Description:

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Concord, MA, March 8, 1835
Emerson Early ALS, Themes of 1836 Essay "Nature" - One of Best Letters Extant! "Nature is always talking to you, especially when you are alone"
ALS
A 3pp autograph letter signed by writer Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) as "R. Waldo Emerson" near the bottom of the third page. March 8, 1835. Concord, Massachusetts. On bifold stationery with an integral address leaf. Expected wear including light even toning and scattered stains. Discreet professional restoration and in-filling to splits and isolated areas of loss. Remnants of red wax seal verso. Lightly encapsulated. Else very good to near fine. Each page measures 7.75" x 9.625."

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote this letter to a 13-year-old girl named Lucia Russell (1821-1881), the Plymouth, Massachusetts neighbor of Emerson's second wife-to-be, Lydia (Lidian) Jackson. In the letter, Emerson, who was in his early 30s at the time, dutifully inquired about young Lucia's reading habits before launching into an eloquent meditation on Nature. Emerson would more fully elaborate his ideas about Nature in his lengthy essay of the same name published the following year by James Munroe & Co. "Nature" is considered a foundational text of Transcendentalist philosophy.

Paragraph breaks have been silently added for clarity. Emerson wrote Lucia Russell in part:

"I would gladly know what books Lucia likes to read when nobody advises her, + most of all what her thoughts are when she walks alone or sits alone. For though I know very well that Lucia is the happiest of girls in having in her sister so wise + kind a guide, yet even her aid must stop when she has put the book before you; neither sister nor brother nor mother nor father can think for us; in the little private chapel of your own mind none but God + you can see the happy thoughts that follow each other, the beautiful affections that spring there, the little silent hymns that are sung there at morning + at evening.

And I hope that every sun that shines, every star that rises, every wind that blows upon you will only bring you better thoughts + sweeter music. Have you found out that Nature is always talking to you, especially when you are alone, though she has not the gift of articulate speech? Have you found out what that great old gray ocean that is always in your sight, says? Listen. And what the withered leaves that shiver + chatter in the cold March wind? Only listen. The Wind is the Poet of the world + sometimes he sings very pretty summer ballads + sometimes very terrible odes + dirges. But if you will not tell me the little solitary thoughts that I am asking for, what Nature says to you + what you say to Nature, at least you can tell me about your books…"

In "Nature" and other essays, Emerson argued that elements of the divine could best be understood through a study of and appreciation for the natural world. This new type of spirituality thrived on profound meditation best achieved in absolute solitude. In his letter to Lucia, Emerson compares the solitary individual's mind to a quiet and sacred space akin to a "private chapel." In the opening lines of the first chapter of "Nature," published the following year, Emerson states: "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society… But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars… " (9). To Emerson, being alone was a prerequisite of receiving Nature's clearest messages. Everything else is stripped away until the individual becomes an omnipotent "transparent eye-ball" absorbing all of Nature's wisdom (13). Solitude also helped ensure a person's self-reliance, or individual integrity - another important belief of Emerson's.

Emerson's assurances to Lucia that Nature communicates, though not always through "the gift of articulate speech" was further expounded in "Nature." In Chapter VI, "Idealism," Emerson talks about the "unspeakable but intelligible" language of the natural world (59). One cannot easily decipher the movements of birds, deer, or fox, Emerson explains in Chapter VII, "Spirit," but these too are reflections of the divine, "every glimpse of which hath a grandeur, [and which shows] a face of him [God]" (81).

Emerson had proposed to and been accepted by Lydia Jackson two months earlier, in January 1835, so his letter to protegee Lucia Russell is a wonderful exposition on Emerson's ideals just for their own sake. Lucia Russell later married George Ware Briggs (1810-1895), a Unitarian minister. Emerson's letter to Lucia Russell is fully reproduced in a biography of Lucia's son, Le Baron Russell Briggs [ed. Rollo Walter Brown, "Dean Briggs" (New York: Harper & Brothers Company, 1926), p. 29-30. Please see scans included for reference.]

Ralph Waldo Emerson became a literary celebrity following the publication of two essay collections in 1841 and 1844. In addition to writing essays, Emerson also wrote poetry and frequently gave speaking engagements. Emerson was one of the leading thinkers of the Transcendentalist movement in the United States.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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