MANNERS

[342]Euripides.A Greek tragic poet of the fifth century before Christ.[343]Scipio.(See note205.) Plutarch in hisMoralsgives another version of the story: "When Paetilius and Quintus accused him of many crimes before the people; 'on this very day,' he said, 'I conquered Hannibal and Carthage. I for my part am going with my crown on to theCapitol to sacrifice; and let him that pleaseth stay and pass his vote upon me.' Having thus said, he went his way; and the people followed him, leaving his accusers declaiming to themselves."[344]Socrates.(See note187.)[345]Prytaneum.A public hall at Athens.[346]Sir Thomas More.An English statesman and author who was beheaded in 1535 on a charge of high treason. The incident to which Emerson refers is one which showed his "pleasant wit" undisturbed by the prospect of death. As the executioner was about to strike, More moved his head carefully out of reach of the ax. "Pity that should be cut," he said, "that has never committed treason."[347]Blue Laws.Any rigid Sunday laws or religious regulations. The term is usually applied to the early laws of New Haven and Connecticut which regulated personal and religious conduct.[348]Epaminondas.(See note329.)[349]Olympus.A mountain of Greece, the summit of which, according to Greek mythology, was the home of the gods.[350]Jerseys.Consult a history of the United States for a full account of Washington's campaign in New Jersey.[351]Milton.(See note151.)[352]Pericles.A famous Greek statesman of the fifth century before Christ, in whose age Athens was preëminent in naval and military affairs and in letters and art.[353]Xenophon.A Greek historian of the fourth century before Christ.[354]Columbus.Give an account of his life.[355]Bayard.Chevalier de Bayard was a French gentleman of the fifteenth century. He is the French national hero, and is called "The Knight without fear and without reproach."[356]Sidney.Probably Sir Philip Sidney, an English gentleman and scholar of the sixteenth century who is the English national hero as Bayard is the French; another brave Englishman was Algernon Sidney, a politician and patriot of the seventeenth century.[357]Hampden.John Hampden was an English statesman and patriot who was killed in the civil war of the seventeenth century.[358]Colossus.The Colossus of Rhodes was a gigantic statue—over a hundred feet in height—of the Rhodian sungod. It was one of the seven wonders of the world; it was destroyed by an earthquake about two hundred years before Christ.[359]Sappho.A Greek poet of the seventh century before Christ. Her fame remains, though most of her poems have been lost.[360]Sevigné.Marquise de Sevigné was a French author of the seventeenth century.[361]De Staël.Madame de Staël was a French writer whose books and political opinions were condemned by Napoleon.[362]Themis.A Greek goddess. The personification of law, order, and justice.[363]A high counsel, etc. Such was the advice given to the Emerson boys by their aunt, Miss Mary Moody Emerson: "Scorn trifles, lift your aims; do what you are afraid to do; sublimity of character must come from sublimity of motive." Upon her monument are inscribed Emerson's words about her: "She gave high counsels. It was the privilege of certain boys to have this immeasurably high standard indicated to their childhood, a blessing which nothing else in education could supply."[364]Phocion.A Greek general and statesman of the fourth century before Christ who advised the Athenians to make peace with Philip of Macedon. He was put to death on a charge of treason.[365]Lovejoy.Rev. Elijah Lovejoy, a Presbyterian clergyman of Maine who published a periodical against slavery. In 1837 an Illinois mob demanded his printing press, which he refused to give up. The building containing it was set on fire and when Lovejoy came out he was shot.[366]Let them rave, etc. These lines are misquoted, being evidently given from memory, from Tennyson'sDirge. In the poem occur these lines:"Let them rave.Thou wilt never raise thine headFrom the green that folds thy grave—Let them rave."MANNERS[367]The essay onMannersis from the Second Series ofEssays, published in 1844, three years after the First Series. The essays in this volume, like those in the first,were, for the most part, made up of Emerson's lectures, rearranged and corrected. The lecture onMannershad been delivered in the winter of 1841. He had given another lecture on the same subject about four years before, and several years later he treated of the same subject in his essay onBehaviorinThe Conduct of Life. You will find it interesting to readBehaviorin connection with this essay.[368]Feejee islanders.Since this essay was written, the people of the Feejee, or Fiji, Islands have become Christianized, and, to a large extent, civilized.[369]Gournou.This description is found inA Narrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, by Belzoni, an Italian traveler and explorer.[370]Borgoo.A province of Africa.[371]Tibboos, Bornoos.Tribes of Central Africa, mentioned in Heeren'sHistorical Researches.[372]Honors himself with architecture.Architecture was a subject in which Emerson was deeply interested. Read his poem,The Problem.[373]Chivalry.Chivalry may be considered "as embodying the Middle Age conception of the ideal life of ... the Knights"; the word is often used to express "the ideal qualifications of a knight, as courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms." Fully to understand the order of Knighthood and the ideals of chivalry, you must read the history of Europe in the Middle Ages.[374]Sir Philip Sidney.(See note356.)[375]Sir Walter Scott.