Comments on: It is the What, and Not the How http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/ the agony and ecstasy of a reading life Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:53:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Emerson on Morals « somewhere i have never traveled http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21862 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:00:23 +0000 http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21862 [...] Anarchy, Becker-Posner, Awkward Utopia) are about ideas. In that spirit, then, I’d like to re-hash this post from So Many Books: After Emerson builds his moral foundation, we can then understand what he means when he says [...]

]]> By: Stefanie http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21841 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:24:22 +0000 http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21841 Thanks Verbivore. I love that line too.

J, You’re so kind! And that is so cool that you have distant relations to Emerson! If you’ve not read Emerson before his first book of essays is a nice set up for everything that follows. His book Conduct of Life is my favorite though.

Bikkuri, I think it’s the discipline that’s the hardest. Makes me tired just thinking about it! And there is quite a lot that can get between a person and Divinity, isn’t there? So much temptation…

Dorothy, Emerson is always great with the one liners. He worked hard on them. I agree with you and so would Emerson. If we can our relationships with ourselves right first, the rest will all come that much easier.

]]> By: Dorothy W. http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21826 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:01:40 +0000 http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21826 There are some great lines in this post — I love the one about tribunals and about hate and fear being in oneself. We must get our relationship with ourselves right first before we can relate well to others — at least it seems to me that is what he’s saying.

]]> By: びっくり http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21815 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:55:24 +0000 http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21815 I think this sort of ‘character’ is rare, because I think it is impossible for any human to achieve without guidance. Even with the proper guidance, most of us lack the discipline to be consistent.

I like his assessment of that which thrusts itself between us and Divinity. There is no end to possible sources of interference.

]]> By: J http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21813 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:36:26 +0000 http://somanybooksblog.com/2007/10/15/it-is-the-what-and-not-the-how/#comment-21813 I’m going to have to bookmark this blog, and come back and read all of your posts on Emerson. This was so well written and clear, and I’d like to start at the beginning.

To think I found this with a search for “nonfiction book challenge”, because I’m thinking of reading a few non fiction books, which is somewhat rare for me.

I just finished reading March, by Geraldine Brooks, and Emerson had a bit part to play there. You might (or might not, actually) be interested to know that some of my distant ancestors are relations of Ralph Waldo Emerson. We have both Waldos and Emersons, actually. Pretty cool, huh? ;)

]]>