭，他的父亲是威廉· 爱默生是一位 知名的一位论派牧师。爱默生在即将过八岁的两周前父亲 过世（1811年），由母亲和姑母抚养他成人。隔年他被送 到了波士顿拉丁学校就读。在1817年10月爱默生14岁时， 他入读哈佛大学并且被任命为新生代表，这个身份让他获 得免费住宿的机会。为了增添微薄的薪水，寒假期间他会 到Ripley 伯父在马萨诸塞州瓦胜市的学校进行辅导及教学 事务。在校期间，他阅读了大量英国浪漫主义作家的作品， 丰富了思想，开阔了视野。1821年爱默生从哈佛大学毕业 后，他协助自己的兄弟在母亲的家中设立一所给年轻女性 就读的学校，这是在他于切尔姆斯福德设立自己的学校以 后的事；当爱默生的兄弟前往格丁根读神学时，爱默生负 责主持这所学校。之后数年，爱默生都过著担任校长的日 子，然后进了哈佛大学神学院，并于1829年以一位论派牧 师的形象崭露头角。