(1771-1832). His historical novels dealing with the Middle Ages have some fine pictures of the chivalrous characters in which he delighted.[376]Masonic sign.A sign of secret brotherhood, like the sign given by one Mason to another.[377]Correlative abstract.Corresponding abstract name. Sir Philip Sidney, himself the ideal gentleman, used the word "gentlemanliness." He said: "Gentlemanliness is high-erected thoughts seated in a heart of courtesy."[378]Gentilesse.Gentle birth and breeding. Emerson was very fond of the passage on "gentilesse" in Chaucer'sWife of Bath's Tale.[379]Feudal Ages.The Middle Ages in Europe during which the feudal system prevailed. According to this, land was held by its owners on condition of certain duties, especially military service, performed for a superior lord.[380]God knows, etc. Why is this particularly true of a republic such as the United States?[381]The incomparable advantage of animal spirits.Why does Emerson regard this as of such importance? In his journals he frequently comments on his own lack of animal spirits, and says that it unfits him for general society and for action.[382]The sense of power."I like people who can do things," wrote Emerson in his journal.[383]Lundy's Lane.Give a full account of this battle in the War of 1812.[384]Men of the right Cæsarian pattern.Men versatile as was Julius Cæsar, the Roman, famous as a general, statesman, orator, and writer.[385]Timid maxim.Why does Emerson term this saying "timid"?[386]Lord Falkland.Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, was an English politician who espoused the royalist side; he was killed in battle in the Civil War.[387]Saladin.A famous sultan of Egypt and Syria who lived in the twelfth century. Scott describes him as possessing an ideal knightly character and introduces him, disguised as a physician and also as a wandering soldier in his historical romance,The Talisman.[388]Sapor.A Persian monarch of the fourth century who defeated the Romans in battle.[389]The Cid.See "Rodrigo," inHeroism,313.[390]Julius Cæsar.See note on "Cæsarian,"384.[391]Scipio.(See note205.)[392]Alexander.Alexander, King of Macedon, surnamed the Great. In the fourth century before Christ he made himself master of the known world.[393]Pericles.See note onHeroism,352.[394]Diogenes.(See note267.)[395]Socrates.(See note187.)[396]Epaminondas.(See note329.)[397]My contemporaries.Emerson probably had in mind, among others, his friend, the gentle philosopher, Thoreau.[398]Fine manners."I think there is as much merit in beautiful manners as in hard work," said Emerson in his journal.[399]Napoleon.(See note273.)[400]Noblesse.Nobility. Why does Emerson use here the French word?[401]Faubourg St. Germain.A once fashionable quarter of Paris, on the south bank of the Seine; it was long the headquarters of the French royalists.[402]Cortez.Consult a history of the United States for an account of this Spanish soldier, the conqueror of Mexico.[403]Nelson.Horatio Nelson, an English admiral, who won many great naval victories and was killed in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.[404]Mexico.The scene of Cortez's victories.[405]Marengo.The scene of a battle in Italy in 1800, in which Napoleon defeated the Austrians with a larger army and made himself master of northern Italy.[406]Trafalgar.A cape on the southern coast of Spain, the scene of Nelson's last great victory, in which the allied French and Spanish fleets were defeated.[407]Mexico, Marengo, and Trafalgar.Is this the order in which you would expect these words to occur? Why not?[408]Estates of the realm.Orders or classes of people with regard to political rights and powers. In modern times, the nobility, the clergy, and the people are called "the three estates."[409]Tournure.Figure; turn of dress,—and so of mind.[410]Coventry.It is said that the people of Coventry, a city in England, at one time so disliked soldiers that to send a military man there meant to exclude him from social intercourse; hence the expression "to send to Coventry" means to exclude from society.[411]"If you could see Vich Ian Vohr with his tail on."Vich Ian Vohr is a Scotch chieftain in Scott's novel,Waverley. One of his dependents says to Waverley, the young English officer: "If you Saxon duinhé-wassal [English gentleman] saw but the Chief with his tail on." "With his tail on?" echoed Edward in some surprise. "Yes—that is, with all his usual followers when he visits those of the same rank." SeeWaverley, chapter 16.[412]Mercuries.The word here means simply messengers. According to Greek mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the gods.[413]Herald's office.In England the Herald's College, or College of Arms, is a royal corporation the chief businessof which is to grant armorial bearings, or coats of arms, and to trace and preserve genealogies. What does Emerson mean by comparing certain circles of society to this corporation?[414]Amphitryon.Host; it came to have this meaning from an incident in the story of Amphitryon, a character in Greek legend. At one time Jupiter assumed the form of Amphitryon and gave a banquet. The real Amphitryon came in and asserted that he was master of the house. In the French play, founded on this story, the question is settled by the assertion of the servants and guests that "he who gives the feast is the host."[415]Tuileries.An old royal residence in Paris which was burned in 1871.[416]Escurial, or escorial. A celebrated royal edifice near Madrid in Spain.[417]Hide ourselves as Adam, etc. See Genesis iii. 8.[418]Cardinal Caprara.An Italian cardinal, Bishop of Milan, who negotiated the famous concordat of 1801, an agreement between the Church and State regulating the relations between civil and ecclesiastical powers.