Cover: Cover of an 1836 first edition (Boston: James Munroe and Company), Bancroft Library copy · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons scan) · source
Nature
Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1803–1882
Emerson's first book and the founding statement of Transcendentalism. Standing on bare ground, he writes, he becomes 'a transparent eyeball' — and from that moment of seeing he builds an argument that nature is the language of spirit and that every person can have an original relation to the universe.
- First published
- 1836
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Reading time
- About 1 hour
- Translation
- Written in English
Reading time: 15,395 words in Project Gutenberg text #29433, read at 238 words per minute.
Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1836, published anonymously.
- nature
- spirit
- perception
- Transcendentalism
Where to read it
- Read free — Project GutenbergPublic domain in the USA; check your local law outside it. · checked 11 Oct 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Read free — WikisourcePublic domain transcription. · checked 11 Oct 2026(opens in a new tab)
Copyright
- Kenya
- Public domain
- United States
- Public domain
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Questions for discussion
What does Emerson mean by an 'original relation to the universe'? Do you have one?
Take a walk in Karura or along any green edge of the city. What did Emerson's book make you notice?
Is nature a teacher, a mirror or simply nature?
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