"Nature: The Source for Living"
Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the two prominent figures of the Transcendentalist movement of the early 1800's, believed nature to be the ultimate source of inspiration and fulfillment for the human life. However, Emerson and Thoreau take different approaches in expressing this shared view of nature in their respective essays, "Nature" and "Walking." Ralph Waldo Emerson's radical belief system, known as Transcendentalism, involved being defiant towards conventional religion, traditional authority, and superficial materialism--all of which were popular pillars of early nineteenth century America. Emerson thought that society was corrupt and people were incapable of understanding their surroundings when they conformed to the same set of laws and religious codes. In other words, a group of individuals simply following each other could never actually learn anything. Emerson's transcendentalist worldview is eloquently encapsulated in his well-known essay entitled "Self-Reliance": "Whosoever would be a man, must be a nonconformist...A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...to be great is to be misunderstood." In his 1836 essay "Nature", Emerson continues to discuss these themes, but particular
He emphasizes the importance of walks and the sense of freedom gained by the individual who chooses to venture through the wilderness. "To the body and mind which have been cramped by noxious work or company, nature is medicinal and restores their tone. "When sometimes I am reminded that the mechanics and shopkeepers stay in their shops not only all the forenoon, but all the afternoon too, sitting with crossed legs, so many of them,--as if the legs were made to sit upon, and not to stand or walk upon,-- I think that they deserve some credit for not having all committed suicide long ago" (74-75). Emerson also proposes that nature's inherent beauty is not only aesthetically pleasing but also healing to the human mind and body. " In this chapter, Emerson likens nature to Almighty God. " Thoreau also agreed with Emerson in proposing nature to be the source for living: "Life consists with wildness. We do not know the uses of more than a few plants, as corn and the apple, the potato and the vine. Both of these transcendentalist leaders, however, looked to nature as the ultimate source of knowledge, spirituality, discipline, and freedom for the human being. He believes that every experience of life in general, and of nature in particular, offers the individual valuable knowledge and insight. The most alive is the wildest" (97). The tradesman, the attorney comes out of the din and craft of the street, and sees and sky and the woods, and is a man again. Yet, Thoreau went even further by making his ideals into reality. Emerson continues to convey his sublime outlook of nature in his chapter called "Beauty.
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