oneself lead a sane, sincere person astray? Have you ever known unbalanced persons to harm themselves under what they supposed to be an application of this principle? Or selfindulgent persons to make it an excuse for breaking social laws? Is it a dangerous principle? How can we be certain we are not self-indulgent or unbalanced when we undertake to be independent in this way? Is Emerson too pessimistic in paragraph 33?

Paragraph 34: Self-reliance is necessary in business.

Can you cite examples of persons who have failed because they had not patience to wait for success, or courage to wring it from failure? In the lives of great inventors you can find plenty of examples of men who have had to toil patiently and courageously for success to which no person but themselves looked forward with any hope.

Paragraph 35 is transitional, looking forward to coming topics.

Paragraphs 36-38: Self-reliance should be practiced in religion.

State Emerson's notion of what prayers are right and proper, and what are improper. Compare his statement that there is "prayer in all actions" with Whittier's SnowBound, lines 608-611. In the first half of paragraph 37 is Emerson unsympathetic and cold-hearted? What words of Emerson express the thought, "To him that hath shall be given"? What does Emerson think of the value of formal creeds? Of the harm they may do? Because a certain creed satisfied the spiritual need of Calvin or Wesley or John Fox, does it necessarily satisfy the need of other men? Does history show that men usually place what Emerson would call a false value on creeds? Should a growing mind expect to cling to one creed from childhood to old age? Compare paragraphs

12 to 14. Explain the metaphor in the last sentence of paragraph 38.

Paragraphs 39-42: We need to be more self-reliant in conforming to educational ideals.

For a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of travel, see the notes on Whittier's The Last Walk in Autumn, lines 49ff. What great pictures have you seen that prove that a real artist may take his subjects from the life about him, however humble it may be? What great poems besides Snow-Bound do you know that show that a poet may write greatly on the simple life he knows at home?

Paragraph 43: Men must be self-reliant in the choice of a life-work or profession.

What considerations should determine every young person in the choice of a profession or business? Should he think chiefly of how he can make the most money? Of how he can rise to the best social position? Of how he can make the most for himself and society of such talents as he has? Who is to. make the choice? If parents have studied the characters and dispositions of their children faithfully, can they give them material help in choice of a life-work?

Paragraph 44 is transitional; refer to paragraph 35, and to the coming topic.

Paragraphs 45-48: We need to be self-reliant in our modes of living in our social relations.

How is the law of "compensation" shown in paragraphs 45 and 46? Is it true that society, after all its centuries of struggle, has made no real progress? Are all our boasted comforts and conveniences of no real value? What harm can there be in "improving machinery"? And have we no higher moral ideals than men of a thousand years ago? Is it nothing that we have abolished slavery and ceased to practice

religious persecution, and a hundred other evils? Explain the metaphor in paragraph 48.

Paragraph 49: Men must learn to be independent of property and of the support of other men.

Is the statement made in the third sentence correct? Is this a loss that compensates a rich man for the advantages he gains through his wealth? Is a real man content to be judged by what he has? Ought a "self-made man" to be judged by his wealth any more than a man of inherited means? Is there no advantage in numbers - in belonging to a large party, or society, or club? To what extent is the work of society carried on through such agencies? Does a man who belongs to such an organization sacrifice anything of his own individuality?

Paragraph 50: Men must learn to be independent of circumstances, and think only of the working of great social and spiritual laws.

Memorize the last two sentences.

CULTURE

I. Read the essay carefully with the following outline.

A. Introduction:

I. The Purpose of Culture:

To develop symmetrically all our powers. Memorize paragraph 9.

II. Opposites of Culture:

1. Narrowness:

a. In intellectual matters;

b. In social relations.

2. Egotism, manifested by:

a. A desire to be noticed and admired;

b. An exaggerated opinion of our own importance.

B. Body: There are four sources of culture: books, travel, society, solitude (paragraph 11).

I. Books.

1. Advantages of formal, school education:

a. The value of training is universally acknowledged;

b. Education should not be reformatory merely, but pre

ventive;

c. Familiarity with great books prevents one from becoming

egotistic.

2. Books are not the only instruments of education

and amusements are necessary:

a. They broaden one's view of life;

b. If practiced, they will not seem to be too important. II. Travel.

1. Advantages of travel:

a. It brings broader knowledge of world and people;
b. It brings one into contact with great men;
c. It furnishes new interests and resources.

2. Limitation to the advantages of travel:

games

a. It draws away power that should be used at home;
b. There is not so much that is novel in foreign lands
men are men the world over.

III. Society.

1. Advantages of society (city life):

a. It brings one into contact with things and persons worth knowing;

b. It teaches quiet, unpretentious manners.

2. Limitations in society:

a. It forces trifles on our attention;

b. It brings us into contact with persons not helpful

to us.

IV. Solitude.

1. Advantages of solitude (country life, quiet room, etc.):

a. It gives one opportunity to regain poise and cultivate individuality;

b. It releases one from petty cares, and gives one time to see life in its proper proportions;

c. It gives one time to cultivate some artistic taste;

d. It gives one time to study thoroughly his trade or profession.

e. Even involuntary solitude-social ostracism for opinion. or principle, for non-conformity-is good discipline, and cultivates self-reliance.

2. Why does Emerson name no losses to compensate the gains from solitude? Is IV 1, sufficiently balanced by III 1? Does the absence of a discussion that would, if present, fill IV 2, suggest that Emerson is particularly impressed by the advantages of "solitude"? What does his own life suggest in this connection?

C. Concluding paragraphs:

1. Heredity plays its part in the culture of the individual.
2. The race is cultivated through all its experiences.

II. Has Emerson succeeded in making you feel that intellectual one-sidedness is deformity? If so, how?

With Emerson's discussion the students may compare that of Matthew Arnold in Sweetness and Light (found in a volume called Culture and Anarchy).

After reading Culture the class should turn to The American Scholar. A brief outline of the essay is given below, and the students should consult also Cooke, pages 59 and 60, and Holmes, pages 107 to 115.

A. Preface: the occasion; the subject (paragraphs 1, 2).

B. Introduction: The man is more than his trade or profession (paragraphs 3-7).

C. Body:

I. Influences that form the scholar (paragraphs 8-28):

1. nature;

2. books;
3. action.