[419]The pope.Pope Pius VII.[420]Madame de Staël.(See note361.)[421]Mr. Hazlitt.William Hazlitt, an English writer.[422]Montaigne.A French essayist of the sixteenth century.[423]The hint of tranquillity and self-poise.It is suggested that Emerson had here in mind a favorite passage of the German author, Richter, in which Richter says of the Greek statues: "The repose not of weariness but of perfection looks from their eyes and rests upon their lips."[424]A Chinese etiquette.What does Emerson mean by this expression?[425]Recall.In the first edition, Emerson had here the word "signify." Which is the better word and why?[426]Measure.What meaning has this word here? Is this the sense in which we generally use it?[427]Creole natures.What is a creole? What does Emerson mean by "Creole natures"?[428]Mr. Fox.Charles James Fox, an English statesman and orator of the eighteenth century.[429]Burke.Both Fox and Burke opposed the taxation of the American colonies and sympathized with their resistance; it was on the subject of the French Revolution that the two friends clashed.[430]Sheridan.Richard Brinsley Sheridan, an Irish dramatist, member of the famous Literary Club to which both Fox and Burke belonged.[431]Circe.According to Greek legend, Circe was a beautiful enchantress. Men who partook of the draught she offered, were turned to swine.[432]Captain Symmes.The only real personage of this group. He asserted that there was an opening to the interior of the earth which was stocked with plants and animals.[433]Clerisy.What word would we be more apt to use here?[434]St. Michael's (Square).St. Michael's was an order instituted by Louis XI. of France.[435]Cologne water.A perfumed water first made at the city of Cologne in Germany, from which it took its name.[436]Poland.This kingdom of Europe was, in the eighteenth century, taken possession of and divided among its powerful neighbors, Russia, Prussia, and Austria.[437]Philhellene.Friend of Greece.[438]As Heaven and Earth are fairer far, etc. This passage is quoted from Book II. of Keats'Hyperion.[439]Waverley.The Waverley novels, a name applied to all of Scott's novels fromWaverley, the title of the first one.[440]Robin Hood.An English outlaw and popular hero, the subject of many ballads.[441]Minerva.In Roman mythology, the goddess of wisdom corresponding to the Greek Pallas-Athene.[442]Juno.In Roman mythology, the wife of the supreme god Jupiter.[443]Polymnia.In Greek mythology, one of the nine muses who presided over sacred poetry; the name is more usually written Polyhymia.[444]Delphic Sibyl.In ancient mythology, the Sibyls were certain women who possessed the power of prophecy. One of these who made her abode at Delphi in Greece was called the Delphian, or Delphic, sibyl.[445]Hafiz.A Persian poet of the fourteenth century.[446]Firdousi.A Persian poet of the tenth century.[447]She was an elemental force, etc. Of this passage Oliver Wendell Holmes said that Emerson "speaks of woman in language that seems to pant for rhythm and rhyme."[448]Byzantine.An ornate style of architecture developed in the fourth and fifth centuries, marked especially by its use of gold and color.[449]Golden Book.In a book, called "the Golden Book," were recorded the names of all the children of Venetian noblemen.[450]Schiraz.A province of Persia famous especially for its roses, wine, and nightingales, and described by the poets as a place of ideal beauty.[451]Osman.The name given by Emerson in his journal and essays to his ideal man, one subject to the same conditions as himself.[452]Koran.The sacred book of the Mohammedans.[453]Jove.Jupiter, the supreme god of Roman mythology.[454]Silenus.In Greek mythology, the leader of the satyrs. This fable, which Emerson credits to tradition, was original.[455]Her owl.The owl was the bird sacred to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom.GIFTS[456]This essay was first printed in the periodical calledThe Dial.It was a part of Emerson's philosophic faith that there is no such thing as giving,—everything that belongs to a man or that he ought to have, will come to him. But in the ordinarily accepted sense of the word, Emerson was a gracious giver and receiver. In his family the old New England custom of New Year's presents was kept up to his last days. His presents were accompanied with verses to be read before the gift was opened.[457]Into chancery.The phrase "in chancery," means in litigation, as an estate, in a court of equity.[458]Cocker.Spoil, indulge,—a word now little used.[459]Fruits are acceptable gifts.Emerson took especial pleasure in the beauty of fruits and the thought of how they had been evolved from useless, insipid seed cases.[460]To let the petitioner, etc. We can hardly imagine Emerson's asking a gift or favor. He often quoted the words of Landor, an English writer: "The highest price you can pay for a thing is to ask for it."[461]Furies.In Roman mythology, three goddesses who sought out and punished evil-doers.[462]A man's biography, etc. Emerson wrote in his journal: "Long ago I wrote ofgiftsand neglected a capitalexample. John Thoreau, Jr. [who, like his brother Henry, was a lover of nature] one day put a bluebird's box on my barn,—fifteen years ago it must be,—and there it still is, with every summer a melodious family in it adorning the place and singing its praises. There's a gift for you which cost the giver no money, but nothing which he bought could have been as good."[463]Sin offering.Under the Hebrew law, a sacrifice or offering for sin. See Leviticus xxiii. 19. Explain what Emerson means here by the word.

