Examples Of Transcendentalism

The maxim, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," means that nothing is more sacred, or greater than one's own thoughts, convictions, and moral principles. No matter the norms of society or the opinion of others, the only belief that is true is what the self believes. This maxim conveys main Transcendentalist principles of independence and nonconformity. As a response to to the Puritan era of American history, the term "sacred" in this maxim is used to refer to one's own mind instead of the holiness and greatness of God. Holding true to one's own thoughts and morals is sacred, embracing the self-reliancy and individualism aspects of Transcendentalism.
The idea that nothing is greater than the thoughts and honesty of
Ellen quoted her father in answering Johns proposal, John tells Henry that "she said he said...that marriage to either of the Thoreau brothers was unthinkable" (43). Both John and Henry scoff at her response.
Instead of giving an answer true to her mind, she conforms to the will of her father. This situation results in the John wondering why he had proposed to Ellen in the first place. John describes how he
"kept looking at that face out of the corner of [his] eye. Wondering what she was thinking. I finally realized that she wasn't thinking at all" (44). John and Henry laugh at the idea of marrying Ellen since she could not think for herself. She listens to her father's opinion instead of having integrity of the mind. Henry's and John's laughter from this scene shows how much they value individual thought and nonconformity. The idea of being true to one's own thoughts and ideas relates to the scene where Henry urges Ellen to be herself, not the person that society expects or wants. Henry tells her that, "I also wear a ridiculous straw hat. That doesn't mean that you should wear a ridiculous hat. You'd look ridiculous in it"
Even though it was not in everyone's moral principles to oppress this group of people, many bent to the majority opinion. In his maxim, Emerson urges to stay true to one's own belief because those are the only beliefs that truly matter, those are the only beliefs that are sacred.
In Thoreau's Walden's "Where I lived and what i lived for," Thoreau describes how "[he] went to the woods because [he] wished to live deliberately." He wanted to live for himself, and to stay true to himself. He wanted to simplify his life and spend less time and money living a life that he did not desire or need. He listens to his own thoughts even when others in town saw him as crazy or odd for giving up the comforts of modern technology. Henry wanted to live supporting his own morals, he didn't want to benefit an unjust government and decided to distance himself from society.
Emerson's maxim, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," emphasizes a main principle to the Transcendentalist movement. He urges people to be self-reliant and to not conform to the majority opinion or the accepted norms to society. The Night Thoreau presents a work that