Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1850-03-23
Parkers Estimate Of Emerson.
Christian Citizen

Theodore Parker, in the last number Of
the Massachusetts Quarterly Review, has an
article on The Writings of r.. w. Emcr-
SON, from which we copy the following
paragraphs ..1s-
"Ilis position is striking one. Eminent
ly child of Christianity and of the Ancri-
can idea, lie is out of the Church and out of
the State. In the midst of Calyinslic and
Unitarian superstition, lac does not fear God
but loves aud trusts him. lie does not wor-
ship the idols of our time--Wcnlth aud Res
pectabilty, the two calves SET up by our mod
em Jeroboaln. lie fears not the dlmnation
these idols have the power to inflict-nether
poverty nor social disgrace. In lIsy and
busting New England comes out this man,
serene and beautiful nS u star, and shining
| like "A good deed in a naughty world Re-
preached. as un idler, he is active as tie sun,
/ aud pours out his radiant truth on LyeetlIns
at Chelmsford, nt WatlIam, at Lowell, aud
all over the land. Out of n cold Unitarian
Church rose this most lovely light. Here is
Boston, perhaps the most humane city III
America, with its few noble men and women,
its beautiful charities, its material vigor, and
its hardy enterprise (; commercial Boston,
where honor is weighed in the public scales,
conservative Boston, tile grave of the Reyo-
luton, wallowing in its wealth, yet grovelling
for more, seeking only money, careless of
Justice, stuffed with cotton yet hungry for
tariffs, sick with the greedy worm of avarice,
loving money as the end of life, and bigots
F, as the means of preserving it; Boston, with
toryism in It's parlors toryisnl in its pulpits,
: toryisln in its press, itself tory town, pre-
icrring the accidents of man TO man himself
and amidst it all there comes Emerson,
! graceful as Ph9bus-Ap Apollo, fearless and tram
! quill as the sun lac was supposed to guide,
: and pours down the encliantment of his
! light which falls whcre'er it may, OIL dust,
: on diamonds on decaying heaps to hasten
|, their rapid rot on sends new sown to quick
= , en- their ambitious germ, OH virgin minds of
, youth and maids to waken the natural seed
of n0bleness therein, to make it grow to
beauty and TO manliness. Such is the beau
. " of his speech, such the majesty of his
=, ideas, such the power of the moral sentiment
in men, and such the impression which bis
. whole character makes on them, that they
:, lend him, everywhere, their ears, and thou
sands bless his manly thoughts"
II " From what has been said, notwithstand-
: ing the faults we have found in Emerson, il
:, is plain that we sign him very high rank
= in the literature of mankind. lie is a very
' extraordinary man. To no English writer
since Million can we assign so high a place
= even Milton himself great genius though he
= was, and great architect of beauty, has moi
- added so many thoughts to the treasury OF
= the race; no, nor been the author of &c
- much loveliness. Emerson is man of &c,
q Illus such as does not often appear, such as
has never appeared before ilr America. and
~ but seldom in tho world. lie learns from
's all sorts of men, but no English writer. We
= think, is SO original. We sincerely lament
=, the want Of logic in his method, and his ex
y aggoration of the intuitive powers, the ul.
9, happy consequences of which we see il
=, =, some of his followers and admirers. The,
> will be more faithful than he to the false
principle which lie lays down, and will thinl
themselves wise because they do not study
Or learned because they are ignorant of books
h and inspired because they say what outragei
or common sense. In Emersons poetry ther
is often ruggedness and want OF 6pisl
4. which seems wlinl in man like him. Thi
fault is very obvious in those pieces hc la
. put before his several essays Sometime,
there is n seed-cOrn of thought in the niece
hut the piece itself seems like pile of rub
. bish shot out of a cart which binders tb,
seed from terminating. His admirers an,
N imitators not unirequently give us only TN
e, rubbish and probably justify themselves b.
10 the example OF their master. Spite Of thes
rs detects, MIR. Emerson, on Ihe whole, sneak
ID with u holy power which no other mali DOS
&c sesses who now writes the English tonSut
h Others have more readers are never sneere
at by respectable men, are often praised n
or the Journals, have greater weight In IN
piipits, the cabinets and the councils Of tl