Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, poet, philosopher, pastor, lecturer, and public figure. During his life, he was one of the most prominent thinkers and writers in the United States with his work remaining influential today. In the late 19th century, after the death of Benjamin Franklin, it was Emerson who filled the role of thinker, motivator, and spiritual guide for the American nation. While he was the mentor and friend of Henry David Thoreau, he was viewed by most liberals of his generation as their spiritual leader. The admiration was well deserved: he was the first thinker to formulate the philosophy of transcendentalism. Emerson's writings influenced the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, Maurice Maeterlinck, Charles Baudelaire, and Leo Tolstoy.
Contents:
Poems of Youth and Early Manhood
Poems, 1847
May-Day and Other Pieces
Elements and Mottoes
Quatrains
Fragments
Uncollected Poems
Translations
The Poems
Essays. First Series
Essays. Second Series
Representative Men
