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Get to Know Our Self Trust Our Self
Self-Reliance
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Emerson’s life (1803-1882)
Born in Boston, descendant from a line of preacher ancestors
Father died when he was 8 years old Harvard 1817-1821 A Unitarian pastor for 3 years Travel in Europe and England 1832-34 Settled at Concord, MA as an essayist, poet and public
speaker Leadership in the Transcendental Club Preaching optimism, self-reliance and the infinite
potentials of an individual
Emerson’s major works
Nature (1836) The American Scholar (1837) Divinity School Address (1838) Essays: First Series (1841) Essays: Second Series (1844)
Transcendentalism in 1830s-1840s
Transcend the limitation of pure reason and receive higher truths by intuition.
The divine intuition of an individual
the nature / the universal mind / the Over-Soul / God– the ultimate creator of truth, goodness and beauty
Self-Reliance
Divinity of human nature: a man is a part or parcel of the Over-Soul / God
Self-sufficiency of an individual
God – Creator – Divinity Ultimate Truth / Goodness / Beauty
Self-Reliance
Us – Created – innate Divinity / GoodnessIntuition / Intuitive reason
Discussion
Questions on p. 48 The major argument points of the excerpted
essay
Emerson’s attitude to charity
He despises
- insincere / hypocritical charity: “…Thy love afar is spite at home.” “…… 你对远处的爱就是对家里恨。”（蒲隆译，三联书店）
- alms-giving charity ： “ foolish philanthropist”
Cf. para. 1 on pp. 39-40
Emerson’s “virtue”
Virtue, in the usual sense, is a piece of good action done on exceptional occasions as an expiation or apology of living, for a spectacle.
For Emerson, the real virtue is to be your genuine self. It is one’s intrinsic quality, not sth. demonstrated in actions.
(Cf. para 2 on pp. 40)
Why is it difficult to be a nonconformist?
For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure.
The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency.
(Cf. para.2-3, p.42)
Consistency
Emerson dislikes consistency which in his opinion scares us from our self-trust.
With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. To be great is to be misunderstood.
There is the agreement underneath the inconsistency.
(Cf. para 3, p. 42- para.2, p.43)
Agreement of one’s actions
What is it? - harmony of an individual’s actions that appear
varied or even contradictory to each other. Why is it important? - so that one remains genuine, honest and natural in
every action and thus one can be independent, self-trusting and act out one’s true self without being bound by the thought of being inconsistent with one’s past actions.
(Cf. para 3, p.43 – para 2, p. 44)
What is a true man?
A nonconformist who has full confidence in himself and follows
his own nature, who dares to think and act differently from the
dominant opinions, who is not afraid to contradict himself.
Outline ofSelf-Reliance (excerpt)
Thesis: Whoso (Whoever) would be a man, must be a nonconformist. 谁要做人，决不能做一个顺民（蒲隆译，下同）。
I. Why must we be a nonconformist? II. Why is it difficult to be a nonconformist? III. Do not be afraid to contradict yourself. IV. Be a true man because it’s the true man /
nonconformist /hero that makes history.
I. Why a nonconformist?
a. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
归根结底，除了你自己心灵的完善外，没有什么神圣之物。
b. No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature .
在我看来，除了我天性的法则而外，再没有什么神圣的法则。
I. Why a nonconformist?
c. The real virtue is to be yourself, trust yourself and rely on yourself.
d. What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. 我必须要做的是与我有关的事，而不是人们所想的事。
e. The objection to conforming to usages that have become dead to you is that it scatters your force. 之所以反对顺从一些对你来说已经僵死的习俗，就因为这样做分散你的精力。
II. Why is it difficult to be a nonconformist?
a. For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure.
由于不顺从，世人就对你横眉冷对，要对你横加鞭笞。
b. The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency.
使我们不敢自信的另一个恐惧就在于我们总是要求前后一致。
III. Do not be afraid to contradict yourself
a. Never rely on your memory alone,… but to bring the past for judgment into the thousand-eyed present, and live ever in a new day.
决不一味依赖你的记忆，……而是把过去带进众目睽睽的现在进行鉴定，并永远生活在新时代里。
III. Do not be afraid to contradict yourself
b. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
愚蠢的一贯性是渺小心灵上的恶鬼，受到小政客、小哲学家和小牧师的顶礼膜拜。
III. Do not be afraid to contradict yourself
c. No man can violate his nature.
谁也不能违反自己的天性。d. There will be an agreement in whatever variety
of actions, so they be (as long as they are) each honest and natural in their hour.
行为尽管千变万化，但只要每一次的行为既诚实又自然，他们总会有一种一致性的。（金文宁改译）
IV. Be a true man
a. A true man is the centre of things.
一个真正的人是万事万物的中心。b. Let a man know his worth, and keep things
under his feet (Be confident and you’ll be the king / prince).
那就让一个人认清自己的价值，把万物踩在自己的脚下。
IV. Be a true man
c. Every man has the potential to be the king.
一个真正的人是万事万物的中心。d. It’s other people’s loyalty and obedience that
allow the king to have his own way.
国王之所以为王是因为别人忠实于和顺从他们的意愿。
More quotations…
It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
在世（界）上，按世人的观点生活容易；在隐居时，按自己的想法生活也不难；可是伟人之所以是伟人，就在于他在稠人广众之中尽善尽美地保持了遗世独立的个性。
More quotations…
With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.
如果强求一成不变，伟大的灵魂就一事无成。 Every true man is a cause, a country, and an
age. 每一个真正的人就是一个起因（事业），一个国家，一个时代。
More quotations…
Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong what is against it.
好与坏只不过是一些名目，这儿那儿随便都可以挪用。凡符合我性格的东西就是正确的，凡违背我性格的东西都是错误的。
More quotations…
I do not wish to expiate, but to live. My life is for itself and not for a spectacle.
我不想赎罪，只想生活，我生活是为了生活本身，不是为了观瞻。
Assignments
Read Washington Irving’s short story “Rip Van Winkle” (Unit 7)
Think about the discussion questions after the text. What role do the supernatural elements play in the
story?
