Self-Reliance
From Free net encyclopedia
Self-Reliance is an essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson and published in 1841.
In this essay, Emerson conveys his transcendentalist philosophy and belief in self-reliance, an essential part of which is to trust in one's present thoughts and impressions rather than those of other people or of one's past self. This philosophy is exemplified in the quote: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
Emerson also stresses originality, believing in one's own genius and living from within. From this springs the quote: "Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide."
[edit]