[342]Euripides.A Greek tragic poet of the fifth century before Christ.

[343]Scipio.(See note205.) Plutarch in hisMoralsgives another version of the story: "When Paetilius and Quintus accused him of many crimes before the people; 'on this very day,' he said, 'I conquered Hannibal and Carthage. I for my part am going with my crown on to theCapitol to sacrifice; and let him that pleaseth stay and pass his vote upon me.' Having thus said, he went his way; and the people followed him, leaving his accusers declaiming to themselves."

[344]Socrates.(See note187.)

[345]Prytaneum.A public hall at Athens.

[346]Sir Thomas More.An English statesman and author who was beheaded in 1535 on a charge of high treason. The incident to which Emerson refers is one which showed his "pleasant wit" undisturbed by the prospect of death. As the executioner was about to strike, More moved his head carefully out of reach of the ax. "Pity that should be cut," he said, "that has never committed treason."

[347]Blue Laws.Any rigid Sunday laws or religious regulations. The term is usually applied to the early laws of New Haven and Connecticut which regulated personal and religious conduct.

[348]Epaminondas.(See note329.)

[349]Olympus.A mountain of Greece, the summit of which, according to Greek mythology, was the home of the gods.

[350]Jerseys.Consult a history of the United States for a full account of Washington's campaign in New Jersey.

[351]Milton.(See note151.)

[352]Pericles.A famous Greek statesman of the fifth century before Christ, in whose age Athens was preëminent in naval and military affairs and in letters and art.

[353]Xenophon.A Greek historian of the fourth century before Christ.

[354]Columbus.Give an account of his life.

[355]Bayard.Chevalier de Bayard was a French gentleman of the fifteenth century. He is the French national hero, and is called "The Knight without fear and without reproach."

[356]Sidney.Probably Sir Philip Sidney, an English gentleman and scholar of the sixteenth century who is the English national hero as Bayard is the French; another brave Englishman was Algernon Sidney, a politician and patriot of the seventeenth century.

[357]Hampden.John Hampden was an English statesman and patriot who was killed in the civil war of the seventeenth century.

[358]Colossus.The Colossus of Rhodes was a gigantic statue—over a hundred feet in height—of the Rhodian sungod. It was one of the seven wonders of the world; it was destroyed by an earthquake about two hundred years before Christ.

[359]Sappho.A Greek poet of the seventh century before Christ. Her fame remains, though most of her poems have been lost.

[360]Sevigné.Marquise de Sevigné was a French author of the seventeenth century.

[361]De Staël.Madame de Staël was a French writer whose books and political opinions were condemned by Napoleon.

