爱默生(1803～1882年)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

美国散文作家、诗人和演说家，生於波士顿。毕业於哈佛大学，1829年任基督教一位论派（Unitarian）牧师并开始布道。三年後，他对自己的宗教信仰和职业产生怀疑，从而脱离教会。1836年发表《论自然》（Nature），这本书开创了新英格兰超验主义（Transcendentalism）运动，不久他就成为该运动的领导人物。1834年定居於麻州康科特，这里是他的朋友梭罗（Henry David Thoreau）的故乡。他的演说是有关学者应该扮演的合适角色，以及基督教传统的衰弱导致相当多的争论。1840年他和富勒（Margaret Fuller）协助创办了超验主义杂志《日规》（The Dial），藉以广泛宣扬超验主义的新观点。《论文集》（Essays, 1841, 1844）为他赢得世界的知名度，其中收有〈论自助〉（Self-Reliance）篇。《代表人物》（Representative Men, 1850）包含了历史人物的传记。《人生的行为》（The Conduct of Life, 1860）是他最成熟的作品，主要反映了作者全面的人文主义思想，他充分意识到人的局限性。《诗集》（Poems, 1846）和《五月节》（May-Day, 1867）使他获得了美国重要诗人的声誉。

English version：

1803～1882年

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

U.S. poet, essayist, and lecturer. Born in Boston, he graduated from Harvard and was ordained a Unitarian minister in 1829. His questioning of traditional doctrine led him to resign the ministry three years later. He formulated his philosophy in Nature (1836); the book helped initiate New England Transcendentalism, a movement of which he soon became the leading exponent. In 1834 he moved to Concord, Mass., the home of his friend Henry David Thoreau. His lectures on the proper role of the scholar and the waning of the Christian tradition caused considerable controversy. In 1840, with Margaret Fuller, he helped launch The Dial, a journal that provided an outlet for Transcendentalist ideas. He became internationally famous with his Essays (1841, 1844), including “Self-Reliance.” Representative Men (1850) consists of biographies of historical figures. The Conduct of Life (1860), his most mature work, reveals a developed humanism and a full awareness of human limitations. His Poems (1847) and May-Day (1867) established his reputation as a major poet.