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The writings featured here show Emerson as a protester against social conformity, a lover of nature, an activist for the rights of women and slaves, and a poet of great sensitivity. As explored in this volume, Emersonian thought is a unique blend of belief in individual freedom and in humility before the power of nature. 'I become a transparent eyeball,' Emerson wrote in Nature, 'I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part of parcel of God.' Written over a century ago, this passage is a striking example of the passion and originality of Emerson's ideas, which continue to serve as a spiritual center and an ideological base for modern thought.
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