To open Emerson is to plunge into a raging surf of ideas. One must stop to get one's breath, to restore the points of the compass. The ideas come like huge powerful waves that threaten your previous placid existence. You must stretch yourself mentally to stay afloat. You must be at the top of your powers to survive.
Books are for nothing but to inspire.
Emerson's do that. Emerson looked for that inspiration himself. He found it in Shakespeare, Plato, Plutarch, Montaigene. But his thoughts ultimately were his own. And so it should be.