New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-01-15


se-ieLf, % b. pure ard elevated.
Toe longest essay ID the collection, AID that
wfic1 approaches nearest n The more formidable
character n = t-eatise. is tha, entitled Nature
Itis exhibits. so 70 speak, tue practical P9iAt o.
view Of a. idealist The lleast las denIed tee
suLsfanta Independent existence of material
world bat be does Dot deny the existence Of pne-
nomenal world. The Divine Nature reveals itfet
IN the twofo'd form oi finite md aud tins phenOn-
eua world. Thus We believe We may express
tie general creed Of these philosophers, though
is a very delicate matter 10 &C, IS intc-preter 10
tbs class OF thinkers they are rarely satisfied
with any expressions Il their own, and are not
likely 10 be c0ntented with those OF any other per
son. This phenomenal world has for ts iinsl cause
the development and education 81 the tniie mind
IL follows therefore that all which q realist could
say Of the utility Of Nature can lie advalced also
by toe idealst He bss bis practical pcilt OF
view. and can discourse. as Mr.. Emerson does here
on the various uses Of Nature which. he SAYS. I'D
nit Of being thrown into the folo~ag classes;
Commodity, Beauty Language and Discipline.
We have not the least intention Of proceeding
farther with a. analysis Of ttis essay IS we have
already minated. the value Of Mr. Emerson
writings appears n Us % consist ia the beauty and
tr1.hiulness Of individual passages, not 81 al IN MS
syst m or any prolonged train OF reasoning he may
adopt. IL is impossible 20 read this production
without being deiichted and arrested BY number
OF these individual passages sparkling with thought
or fancy it would be equally impossible to gather
from it, as a whole anything satisfactory or COM
plete.
Ga the beauty Of Nature be IS always eloquent,
be is evidently one who intensely feels il. Every
day the sun end after sunset night and the stars.
Ever the wind blows ever the grass grows The
shows Of heaven and earth are with him portion
Of daily life. Ia the woods IS perpetual youth
We tals." he lays in another place d" with scsom-
1hed pes.ns who appear 20 be s-rangers IN Mature.
TIE cloud the the turf the bird Dot thefs have
nothing OF them the world IL only their lodging and
table
No such stranger is our poet philosophcr.
Crossing bare common. in twilight under couded
sfy without having IN nay thoughts sny Occurrences Of
special good fortune have enjoyed perfect eyni ara
ton. Almost / fear 10 think how glad sm.'
The only quotation We shall make from the essay
Oh Mature shall be where be treats OF this
subject
4 nobl.r wat Of mau is served hy NstuIe-namey
love Of beauty such Is the consiuon Of all things
On uch the p..c power Of Inc human eve that the phi
mary the say, the mountain. the the animal
eive nj. aeg bf 10 afd fer flemsi-ts pleasure aris
from outline color, motion and grouping And as the eve
IT. IL no objef 30 ff fiai ,uf,nle hrhf -H aof NAE
BEAUTIFUL Ard the Stimulus affords 20 the sense, and
sort 81 nhntude which u hath ike space sud time. vii
rnske al matter gay But beside this general gac. dit
fused Nature, almost ali the individual forms are
agreeable 10 the eye, ass proved b. our endless mia
tiOns OF Of them the acorn, the grape the pine
cone wheatear he the wings and forms Of most
brds the lions claw, the serpent the butterfly
flames, clouds BUDS leaves and the forms Of many trees
the palm.
"Ths influence Of the forms aud actions Nature is
needful to that In is lowest functions II seems to lie
the confines q Commodity and Beauty To the body
anc mind which have been cfauped by nyAou- "oi on
company, Nature IL medicinal aud restores iher tone Inc
iradesman ne attorney comes out Of the ON a. craft OF
the street ana sees me SKY ena t9e ~ouos a1 y
sgsin II their eternal calm be tnds himself The heath
Of the eye seems 90 demand honzon Weafe never lreo
80 Ion. see far enough.
But other hours Mature satisfies the soul purely BY
s loveines without any mixture Of corporal bene
h have seen the spectacie q morning from the hilltop
over against my house from daybTeak sunrise, with
emotions which hngsl light share The long slender
bars Of cloud float Ike fishes the Of crimson ght
From the earib, .boIe lock NJ ia0 fha' silent
70 pariake Us rapid transiornstions the active
enchanfent reaches my dust and dilate and conspife
with the morning wind How does Nature defy with
fswand che elements Giuc me- aaiti ondd dlydnd null
make yonlp Of Emperor ridiculous. The dawn Is
Assvrs the sunset and rroonrse ny Paphos and unim
aginabe realms Of iaefie.
