Nature (version 2)

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By Listen TheBook Posted on May 31, 2023

In Category - Essays

Authors: Ralph Waldo Emerson In Year : 1849

Book Language: English

Audiobook: Nature (version 2)

Introduction
Chapter I - Nature
Chapter II - Commodity
Chapter III - Beauty
Chapter IV - Language
Chapter V - Discipline
Chapter VI - Idealism
Chapter VII - Spirit
Chapter VIII - Prospects

First published anonymously in 1836, Nature marks the beginning both of Emerson’s literary career and the Transcendentalist movement. Asking why his generation “should not also enjoy an original relation to the universe,” Emerson argues that “Man is a god in ruins” who might yet be redeemed by the renewal of harmony with nature. Encompassing themes that would preoccupy him for years to come, including the repressive force of social routine, the divinity of nature, and the creative potential of the individual, Nature reflected recent developments in European philosophy and literature even as it pushed American artists to break new ground. The book’s initial reception was mixed, but it influenced members of Emerson’s circle, including such luminaries as Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller, and it would go on to inspire the work of writers ranging from Walt Whitman and Friedrich Nietzsche to Robert Frost and Ralph Ellison. - Summary by Jesse Zuba