L01TheAmericanScholar

1、美国文学选读美国文学选读主讲：李世存主讲：李世存american literature before the civil warthe romantic period from the end of 18th century through the outbreak of the civil war (1861-1865).the last of the mohicans最后的摩根战士ralph waldo emerson(1803-1882)life nborn in boston on may 25, 1803 in a clergymans family.main worksnthe a

2、merican scholar (1837) 美国学者nself-reliance (1841)论自助influencenthe prophet of his age, emerson embodied a new nations desire and struggle to assert its own identity in its formative period. about the american scholaron august 31, 1837, emerson was invited to give the annual oration before the phi beta

3、 kappa society at harvard. those who were present have described the mixture of enthusiasm and consternation, wonder and grim silence evident in the large audience. oliver wendell holmes wrote of it, “this grand oration was our intellectual declaration of independence.”the american scholar (1837)the

4、 text begins with an introduction in which emerson explains that his intent is to explore the scholar as one function of the whole human being: the scholar is “man thinking.” the remainder of the essay is organized into four sections, the first three discussing the influence of nature, the influence

5、 of the past and books, and the influence of action on the education of the thinking man. in the last section, emerson considers the duties of the scholar and then discusses his views of america in his own time. the american scholar (excerpt) mr. president and gentlemen,i greet you on the re-commenc

6、ement of our literary year. our anniversary is one of hope, and, perhaps, not enough of labor. we do not meet for games of strength or skill, for the recitation of histories, tragedies, and odes, like the ancient greeks; for parliaments of love and poesy, like the troubadours; nor for the advancemen

7、t of science, like our contemporaries in the british and european capitals. thus far, our holiday has been simply a friendly sign of the survival of the love of letters amongst a people too busy to give to letters any more. as such it is precious as the sign of an indestructible instinct. the americ

8、an scholar (excerpt) perhaps the time is already come, when it ought to be, and will be, something else; when the sluggard intellect of this continent will look from under its iron lids, and fill the postponed expectation of the world with something better than the exertions of mechanical skill. our

9、 day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. the millions, that around us are rushing into life, cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves. who can doubt, that poe

10、try will revive and lead in a new age, as the star in the constellation harp, which now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the pole-star for a thousand years? the american scholar (excerpt) in this hope i accept the topic which not only usage, but the nature of our associat

11、ion, seem to prescribe to this day, the american scholar. year by year, we come up hither to read one more chapter of his biography. let us inquire what light new days and events have thrown on his character and his hopes. the american scholar (excerpt) in this view of him, as man thinking, the theo

12、ry of his office is contained. him nature solicits with all her placid, all her monitory pictures; him the past instructs; him the future invites. is not, indeed, every man a student, and do not all things exist for the students behoof? and, finally, is not the true scholar the only true master? but

13、 the old oracle said, “all things have two handles: beware of the wrong one.” in life, too often, the scholar errs with mankind and forfeits his privilege. let us see him in his school, and consider him in reference to the main influences he receives. the american scholar (excerpt) i. the first in t

14、ime and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature. every day, the sun; and, after sunset, night and her stars. ever the winds blow; ever the grass grows. every day, men and women, conversing, beholding and beholden. the scholar is he of all men whom this spectacle mos

15、t engages. he must settle its value in his mind. what is nature to him? there is never a beginning, there is never an end, to the inexplicable continuity of this web of god, but always circular power returning into itself. therein it resembles his own spirit, whose beginning, whose ending, he never

16、can find, so entire, so boundless. the american scholar (excerpt) ii. the next great influence into the spirit of the scholar is the mind of the past, in whatever form, whether of literature, of art, of institutions, that mind is inscribed. books are the best type of the influence of the past, and p

17、erhaps we shall get at the truth, learn the amount of this influence more conveniently, by considering their value alone. the american scholar (excerpt) iii. action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. without it he is not yet man. without it thought can never ripen into truth. whil

18、st the world hangs before the eye as a cloud of beauty, we cannot even see its beauty. inaction is cowardice, that there can be no scholar without the heroic mind. the preamble of thought, the transition through which it passes from the unconscious to the conscious, is action. only so much do i know

