Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-01-08

Peculiar Views of Ralph Waldo Emer
sOn-TLe Sage Of Concord Declared NS
Philosopher.
A New York paper speaking of Emerson
and his last volume, gives this peculiar but
very unjust opinion;
He always speaks like an oracle; graVelv.
put sententiously, some times obscurely, and
snaps his teeth hard when he has finished
as IT like "lago,' he said, ''From this time
forth never shall speak a word" Yet in a
moment after he is talking again. His view
are thrown out just as they occur to him (:
not every thing he utters, when Beauty, or
Wealth or Power is proclaimed his theme
has any reference to Beauty, or Wealth or
Power. If he thinks of it now. out II must
come. If it is utterly contradictory and ir-
feconcilable with what be said a few mo-
ments ago, matters not. He thinks it, and il
is to be uttered
Yet all the world knows the profundity of
some Of these thoughts, the originality of
many Of these utterances. All the world
knows how full they are OF character and of
individuality; how crammed with suggest
lVenessi how productive of comment and
criticism. All the world recognizes Emer-
son as great mind. Still he seems to us not
TO belong to the greatest order of minds.
his originality is often only eccentricity;
MS individuality is often only mannerism.
he Is tricky; he is artificial; be knows how
to be effective; his style is carefully wrought
to seem not so his thoughts are dressed to
seem not dressed after any prevailing mode.
lie IS ike the Quaker, who Is prouder of the
numillty indicated in his plain garb, than
the dandy OF his coat in the la eat Parisian
style. lie tramples on the pride of the world
with a far greater pride than that of the
world. u '--'
Then when one examines closely into his
philosophy it will be discovered to be the
result OF observation rather than such as ia
learned from experience, and not at all the
product of intuition. The philosopher is
wise, but his wisdom is not of this world; he
learns wisdom by looking in on himself, and
is as vain as Montaigne, without acknowl-
edging it. The proper study of mankind il
man, and the proper study of Mr.. Emerson
seems to have been Mr.. Emerson. What he
knows Of human nature is learned from the
following precept of the Greeks: Gnothi
oduton; from studying books; not from a
large acquaintance with affairs and the busy
world; not from varied and manifold expe-
rlences OF life; not from seeing every phase
OF character developed under every irnagin-
able circumstance. He watches events and
men from sfar.
Nor does he have the compromising gift of
genius, that needs neither to experience nor
to observe-that knows, like God how men
and women act and how they would act,
and how they should act. Emerson has
none of the characteristics of genius no in
buttons, no power of subduing you to his
mood, no influence over your sympathies,
de is cold and distant, and repels, not at
tracts. You feel that he is an observer, that
heiseyer more wrapped in himself than inter-
ested in you or others. He has no faculty of
feeling for others or with them; of throwing
aside himself and his own identity. of for
getting Emerson, and so making us forget
ourselves. he has no impulses, and SO 1o
power over ours. He discusses calmly and
often eloquently; he tells us his thoughts,
and they are worth listening to-; he has
crowds of ideas, sbme of them splendid and
polished and shapely as the marbles of the
Greeks, but cold as those marbles, and with
none Of their magnificent passion, none of
thelr intense humanity. He might have
lived 5000 years ago. for all his readers care,
but, had be done so, he would have few
readers to-day.