Emerson
suffers from a clear case of golden age syndrome. He sees the possibility of
perfectiblity in the future because it existed in the past. “Why
should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not
we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion
by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?” Not only that, but Emerson
does not ask for perfection. He demands it. For Emerson, everything is forward
motion. He even states that science “has one aim, namely, to find a theory of nature.” Individual
developments are not made for their own sake, but as part of a grand scheme
leading towards human perfectibility. But this idea is contrary to his idea
that it was the ancient civilizations that knew perfection. A reader has to
ask, if these people were perfect, why did they collapse and become imperfect?
Emerson’s answer is that these “foregoing generations” were closer to nature
and therefore somehow purer and closer to God. Emerson believes humans can
become perfect because nature is perfect. The progression of things would be a
return to the natural state: “A leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is
related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole. Each particle
is a microcosm, and faithfully renders the likeness of the world” Humans are
the universe in miniature and the universe is perfect, in Emerson’s thinking.
Of
the two, Thoreau seems the less poetic, but makes up for it in fervor. This
essay expresses disappointment with his fellow Americans and especially the
United States government. However, he also writes: “The
progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a
democracy, is a progress toward a true respect for the individual.” He shares
the believe in progress that Emerson espouses, and in the same paragraph writes
how was happening with regards to the Mexican war “would prepare the way for a still
more perfect and glorious State.” Both writers are constructing a narrative of
progress and they see a world that is in the middle of that progression, but
will make its way towards perfection. Thoreau’s “perfect and glorious State” is
also one he has “imagined, but not yet anywhere seen.” Whether perfection
exists at all remains to be seen.
Hi Richard, my name is Denise and I chose your blog to comment on. The reason I chose your blog is we both opened with the same Emerson quote. You wrote, “Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?” From that quote you deduced that Emerson suffered from “Golden Age Syndrome.” I guess that is one way to look at it; however I see something somewhat different in that quote and I would like to present my perspective on it. There is a little more to that quote and I feel it is important. Emerson writes, “the foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?”
ReplyDeleteWhen Emerson writes, “the foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face,” I intrepid that to mean the Puritans believed nature was in conflict with God. If we return to Week 2 of our readings, Mary Rowlandson refers to nature in the Second Remove of her narrative as a “vast and desolate wilderness” and in our notes from Week 1 we were told that to the Puritans “ the Wilderness was the abode of the devil; it was both a test for his [God] Saints, a symbol of the struggle with the devil for the souls of men, and a reaffirmation that God would lead them through it as he led the Jews through the desert.”
I will go as far as to say that in those opening remarks Emerson is dropping the proverbial gauntlet at the feet of Puritanism as throughout his essay he is challenging their beliefs.
In closing I share one of my favorite quotes from “Nature,” “throughout nature, spirit is present; one and not compound, it does not act upon us from without, that is, in space and time, but spiritually, or through ourselves: therefore, that spirit, that is, the Supreme Being, does not build up nature around us, but puts it forth through us, as the life of the tree puts forth new branches and leaves through the pores of the old. As a plant upon the earth, so a man rests upon the bosom of God; he is nourished by unfailing fountains, and draws, at his need, inexhaustible power.”
Richard, I truly enjoyed your blog and my response to it was not meant as a contradiction to your observations, it was just a little different perspective.