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Self‐Reliance
Self‐Reliance, essay by Emerson, published in Essays, First Series (1841).
“Trust thyself,” a central doctrine in the author's ethical thought, is the theme developed here. “Envy is ignorance …imitation is suicide”; a man “must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion.” “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members…. Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” The two terrors that discourage originality and creative living are fear of public opinion and undue reverence for one's own consistency. The great figures of history have not cared for the opinions of their contemporaries; “to be great is to be misunderstood”; and if a man honestly expresses his nature he will be largely consistent. Deference to authority, to institutions, or to tradition is disobedience to the inner law that each of us must follow in order to do justice to himself and to society. We must speak the truth, and truth, revealed intuitively, cannot be achieved except through the development and expression of one's individual nature. “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” |
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Cite this article
James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Self‐Reliance." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Self‐Reliance." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-SelfReliance.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Self‐Reliance." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-SelfReliance.html |
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self-reliance
self-re·li·ance • n. reliance on one's own powers and resources rather than those of others. DERIVATIVES: self-re·li·ant adj. self-re·li·ant·ly adv. |
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Cite this article
"self-reliance." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "self-reliance." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-selfreliance.html "self-reliance." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-selfreliance.html |
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