Chapter Ralph Waldo Emerson of Index by Simonds History of American Literature

The volume, Letters and Social Aims, appeared in 1874. Parnassus, a collection of poems by British and American authors, a selection made by Mr. Emerson for his own pleasure, was published in the same year. The last public address written by Emerson was that delivered at Concord, in April, 1875, on the centennial of the fight at the bridge.

Last Journeys.

In 1871, the poet visited California. Soon after his return to Concord, his house was partially destroyed by fire. A European tour followed for relief and recreation -- a tour which extended as far as Egypt. During Mr. Emerson's absence a spontaneous movement among his friends resulted in the subscription of some twelve thousand dollars -- a gift which Mr. Emerson was with some difficulty prevailed upon to accept. It provided for the expense of the journey and for the restoration of the house. At the home- coming in May, 1873, the entire town of Concord assembled at the station to greet its famous and well- loved citizen. The church-bells announced his arrival, and the appearance of the train was received with the cheers of the assemblage. "Emerson appeared, surprised and touched, on the platform, and was escorted with music between two rows of smiling school-children to his house, where a triumphal arch of leaves and flowers had been erected."¹

The Twilight.

Already, before the events just mentioned, there had been indications of a weakening of the splendid intellectual power which had so long led the thought of that generation on the higher levels of the spirit. Memory failed, and now and then there was the pathetic spectacle of one, whose mastery of the written and spoken word had been preëminent, groping vainly for some familiar term. "I can't tell its name," he said once when he wanted an umbrella; then, with a flash of his old humor, -- "but I can tell its history. Strangers take it away."

But the shadows fell gently on these days of declining strength. In the spring of 1882, Mr. Emerson suffered from a severe cold, which developed into pneumonia; and after a brief illness the end came April 27, the poet recognizing his friends with a smile of greeting to the last. Upon Sunday, the thirtieth, simple and impressive services were held in the church at Concord. The homes of the townspeople and the public buildings were draped. Emerson was buried in the village cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, at the dedication of which as a burial-place he had delivered an address. His body was laid at the foot of a tall pine, not far from the graves of Hawthorne and Thoreau.

Emerson's Work.

The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, whether prose or poetry, are philosophical; but they make no attempt to set forth a comprehensive system of thought. Emerson is rather a spiritual teacher than a philosopher. Truth came to him not through an argument nor in logical progression, but in intuitions, as it does to a poet; and these keen, condensed, authoritative utterances so picturesquely expressed are self-convincing by their very form. His real philosophy was the purest idealism -- an idealism which to materialistic readers appeared merely vague and mystical. He maintained that its application to conduct was the only worthy, the only practical course. This ideal he supported with an independence and a self-possession that were marvelous. We hardly appreciate now how radical he was, nor how indifferent to the views and opinions of others. To many who disputed his opinions, Emerson's attitude seemed one of insolence. This was a misinterpretation of the spirit of one who was as gentle and amiable as he was courageous. "What we admire in Emerson is not only the intellectual elevation but the moral purity and simple childlike goodness and sweetness of the man" -- says a noted English essayist.1 In his search for truth, he felt only one responsibility -- the responsibility to himself. Assured of his own integrity, he stood serene and happy in absolute freedom.

This freedom of individual opinion and expression which he claimed for himself, Emerson urged upon all; it was a cardinal point in his teaching. He taught also the simple life and practiced it. Above everything else, he believed and taught the immanence of God, the presence of divinity in all of nature and in man.