“Is not the true scholar the only true master?” -Emerson

To be an American Scholar

Emerson’s American scholar places value on nature. “The first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature. The scholar is he of all men whom this spectacle most engages. He must settle its value in his mind” (Emerson). I was raised in the Pacific Northwest. I have a deep appreciation for the beauty of the outdoors and enjoy engaging in its’ spectacle. I enjoy drawing with charcoal and chalk. My portfolio is full of drawings that capture the majesty of mountains, the nobility of trees and the passion of sunsets. If that is the first step to being a great scholar, I am well on my way. He mentions bookworms and bibliomaniacs and I must admit I can be placed into that category. I love to read. However, when I am immersed in my school work I feel like the recluse. “There goes in the world a notion, that the scholar should be a recluse, a valetudinarian, — as unfit for any handiwork or public labor, as a penknife for an axe. The so-called `practical men' sneer at speculative men, as if, because they speculate or see, they could do nothing” (Emerson). Is there no place in this world for the intellect side by side with the ‘practical men’? My family will be going to the park, to see a movie or out to eat and not give a second thought to me behind a closed door tapping away at my key board. It seems to me they are of the notion that my desire to participate in those activities does not exist. They assume I happily accept my reclusive state and have nothing to offer by joining in. “The office of the scholar is to cheer, to raise, and to guide men by showing them facts amidst appearances. He plies the slow, unhonored, and unpaid task of observation. Worse yet, he must accept, — how often! poverty and solitude” (Emerson). Oh! This is my lot in life. The role I must usurp now as I labor to expand my mind and earn my degree. Poverty and solitude, I know them well. We have become well acquainted and endure we together.

Emerson’s scholar is Man Thinking. Unfortunately, I am often merely a thinker and I ashamedly I admit that sometimes I am the parrot. “In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men's thinking” (Emerson). While his scholar uses books for inspiration, I read mine for amusement. “Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst. What is the right use? They are for nothing but to inspire” (Emerson). Instead of reading to escape and entertain I can change my mind set, “When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion. Every sentence is doubly significant, and the sense of our author is as broad as the world” (Emerson). This fundamental difference between me and Emerson’s scholar is profound. When I can truly become Man Thinking my universe will expand and my mind will embrace its’ capacity for marvelous achievements.

Emerson’s ideas are not just abstract and unattainable concepts. They have real life application. To understand, “Its (natures’) beauty is the beauty of his own mind” (Emerson) means to use my mind for great, unique and original purpose. Every life experience can be transformed into something ethereal and pertinent. “So is there no fact, no event, in our private history, which shall not, sooner or later, lose its adhesive, inert form, and astonish us by soaring from our body into the empyrean” (Emerson). We must not only think; we must put action to our contemplations. “Character is higher than intellect. Thinking is the function. Living is the functionary. A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think” (Emerson). I can apply all this to every level of my education. Theatre is my passion and when I am engaged in learning and studying it I feel, “This is my music; this is myself” (Emerson). “Is not the true scholar the only true master?” -Emerson