Essays

[Footnote 464: Blackmail. What is "blackmail"? How may Christmas gifts, for instance, become a species of blackmail?] [Footnote 465: Brother, if Jove, etc. In the Greek legend, Epimetheus gives this advice to his brother Prometheus. The lines are taken from a translation of _Works and Days_, by the Greek poet, Hesiod.] [Footnote 466: Timons. Here used in the sense of wealthy givers. Timon, the hero of Shakespeare's play, _Timon of Athens_, wasted his fortune in lavish gifts and entertainments, and in his poverty was exposed to the ingratitude of those whom he had served. He became morose and died in miserable retirement.] [Footnote 467: It is a very onerous business, etc. One of Emerson's favorite passages in the essays of Montaigne, a French writer, was this: "Oh, how am I obliged to Almighty God, who has been pleased that I should immediately receive all I have from his bounty, and particularly reserved all my obligation to himself! How instantly do I beg of his holy compassion that I may never owe a real thanks to anyone. O happy liberty in which I have thus far lived! May it continue with me to the last. I endeavor to have no need of any one." When Emerson, in his old age, had his house injured by fire, his friends contributed funds to repair it and to send him to England. The gift was proffered graciously and accepted gratefully.] [Footnote 468: Buddhist. A follower of Buddha, a Hindoo religious teacher of the fifth century before Christ.] NATURE [Footnote 469: Nature. Emerson's first published volume was a little book of essays, entitled _Nature_, which appeared in 1836. In the years which followed, he thought more deeply on the subject and, according to his custom, made notes about it and entries in his journals. In the winter of 1843 he delivered a lecture on _Relation to Nature_, and it is probable that this essay is built up from that. The plan of it, however, had been long in his mind: In 1840 he wrote in his journal: "I think I must do these eyes of mine the justice to write a new chapter on Nature. This delight we all take in every show of night or day or field or forest or sea or city, down to the lowest particulars, is not without sequel, though we be as yet only wishers and gazers, not at all knowing what we want. We are predominated here as elsewhere by an upper wisdom, and resemble those great discoverers who are haunted for years, sometimes from infancy, with a passion for the fact, or class of facts in which the secret lies which they are destined to unlock, and they let it not go until the blessing is won. So these sunsets and starlights, these swamps and rocks, these bird notes and animal forms off which we cannot get our eyes and ears, but hover still, as moths round a lamp, are no doubt a Sanscrit cipher covering the whole religious history of the universe, and presently we shall read it off into action and character. The pastures are full of ghosts for me, the morning woods full of angels."] [Footnote 470: There are days, etc. The passage in Emerson's journal is hardly less beautiful. Under date of October 30, 1841, he wrote: "On this wonderful day when heaven and earth seem to glow with magnificence, and all the wealth of all the elements is put under contribution to make the world fine, as if Nature would indulge her offspring, it seemed ungrateful to hide in the house. Are there not dull days enough in the year for you to write and read in, that you should waste this glittering season when Florida and Cuba seem to have left their glittering seats and come to visit us with all their shining hours, and almost we expect to see the jasmine and cactus burst from the ground instead of these last gentians and asters which have loitered to attend this latter glory of the year? All insects are out, all birds come forth, the very cattle that lie on the ground seem to have great thoughts, and Egypt and India look from their eyes."] [Footnote 471: Halcyons. Halcyon days, ones of peace and tranquillity; anciently, days of calm weather in mid-winter, when the halcyon, or kingfisher, was supposed to brood. It was fabled that this bird laid its eggs in a nest that floated on the sea, and that it charmed the winds and waves to make them calm while it brooded.] [Footnote 472: Indian Summer. Calm, dry, hazy weather which comes in the autumn in America. The Century Dictionary says it was called Indian Summer because the season was most marked in the sections of the upper eastern Mississippi valley inhabited by Indians about the time the term became current.] [Footnote 473: Gabriel. One of the seven archangels. The Hebrew name means "God is my strong one."] [Footnote 474: Uriel. Another of the seven archangels; the name means "Light of God."] [Footnote 475: Converts all trees to wind-harps. Compare with this passage the lines in Emerson's poem, _Woodnotes_: "And the countless leaves of the pines are strings Tuned to the lay the wood-god sings." ] [Footnote 476: The village. Concord, Massachusetts. Emerson's home the greater part of the time from 1832 till his death.] [Footnote 477: I go with my friend, etc. With Henry Thoreau, the lover of Nature.] [Footnote 478: Our little river. The Concord river.] [Footnote 479: Novitiate and probation. Explain the meaning of these words, in the Roman Catholic Church. What does Emerson mean by them here?] [Footnote 480: Villegiatura. The Italian name for a season spent in country pleasures.] [Footnote 481: Hanging gardens. The hanging gardens of Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the world.] [Footnote 482: Versailles. A royal residence near Paris, with beautiful formal gardens.] [Footnote 483: Paphos. A beautiful city on the island of Cyprus, where was situated a temple of Astarte, or Venus.] [Footnote 484: Ctesiphon. One of the chief cities of ancient Persia, the site of a magnificent royal palace.] [Footnote 485: Notch Mountains. Probably the White Mountains near Crawford Notch, a deep, narrow valley which is often called "The Notch."] [Footnote 486: Æolian harp. A stringed instrument from which sound is drawn by the passing of the wind over its strings. It was named for Æolus, the god of the winds, in Greek mythology.] [Footnote 487: Dorian. Dorus was one of the four divisions of Greece: the word is here used in a general sense for Grecian.] [Footnote 488: Apollo. In Greek and Roman mythology, the sun god, who presided over music, poetry, and healing.] [Footnote 489: Diana. In Roman mythology, the goddess of the moon devoted to the chase.] [Footnote 490: Edens. Beautiful, sinless places,--like the garden of Eden.] [Footnote 491: Tempes. Places like the lovely valley of Tempe in Thessaly, Greece.] [Footnote 492: Como Lake. A lake of northern Italy, celebrated for its beauty.] [Footnote 493: Madeira Islands. Where are these islands, famous for picturesque beauty and balmy atmosphere?] [Footnote 494: Common. What is a common?] [Footnote 495: Campagna. The plain near Rome.] [Footnote 496: Dilettantism. Define this word and explain its use here.] [Footnote 497: "Wreaths" and "Flora's Chaplets." About the time that Emerson was writing his essays, volumes of formal, artificial verses were very fashionable, more as parlor ornaments than as literature. Two such volumes were _A Wreath of Wild Flowers from New England_ and _The Floral Offering_ by Mrs. Frances Osgood, a New England writer.] [Footnote 498: Pan. In Greek mythology, the god of woods, fields, flocks, and shepherds.] [Footnote 499: The multitude of false cherubs, etc. Explain the meaning of this sentence. If true money were valueless, would people make false money?]