[362]Themis.A Greek goddess. The personification of law, order, and justice.

[363]A high counsel, etc. Such was the advice given to the Emerson boys by their aunt, Miss Mary Moody Emerson: "Scorn trifles, lift your aims; do what you are afraid to do; sublimity of character must come from sublimity of motive." Upon her monument are inscribed Emerson's words about her: "She gave high counsels. It was the privilege of certain boys to have this immeasurably high standard indicated to their childhood, a blessing which nothing else in education could supply."

[364]Phocion.A Greek general and statesman of the fourth century before Christ who advised the Athenians to make peace with Philip of Macedon. He was put to death on a charge of treason.

[365]Lovejoy.Rev. Elijah Lovejoy, a Presbyterian clergyman of Maine who published a periodical against slavery. In 1837 an Illinois mob demanded his printing press, which he refused to give up. The building containing it was set on fire and when Lovejoy came out he was shot.

[366]Let them rave, etc. These lines are misquoted, being evidently given from memory, from Tennyson'sDirge. In the poem occur these lines:"Let them rave.Thou wilt never raise thine headFrom the green that folds thy grave—Let them rave."

[366]Let them rave, etc. These lines are misquoted, being evidently given from memory, from Tennyson'sDirge. In the poem occur these lines:

"Let them rave.Thou wilt never raise thine headFrom the green that folds thy grave—Let them rave."

[367]The essay onMannersis from the Second Series ofEssays, published in 1844, three years after the First Series. The essays in this volume, like those in the first,were, for the most part, made up of Emerson's lectures, rearranged and corrected. The lecture onMannershad been delivered in the winter of 1841. He had given another lecture on the same subject about four years before, and several years later he treated of the same subject in his essay onBehaviorinThe Conduct of Life. You will find it interesting to readBehaviorin connection with this essay.

[368]Feejee islanders.Since this essay was written, the people of the Feejee, or Fiji, Islands have become Christianized, and, to a large extent, civilized.

[369]Gournou.This description is found inA Narrative of the Operations and Recent Discoveries within the Pyramids, by Belzoni, an Italian traveler and explorer.

[370]Borgoo.A province of Africa.

[371]Tibboos, Bornoos.Tribes of Central Africa, mentioned in Heeren'sHistorical Researches.

[372]Honors himself with architecture.Architecture was a subject in which Emerson was deeply interested. Read his poem,The Problem.

[373]Chivalry.Chivalry may be considered "as embodying the Middle Age conception of the ideal life of ... the Knights"; the word is often used to express "the ideal qualifications of a knight, as courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms." Fully to understand the order of Knighthood and the ideals of chivalry, you must read the history of Europe in the Middle Ages.

[374]Sir Philip Sidney.(See note356.)

[375]Sir Walter Scott.(1771-1832). His historical novels dealing with the Middle Ages have some fine pictures of the chivalrous characters in which he delighted.

[376]Masonic sign.A sign of secret brotherhood, like the sign given by one Mason to another.

[377]Correlative abstract.Corresponding abstract name. Sir Philip Sidney, himself the ideal gentleman, used the word "gentlemanliness." He said: "Gentlemanliness is high-erected thoughts seated in a heart of courtesy."

[378]Gentilesse.Gentle birth and breeding. Emerson was very fond of the passage on "gentilesse" in Chaucer'sWife of Bath's Tale.

[379]Feudal Ages.The Middle Ages in Europe during which the feudal system prevailed. According to this, land was held by its owners on condition of certain duties, especially military service, performed for a superior lord.

[380]God knows, etc. Why is this particularly true of a republic such as the United States?

[381]The incomparable advantage of animal spirits.Why does Emerson regard this as of such importance? In his journals he frequently comments on his own lack of animal spirits, and says that it unfits him for general society and for action.

[382]The sense of power."I like people who can do things," wrote Emerson in his journal.

[383]Lundy's Lane.Give a full account of this battle in the War of 1812.

[384]Men of the right Cæsarian pattern.Men versatile as was Julius Cæsar, the Roman, famous as a general, statesman, orator, and writer.

[385]Timid maxim.Why does Emerson term this saying "timid"?

[386]Lord Falkland.Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, was an English politician who espoused the royalist side; he was killed in battle in the Civil War.

[387]Saladin.A famous sultan of Egypt and Syria who lived in the twelfth century. Scott describes him as possessing an ideal knightly character and introduces him, disguised as a physician and also as a wandering soldier in his historical romance,The Talisman.

