Self-Reliance and Other Essays
Self-Reliance
Emerson's "Self-Reliance" advocates for individualism, nonconformity, and trusting one's inner voice while criticizing societal conformity and reliance on external validation for personal growth and fulfillment.
math.dartmouth.eduIf our young men miscarry in their first enterprises they lose all heart. If the young merchant fails, men say he is ruined. If the finest genius studies at one of our colleges and is not installed in an office within one year afterwards in the cities or suburbs of Boston or New York, it seems to his friends and to himself that he is right in being
... See moreRalph Waldo Emerson • Self Reliance (Illustrated)
The inquiry leads us to that source, at once the essence of genius, of virtue, and of life, which we call Spontaneity or Instinct. We denote this primary wisdom as Intuition, whilst all later teachings are tuitions.