Mr.. Emerson has published volume Of poems
and it has been generally admitted that ne has not
succeeded 10 verse But there are touches of
charming poetry in his prose. This discrepancy
which is not unreqoently met with, must result,
we presume, from an inaptitude 10 employ the
forms Of verse so that the style, instead OF being
ingigorated aud polished, aud concentrated by the
necessary attention 70 line and metre becomes De
naturalzed, constrained crude and unequal We
have looked through this volume Of poems, bat we
should certainly not be adding 10 the reputation Of
the author by drawing attention 10 it. II we
wished 70 find instances u the poetry Of Emerson,
We should still seek for them in his prose essays.
Thus he says:
"In this pleasing contfo woodlifs which God allows
me let me record day By day my honest thought without
prospect retrospect and cannot doubt 10 VIII De iosna
symmetrical, though ! mean u not and ses it not ne
slraosr ny rindor should i1ferr,are that fead o.
sfraru ne CARTS m kis biH INTO ny ire5 aDo
Our moods le says, do not believe IN each othef-
To-day am fall Of thoughts; but yesterday saw ofeaty
yacuity Ia this direction Ia which now see 90 nuen
and a month hence, doubt not shall wonder who ne
that wrote SO many continuous pages Aa' fox hls
iurm faith, this vi not strenuous ms vast eop o. Nas
flow an, God ~ NafuTeI an u Ipesd By TIE null
d" A lsdy" he writes on another occasion, with whom
riding In the forest. said to ne that the woods a.
ways seemed t. her roif II the genii who inhAb
them suspended their deeds until The wayierer has passed
cesbaed in the dance Of the fairies which breaks OF on
the approach OF human feet
The lady had true poetic feeling. And the fol-
lowing thought is illustrated 10y very happy
imsge;
ia niau we still the rudiments hints Of a th't
We esteem badges Of serntude 10 the lower t'es ye 10
him they enhance hs nobensss and grace a. 10 "a rs
how changed when Isis in Egypt she meets JOye, a
beautiful woman It'll nothing Of the meamorphoss left
but the lunar horns as the splendid ornament OF nef
brows"
In his philosophy, we have seen that Mr.. Ener-
son is an ideaist, something too, OF pantheist.-
To theology. We have heard him described as Uni
tartan but although the Unltarians OF America
differ more widely from each other, and from tue
standard OF orthodoxy than the same denomna'
ton OF men in this country, presume there Is
no body of UnItsrians with whom our philosopher
would traternize, or who would receive hlm among
their ranks His Christianity appears rather to be
of that description which certain OF the Germans,
one section OF the Hegelious for instance, have
found reconcl able with their Panthelstlc phiioso
ply Il, /. " ell for him that he writes In tolerant
age that be did not make his appearance geners-
ton too soon the pilgrim fathers would certainly
have burnt MIN at the stake he would have died
the death of Giordauo Bruno. And We beiieve-ii
the spirit OF hs writings be ANY test OF tue spirit Of
the man-thst he would have suffered as martyr
rather than have ioregone the freedom and the
tuthialuess OF his thought his essays are fePlete
with passages such as this;
GOD offers 10 every mind rs choice between truth and
rerose Take which please can never have 1oth
Between these. pendulum man oscates ever lie 10
whom Of ped0mlnste', I'll accept the h't
creed the philosophy the hrst political party be
ne-is-most likely his fathers he gets rest coinn9dity
I'D reputation but he shuts the door OF truth. lie in
whom the love Of truth predonipst-s, vii keep himself
aooi from al moogngs AID atost tie viii abstain ifcm
darn aiisu and recognize 81 the opposite negati3ns BE-
tween which, ais, his being - swung lie submits ~
is Inconvenience Of suspense md Imperfect opinion bur
he sA candidate for the oth=r cot, and he e-
speets the highest law Of MS being
We gather from what little has reached Us OF bis
biography. thst he has in fact sacrificed somewha.
nj the commodity OF this life % this higher lsy