The Advocate and news., 1898-02-02
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COOPERATIVE READING CLUBS.
AMERICAN LITERATURE COURSE.
LESSON 6.-PART I.
THE CONCORD WRITER'S 1861


Waldo Emerson, Amos Bronson Alcott,
margaret Fuller Ossoli, Henry David
IhOreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James
Russell Lowell, Henry Wadsworth Long
fellow, John Greenleaf Whittier Oliver
Wendell Holmes, George Ripley.
2. Sympathizers with the experiment:
Horace Greeley, DIR. +. II. Hedge. J. s.
Dwight G. p. Cranch, G. w. Curtis,
T. ". Higginson.
3. The periodicals OF the Brook Farm:
The Harblnger, The Dial
THE TRANSCENDENTAL MOVE
MENT.
In all history Of literature, of art. of
civil life, or amid the dark days of a
revolution, we find, as with the early
colonists, that the underlying principles
are actuated by the impulse of religious
truth and it's effect on what we NAV
designate as the social relations of man
kind. The early period was the seed
time OF American literature, and through
the hardships and struggle for inde-
pendence our literature grew and ex-
panded, giving evidence Of the life
within itself as separate entity from
that OF Great Britain, until at last that
life was recognized by France, Germany.
Spain and even by England herself. We
have given from time to time the bud
ding genius belonging to and forming a
part OF our national literature, and when
about the year 1887 controversy upon
religious principles occurred, 1t brought
into prominence the indisputable evi-
dence of the high rank Of our poets, our
historians, our theolOgians, and our
writer's OF fiction who congregated for
the first time as a school of writer's. The
Brook Farm community "In it's strictest
sense transcendentalism," Beers defines
IN his Outline Studies, was a restate-
ment Of the idealistic philosophy, and
an application Of its beliefs to religion,
nature and life. But in a loose sense.
and as including the more outward man
ifestatiOns which drew popular atten-
ton most strongly, it was the name
given to that spirit of dissent and pro-
test, Of universal inquiry and expert
ment, which marked the third and
fourth decades Of this century in Amer
lea, and especially in New England.
New sects were formed, like the
Swedenborgians, Universalists, Spirit
ualists, Shakers, Millerites, Second Ad-
ventists, MormOns and Come-outers.
New systems of education, suggested
by the writings Of the Swiss reformer
Pestalozzi were tried, as we'll as many
theories regarding the basis of social
life
The sciences Of mesmerism and phre-
nology as taught by Gall and SDurz-
helm had many followers. In medicine,
homeopathy, hvdropathy and, as DR..
Holmes said, kindred spirits" engaged
the attention of many. In the year 1910
movements" had arisen, and, as Lowell
said, Communities were established
where everything was to be common
but common sense"
Emerson defines the new faith in his
lecture on that subject in the following
manner:
What is popularity called transcen-
dentalism among us is idealism."
The ldealism Of the present day acquired
the name transcendental from the use
of that term by Emmanuel Kant, who re-
piled to the skeptical philosophy of
Locke, which insisted that there was
nothing in the intellect which was not
previously in the experience of the
senses, by showing there was very
important classes of ideas or imperative
forms which he denominated as trans
cendental forms. Emerson is often
times called the prophet Of the sect, and
Concord the Mecca of the Transcenden-
talists.
LESSON QUESTIONS.
/. What writer's of prominence lived
on the Brook Farm?
2. How did the outer world, or those
not in sympathy with the movement re-
gard the movement?
3. Did Hawthorne partake of the gen.
eral enthusiasm of the other members. b
4. What man was at the head of the
movement? C
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