Journal #30

Michelle Romero
English 48A
Final Question #1

Both Emerson and Thoreau not only emphasize the individual, but the natural power of human nature.

Emerson: "But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things" (1111).

Thoreau: "Law never made men a whit more just; and by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice" (1858).

In the first quote, Emerson explains the power of a man in solitude, finding the heavenly things on his own. Here, it does not take government or society or any other outside force to tell the man what is right and what is vulgar. By looking at the stars or the heavens, which represent man's nature or first origin, he can know. Emerson also says, this knowledge or ability to do so, separates him from vulgar things. Basically, he considers much of society and the institutions we have created as vulgar. In fact, I find it somewhat ironic that he does not find the man vulgar, yet the institutions the man made are vulgar. How can it be?

In the second quote by Thoreau, we see Thoreau agreeing with Emerson in that the law is not what makes a man just. It is not what makes him know right from wrong. Both authors emphasize the innate ability of man to see within him-self, to feel on his own. Here again, we see Thoreau comparing justice to injustice the way Emerson separates out the vulgar things.

To me, this shows the idealist in each of these men. Many authors write about the violence of men, the mistakes or hardships, or the evil in their nature to tend toward selfishness and other not-so-admirable traits. Instead, these two talk about relying on that nature and embracing one's own nature. They see human nature as basically good.