Ralph Waldo Emerson

Towards all this external evil the man within the breast assumes a warlike attitude, and affirms his ability to cope single-handed with the infinite army of enemies. To this military attitude of the soul we give the name of Heroism. Its rudest form is the contempt for safety and ease, which makes the attractiveness of war. It is a self-trust which slights the restraints of prudence, in the plenitude of its energy and power to repair the harms it may suffer. The hero is a mind of such balance that no disturbances can shake his will, but pleasantly and as it were merrily he advances to his own music, alike in frightful alarms and in the tipsy mirth of universal dissoluteness. There is somewhat not philosophical in heroism; there is somewhat not holy in it; it seems not to know that other souls are of one texture with it; it hath pride; it is the extreme of individual nature. Nevertheless we must profoundly revere it. There is somewhat in great actions which does not allow us to go behind them. Heroism feels and never reasons, and therefore is always right; and although a different breeding, different religion and greater intellectual activity would have modified or even reversed the particular action, yet for the hero that thing he does is the highest deed, and is not open to the censure of philosophers or divines. It is the avowal of the unschooled man that he finds a quality in him that is negligent of expense, of health, of life, of danger, of hatred, of reproach, and that he knows that his will is higher and more excellent than all actual and all possible antagonists.

The characteristic of genuine heroism, is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic. Yet we have the weakness to expect the sympathy of people in those actions whose excellence is that they outrun sympathy and appeal to a tardy justice. If you would serve your brother it is fit for you to serve him, do not take back your words when you find that prudent people do not commend you. Be true to your own act, and congratulate yourself if you have done something strange and extravagant and broken the monotony of a decorous age. It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do”.

1. Discuss the following questions.

1) What’s a hero like in Emerson’s eyes according to the two paragraphs?

2) Find the topic sentence for each paragraph with supporting sentences.

3) What is the essence of heroism according to the first paragraph? What kind of balance should a hero make?

4) What’s an important characteristic of heroism? How is it related to Emerson’s remark “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer”?

5) Comment on the last sentence “Always do what you are afraid to do”. Do you agree? Why or why not?

2. Choose the qualities that fit Emerson’s hero and give your reasons.

Notes

1.Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961): He was an American author, journalist and winner of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. As one of the most famous American writers of the 20th century, his fishing and wartime experience contributed to his masterpieces The Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Farewell to Arms and so on. His simple writing style and Code Hero strongly influenced many British and American writers for decades.

2.Mako shark: Any of certain potentially dangerous sharks in the mackerel shark family.

3.Dentuso: A Spanish word meaning “sharp teeth”. Here the word refers to a type of shark with very big teeth.

4.DiMaggio: A two-time American League Most Valuable Player in 1940s, and one of the greatest baseball players ever — was plagued by injuries throughout the second half of his career. Santiago sees him as an ultimate symbol of resilience and courage — traits the old man shows throughout his three-day journey.

5.San Pedro: Spanish words for Saint Peter. Here it is the name of DiMaggio’s father.

6.Jack London (1876-1916): U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Self-educated, London became a sailor, hobo, Alaskan gold miner, and militant socialist. He wrote short stories and fiction which include many romantic depictions of elemental struggles for survival, such as The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea-Wolf (1904), Martin Eden(1909) , etc.

7.Indian Summer: It is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the autumn. It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, after there has been a killing frost.

8.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): He was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the U.S.

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