19、, as i have lived. instantly we know whose words are loaded with life, and whose not. the american scholar (excerpt) iii. i have now spoken of the education of the scholar by nature, by books, and by action. it remains to say somewhat of his duties. they are such as become man thinking. they may all

20、 be comprised in self-trust. 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. in the long period of his preparation, he must betray often an ignorance and shiftlessness in popular

21、 arts, incurring the disdain of the able who shoulder him aside. long he must stammer in his speech; often forego the living for the dead. worse yet, he must accepthow often! poverty and solitude. 美国学者精彩段落摘录a fig tree looking on a fig tree, becometh fruitful.一棵无花果树，在看到另一棵无花果树之后开花结果了。美国学者精彩段落摘录he tha

22、t would bring home the wealth of the indies, must carry out the wealth of the indies.欲得到西印度群岛之财富，必须得有力气把财富从西印度群岛带出来。美国学者精彩段落摘录our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. the millions, that around us are rushing into life, cannot always be fed on t

23、he sere remains of foreign harvests. events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves. 美国学者精彩段落摘录in this view of him, as man thinking, the theory of his office is contained. him nature solicits with all her placid, all her monitory pictures; him the past instructs; him the future

24、invites. 美国学者精彩段落摘录meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views, which cicero, which locke, which bacon, have given, forgetful that cicero, locke, and bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books. 美国学者精彩段落摘录books are the best of things, well

25、 used; abused, among the worst. what is the right use? what is the one end which all means go to effect? they are for nothing but to inspire. i had better never see a book, than to be warped by its attraction clean out of my own orbit, and made a satellite instead of a system. 美国学者精彩段落摘录genius is al

26、ways sufficiently the enemy of genius by over-influence. the literature of every nation bear me witness. the english dramatic poets have shakespearized now for two hundred years.美国学者精彩段落摘录there is some awe mixed with the joy of our surprise, when this poet, who lived in some past world, two or three

27、 hundred years ago, says that which lies close to my own soul, that which i also had well nigh thought and said.summary & comments爱默生提倡描写普通人的生活，而不是那些崇高壮美的话题。了解今天，就可以认识过去和未来。作家要植根于生活，了解自然。世间纷繁芜杂的万象，其实都遵循着同一法则。作家的任务就是认识这些法则。美国学者所应承担的责任和具备的素质：向现在、过去和未来学习，汇集一切知识；对于自身的无限的潜能充满自信。要发扬自己的个性，不要让自己的思想囿于一隅。

28、summary & comments爱默生认为，“美国学者”应当是一个“思维着的人”（man thinking），他应当注意观察研究自然，因为那实际上就是他自己的心灵，他应能在自然中“认识自己”。 “美国学者”接受传统（“过去”）的影响，但他决不应该是一个“书虫”，不应成为“思想家”（thinker），而应当是一个具有独立的，创造性思维的人。因为在爱默生看来，所谓的思想家，无非是对“思维着的人”的思想进行编辑加工模仿重复的人，没有创造性可言。他认为，书本的唯一用处是“给人以启迪”，激发人的灵魂，而“美国学者”，应当是一个灵魂被激发起来的人。summary & comments论

29、美国学者是爱默生最优秀的散文之一，被誉为“美国文学的独立宣言”。这是爱默生在哈佛大学的一篇讲演，论述“上帝普遍存在于人心”的理念在文化生活中的应用：学者要相信自己，相信从心中存在着的理性和直觉，并且用它去思考，创造，达到与“超灵”的统一。爱默生在这篇散文中一再重申，学者研究的是人类的思想，首先要了解自我，以自我的先觉感受向人们证明和揭示人类自我的秘密。了解自我，务必要了解自然，过去和未来。自然无始无终，以其存在和植根人脑的可能性引导人们获得知识。自然是心灵的镜子，它的规律就是人的思维规律，学者的地市目标就是研究自然，研究自己；过去只能应用于发掘灵感，开拓思维，而不是终极真理，天才是勇往直前的，未来的价值就在于付诸行动，改革，更新，创造。questions for discussion1. the main idea of emersons the american scholar 2. according to emerson, what is the use of books？3. according to emerson, what is the function of college?4. according to emerson, what is the difference between a thinker and a man