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RalphWaldoEmersonFullname:RalphWaldoEmersonBorn:May25,1803Died:April27,1882Era:19thcenturyphilosophyRegion:WesternPhilosophySchool:TranscendentalismLifeLiteratureInfluenceOtherinformationRalphWaldoEmerson(May25,1803–April27,1882)wasanAmericanlecturer,essayist,andpoet,bestrememberedforleadingtheTranscendentalistmovementofthemid-19thcentury.Hewasseenasachampionofindividualismandaprescientcriticofthecountervailingpressuresofsociety,andhedisseminatedhisthoughtsthroughdozensofpublishedessaysandmorethan1,500publiclecturesacrosstheUnitedStates.•HisundergraduatecareeratHarvardwasnotillustrious（杰出的）,andhisstudiesattheHarvardDivinitySchoolweretruncatedbyvisionproblems,buthewasordainedaministeroftheSecondChurchinBoston,shortlybeforemarryingEllenTuckerin1829.Heresignedin1832.TranscendentalismisagroupofnewideasinliteratureandphilosophythatemergedinNewEnglandintheearly-to-middle19thcentury.ItissometimescalledAmericanTranscendentalismtodistinguishitfromotherusesofthewordtranscendental.Themovementdevelopedinthe1830sand40sasaprotestagainstthegeneralstateofcultureandsociety,andinparticular,thestateofintellectualismatHarvardUniversityandthedoctrineoftheUnitarianchurchtaughtatHarvardDivinitySchool.Amongtranscendentalists'corebeliefswasthebeliefinanidealspiritualstatethattranscendsthephysicalandempiricalandisrealizedonlythroughtheindividual'sintuition,ratherthanthroughthedoctrinesofestablishedreligions.ThemajorfiguresinthemovementwereRalphWaldoEmerson,HenryDavidThoreau,WaltWhitman.•HenryDavidThoreau(July12,1817–May6,1862)wasanAmericanauthor,poet,abolitionist(废奴主义者),naturalist,taxresister,developmentcritic,surveyor,historian,philosopher,andleadingtranscendentalist.HeisbestknownforhisbookWalden,areflectionuponsimplelivinginnaturalsurroundings,andhisessay,CivilDisobedience,anargumentforindividualresistancetocivilgovernmentinmoraloppositiontoanunjuststate.•WaldenbyHenryDavidThoreauisoneofthebest-knownnon-fictionbookswrittenbyanAmerican.Publishedin1854,itdetailsThoreau‘ssojourn(旅居)inacabinnearWaldenPond,amidstwoodlandownedbyhisfriendandmentorRalphWaldoEmerson,nearConcord,Massachusetts.ThoreaulivedatWaldenfortwoyears,twomonths,andtwodays,butWaldenwaswrittensothatthestayappearstobeayear,withexpressedseasonaldivisions.Thoreaudidnotintendtoliveasahermit,forhereceivedvisitorsandreturnedtheirvisits.•WaltWhitman(May31,1819–March26,1892)wasanAmericanpoet,essayistandjournalist.Ahumanist,hewasapartofthetransitionbetweentranscendentalismandrealism,incorporatingbothviewsinhisworks.WhitmanisamongthemostinfluentialpoetsintheAmericancanon,oftencalledthefatheroffreeverse.Hisworkwasverycontroversialinitstime,particularlyhispoetrycollectionLeavesofGrass,whichwasdescribedasobsceneforitsovertsexuality.•In1835,EmersonmarriedLydiaJackson;theylivedinConcordandhadfourchildrenwhilehesettledintohislifeofconversations,readingandwriting,andlecturing,whichfurnishedacomfortableincome.•Hewasvigorousinmiddleage,travelingfrequently,butwasincreasinglyawareofhislimitsandfailingenergy.Hehadbecomequitefamous,amajorfigureintheAmericanliterarylandscape,acelebritywhichbroughtbothadulationandsatire.Hehadbeenaprofoundinspirationformanywriters,especiallyHenryThoreauandWaltWhitman.•Emersongraduallymovedawayfromthereligiousandsocialbeliefsofhiscontemporaries,formulatingandexpressingthephilosophyofTranscendentalisminhis1836essay,Nature.Followingthisground-breakingwork,hegaveaspeechentitledTheAmericanScholarin1837,whichOliverWendellHolmes,Sr.consideredtobeAmerica'sIntellectualDeclarationofIndependence.Consideredoneofthegreatlecturersofthetime,Emersonhadanenthusiasmandrespectforhisaudiencethatenrapturedcrowds.•Emersonwrotemostofhisimportantessaysaslecturesfirst,thenrevisedthemforprint.Hisfirsttwocollectionsofessays–Essays:FirstSeriesandEssays:SecondSeries,publishedrespectivelyin1841and1844–representthecoreofhisthinking,andincludesuchwell-knownessaysasSelf-Reliance,TheOver-Soul,Circles,ThePoetandExperience.TogetherwithNature,theseessaysmadethedecadefromthemid-1830stothemid-1840sEmerson'smostfertileperiod.•Hecontinuedhisspeechesagainstslavery,butneverwiththefireofTheodoreParker.In1857hewroteanessayon“Memory”butironically,inhislateryears,hisownmemorywouldfalter,especiallyafterhisbelovedhouseburnedin1872.Hediedquietlyofpneumonia（肺炎）in1882.•OliverWendellHolmes,Sr.(August29,1809–October7,1894)wasanAmericanphysician,professor,lecturer,andauthor.Regardedbyhispeersasoneofthebestwritersofthe19thcentury,heisconsideredamemberoftheFiresidePoets.HismostfamousproseworksaretheBreakfast-Tableseries,whichbeganwithTheAutocratoftheBreakfast-Table(1858).Heisrecognizedasanimportantmedicalreformer.•Nature;AddressesandLectures(1849)•Nature–Introduction–ChapterI.Nature–ChapterII.Commodity–ChapterIII.Beauty–ChapterIV.Language–ChapterV.Discipline–ChapterVI.Idealism–ChapterVII.Spirit–ChapterVIII.ProspectsEssays:FirstSeries(1841)HistorySelf-Reliance(also:UnderstandingSelf-Reliance)CompensationSpiritualLawsLoveFriendshipPrudenceHeroismTheOver-SoulCirclesIntellectArtEssays:SecondSeries(1844)ThePoetExperienceCh