Nature and Man—Analysis of Emerson’s Nature.doc

Nature and ManAnalysis of Emersons NatureEmersons Nature is the first masterpiece manifesting his proposition of Transcendentalism. (张志刚，2008) The thesis of this book is that Nature is the pervading existence of God, the gown of Over-soul, and man is able to interpret the spirits of nature by his own instinct, and thus know the spirit of God.( 赵谦，2011) Emerson claims that since nature is the embodiment of God, and human is a part of nature, thus human is nearly the particle of God, and is able to perceive Him directly. To this extent, Nature, God and man coexist in the Universal Being, together composing the Over-soul, which exist everywhere, everlasting and knows all. Also, the Over-soul connects with every individuals soul, thus it can be perceived and comprehended by the means of ones instinct. （张云岗，陈志新，2012）（新柏拉图主义) (张志刚，2008)The core subject of this book is nature. In the introduction, Emerson makes a definition of Nature as “all that separated from us”, that is “everything but the self”, including nature, art, other people, the body of ones own. This definition implies the Soul as the core of an individual, and Nature, as the other part of the Unity, becomes both the external world and the bridge for human to approach to it. （隋刚，2006）Therefore, Nature is of multiple blessings to the human.（成晓莉，2011）Nature is a property to man. Firstly, it provides the necessary Commodity to him. To be more specific, Emerson thinks Commodity both supports and delights to humans. However, it is not the terminal purpose in this low aspect, and the end of Natures nourishing to human is to enable him to think with Soul. Secondly, Nature is the derivation of language as well as the spiritual import from language. In considering the significance of languages to human history, we equally learn the importance of the catalyst to stimulate them to grow. As Emerson has pointed out in Chapter Four, “Words are the signs of natural facts.” Our ancestors got the inspiration from Nature, and pass the treasure of language to their descendants. Apart from the forms, languages created by man are embodied with the spirit of Nature, such as the broad and vast sky is the symbol of calmness. “Spirit is the Creator”, thus our faculty of creation is expanded.Nature is a mentor to man. The Beauty in nature pervades virtues and thoughts, which are absorbed by man as the proportion of his schooling;（卢玉娜，2013） the Language in nature comprises of the analogies of metaphors and symbols, encoding and decoding with the faculty of analogy and relation; the Discipline in nature teaches man the equal importance of the maintaining of conscience and the exploring of science. All these natural laws guide the way of mans knowledge and in quest to the unknown. Nature is the kindred to man. According to the theory of Transcendentalism, Nature and inner side of man share the same spirit of the Unity, and they are consistent with each other. The splendid landscapes and sceneries in nature show their beauty, while man is assimilated by it, demonstrates his virtues and merits in respond. （吴伟萍，2012）Since Nature is the sign of God, and it is everywhere in the universe, thus the soul of man can take in the nutrition from the Over-soul, ultimately, all these elements compose the single existence of Unity. Every proportion of it submits to the discipline of it to present its sublime, including Nature and man.( 张云岗，陈志新，2012) The bond between Nature and man is intimate and eternal. Nothing is so mighty to separate Nature from man since they are the external and internal components of the consolidated Unity, just like two sides of paper, one destroyed, so is the other. Nature is a servant to man. In the latter part of Nature, Emerson states, “Every spirit builds itself a house; and beyond its house, a world; and beyond its world, a heaven. Know then, that the world exists for you.” The circulation of forms of waters, the turns of seasons, the allegories from nature, all serves man to build the world for himself. Since man is the center of the world in Emersons theory,(姜波，2012) and he is able to perceive the universal spirit of the Over-soul, and communicates with God directly through the ubiquitous Nature. （成晓莉，2011）References:1. 张云岗，陈志新，爱默生超验主义思想的文本分析，石家庄铁道大学学报（社会科学版），第6卷，第4期，2012年12月。2. 成晓莉，爱默生中超验主义哲学思想“变奏”探源，牡丹江教育学院学报， 2011年第1期。苏州科技学院。3. 张志刚，爱默生与精神人类中心主义山东文学（下半月），2008年第6期。辽宁大连民族学院。4. 吴伟萍，爱默生作品之生态美学观探析，武汉理工大学学报（社会科学版），第25卷，第4期，2012年8月。福建漳州师范学院。5. 赵谦，爱默生作品中体现出