Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thoughts as relayed in The American Scholar and Self-Reliance could be seen to expand upon some of the ideas of enlightened thinkers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin in creating his declaration of intellectual independence.
Benjamin Franklin’s work encompassed ideas that pertained to the individual’s enrichment in life and Ralph Waldo Emerson expanded Franklin’s ideas to focus on individual intellectual thought. Benjamin Franklin moved away from the rigid, systematic Puritan Thought he learned in his childhood to divest more in the idea of individualism. Firstly, I cannot ignore Franklin’s best-known maxim that is included in his essay The Way to Wealth - “God helps them that help themselves” (Beginnings to 1820: …show more content…
In reference to not defending his scientific papers to Abbé Nollet, Franklin noted, “I concluded to let my Papers shift for themselves; believing it was better to spend what time I could spare from public business in making new Experiments, than in disputing about those already made” (Autobiography 585). Franklin thought about writing a letter to Nollet to explain his experiments but he decided he would not waste time defending his work because he thought that language differences had possibly led to and would continue to cause issues due to mistranslation. Someone else defended his work and it was eventually translated officially into Italian, which Franklin knew Nollet could read for himself. Franklin referenced his Virtue of Silence in dealing with the entire issue. His Virtue of Silence applies to the idea of speaking only to what may benefit others or yourself (534). I believe Franklin’s Virtue of Silence relates closely to Emerson’s writing on self-trust. Emerson wrote that self-trust “…becomes him to feel all confidence in himself, and to defer never to the popular cry” (251). In the example of Jefferson’s not defending his work, he chose not to give in to another’s objection towards his work because he did not feel that it would benefit himself or anyone else to do so. Thus, Franklin exhibited self-trust, trust in his work and trust in his decision to maintain silence on the issue. Emerson explained, “In self-trust, all the virtues are comprehended” (251). He also noted in his Self-Reliance essay, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind” (271). I think Emerson encapsulated Franklin’s Silence Virtue (all of the other Virtues too) into his own belief that self-trust allows us to understand virtue. I think
Benjamin Franklin’s work encompassed ideas that pertained to the individual’s enrichment in life and Ralph Waldo Emerson expanded Franklin’s ideas to focus on individual intellectual thought. Benjamin Franklin moved away from the rigid, systematic Puritan Thought he learned in his childhood to divest more in the idea of individualism. Firstly, I cannot ignore Franklin’s best-known maxim that is included in his essay The Way to Wealth - “God helps them that help themselves” (Beginnings to 1820: …show more content…
In reference to not defending his scientific papers to Abbé Nollet, Franklin noted, “I concluded to let my Papers shift for themselves; believing it was better to spend what time I could spare from public business in making new Experiments, than in disputing about those already made” (Autobiography 585). Franklin thought about writing a letter to Nollet to explain his experiments but he decided he would not waste time defending his work because he thought that language differences had possibly led to and would continue to cause issues due to mistranslation. Someone else defended his work and it was eventually translated officially into Italian, which Franklin knew Nollet could read for himself. Franklin referenced his Virtue of Silence in dealing with the entire issue. His Virtue of Silence applies to the idea of speaking only to what may benefit others or yourself (534). I believe Franklin’s Virtue of Silence relates closely to Emerson’s writing on self-trust. Emerson wrote that self-trust “…becomes him to feel all confidence in himself, and to defer never to the popular cry” (251). In the example of Jefferson’s not defending his work, he chose not to give in to another’s objection towards his work because he did not feel that it would benefit himself or anyone else to do so. Thus, Franklin exhibited self-trust, trust in his work and trust in his decision to maintain silence on the issue. Emerson explained, “In self-trust, all the virtues are comprehended” (251). He also noted in his Self-Reliance essay, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind” (271). I think Emerson encapsulated Franklin’s Silence Virtue (all of the other Virtues too) into his own belief that self-trust allows us to understand virtue. I think