Selection from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essay “Idealism,” Part 1 of 2

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a renowned 19th-century American essayist, philosopher, lecturer, poet, and a leader of the transcendental philosophical movement. Emerson is most famous for his essays, through which he expresses ideas of freedom, spirituality, individuality, the great ability of humans to realize almost everything, and the relationship between the soul and the surrounding world. Today we read a chapter from "Nature" titled "Idealism," about how ideal the connection between spirit and nature, between soul and matter, could be. In our spiritual awakening, we are to realize the ultimate oneness and purpose of all things that we've known in experience.