Representative Men: Seven Lectures

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Overview

Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Representative Men" offers a compelling exploration of biography and philosophy through insightful essays. Emerson examines the lives and influences of six historical figures, including Emanuel Swedenborg, using them as lenses through which to explore broader themes of intellect, spirituality, and human potential. More than just biography, this work delves into literary criticism and philosophical inquiry, considering how these "representative men" embody particular facets of human experience. Emerson's essays provide a timeless study of genius and character. His keen observations remain relevant for anyone interested in the intersection of literature, philosophy, and the enduring power of exemplary lives. This meticulously prepared print edition presents Emerson's classic work in its original form, preserving its historical significance and philosophical depth.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781023072267
Publisher:	Anson Street Press
Publication date:	03/28/2025
Pages:	118
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.25(d)

About the Author

Andrew Delbanco is the Mendelson Family Chair of American Studies and Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University.

Read an Excerpt

"Emerson is a writer who grows restless if he stays too long with any proposition. And so, as one of his most intelligent modern readers, Judith Shklar, has pointed out, he built Representative Men around the principle of 'rotation,' which had become a political axiom in Jacksonian America—the idea that no man, no matter how imposing, should be accorded permanent authority. Representative Men honors the language of democracy in its very title, and it employs political metaphors throughout. 'We are multiplied,' the opening chapter declares, 'by our proxies.' "

—From the Introduction by Andrew Delbanco

Table of Contents

Historical Introduction

Statement of Editorial Principles

Textual Introduction

REPRESENTATIVE MEN: SEVEN LECTURES

1. Uses of Great Men

2. Plato, or the Philosopher

Plato: New Readings

3. Swedenborg, or the Mystic

4. Montaigne, or the Skeptic

5. Shakspeare, or the Poet

6. Napoleon, or the Man of the World

7. Goethe, or the Writer

Notes

Textual Apparatus

Annex A: The Manuscript

Appendix 1: The 1850 Compositors

Appendix 2: Revisions in the Manuscript

Annex B: Parallel Passages

Index

Preface

"Emerson is a writer who grows restless if he stays too long with any proposition. And so, as one of his most intelligent modern readers, Judith Shklar, has pointed out, he built Representative Men around the principle of 'rotation,' which had become a political axiom in Jacksonian America—the idea that no man, no matter how imposing, should be accorded permanent authority. Representative Men honors the language of democracy in its very title, and it employs political metaphors throughout. 'We are multiplied,' the opening chapter declares, 'by our proxies.' "

—From the Introduction by Andrew Delbanco

Andrew Delbanco is Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. Among his many publications are The Puritan Ordeal and The Real American Dream: A Meditation on Hope (both from Harvard).

Editorial Reviews

The most important work done in prose.”
—Matthew Arnold

From the Publisher