[388]Sapor.A Persian monarch of the fourth century who defeated the Romans in battle.

[389]The Cid.See "Rodrigo," inHeroism,313.

[390]Julius Cæsar.See note on "Cæsarian,"384.

[391]Scipio.(See note205.)

[392]Alexander.Alexander, King of Macedon, surnamed the Great. In the fourth century before Christ he made himself master of the known world.

[393]Pericles.See note onHeroism,352.

[394]Diogenes.(See note267.)

[395]Socrates.(See note187.)

[396]Epaminondas.(See note329.)

[397]My contemporaries.Emerson probably had in mind, among others, his friend, the gentle philosopher, Thoreau.

[398]Fine manners."I think there is as much merit in beautiful manners as in hard work," said Emerson in his journal.

[399]Napoleon.(See note273.)

[400]Noblesse.Nobility. Why does Emerson use here the French word?

[401]Faubourg St. Germain.A once fashionable quarter of Paris, on the south bank of the Seine; it was long the headquarters of the French royalists.

[402]Cortez.Consult a history of the United States for an account of this Spanish soldier, the conqueror of Mexico.

[403]Nelson.Horatio Nelson, an English admiral, who won many great naval victories and was killed in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

[404]Mexico.The scene of Cortez's victories.

[405]Marengo.The scene of a battle in Italy in 1800, in which Napoleon defeated the Austrians with a larger army and made himself master of northern Italy.

[406]Trafalgar.A cape on the southern coast of Spain, the scene of Nelson's last great victory, in which the allied French and Spanish fleets were defeated.

[407]Mexico, Marengo, and Trafalgar.Is this the order in which you would expect these words to occur? Why not?

[408]Estates of the realm.Orders or classes of people with regard to political rights and powers. In modern times, the nobility, the clergy, and the people are called "the three estates."

[409]Tournure.Figure; turn of dress,—and so of mind.

[410]Coventry.It is said that the people of Coventry, a city in England, at one time so disliked soldiers that to send a military man there meant to exclude him from social intercourse; hence the expression "to send to Coventry" means to exclude from society.

[411]"If you could see Vich Ian Vohr with his tail on."Vich Ian Vohr is a Scotch chieftain in Scott's novel,Waverley. One of his dependents says to Waverley, the young English officer: "If you Saxon duinhé-wassal [English gentleman] saw but the Chief with his tail on." "With his tail on?" echoed Edward in some surprise. "Yes—that is, with all his usual followers when he visits those of the same rank." SeeWaverley, chapter 16.

[412]Mercuries.The word here means simply messengers. According to Greek mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the gods.

[413]Herald's office.In England the Herald's College, or College of Arms, is a royal corporation the chief businessof which is to grant armorial bearings, or coats of arms, and to trace and preserve genealogies. What does Emerson mean by comparing certain circles of society to this corporation?

[414]Amphitryon.Host; it came to have this meaning from an incident in the story of Amphitryon, a character in Greek legend. At one time Jupiter assumed the form of Amphitryon and gave a banquet. The real Amphitryon came in and asserted that he was master of the house. In the French play, founded on this story, the question is settled by the assertion of the servants and guests that "he who gives the feast is the host."

[415]Tuileries.An old royal residence in Paris which was burned in 1871.

[416]Escurial, or escorial. A celebrated royal edifice near Madrid in Spain.

[417]Hide ourselves as Adam, etc. See Genesis iii. 8.

[418]Cardinal Caprara.An Italian cardinal, Bishop of Milan, who negotiated the famous concordat of 1801, an agreement between the Church and State regulating the relations between civil and ecclesiastical powers.

[419]The pope.Pope Pius VII.

[420]Madame de Staël.(See note361.)

[421]Mr. Hazlitt.William Hazlitt, an English writer.

[422]Montaigne.A French essayist of the sixteenth century.

[423]The hint of tranquillity and self-poise.It is suggested that Emerson had here in mind a favorite passage of the German author, Richter, in which Richter says of the Greek statues: "The repose not of weariness but of perfection looks from their eyes and rests upon their lips."

[424]A Chinese etiquette.What does Emerson mean by this expression?

[425]Recall.In the first edition, Emerson had here the word "signify." Which is the better word and why?

[426]Measure.What meaning has this word here? Is this the sense in which we generally use it?

[427]Creole natures.What is a creole? What does Emerson mean by "Creole natures"?

[428]Mr. Fox.Charles James Fox, an English statesman and orator of the eighteenth century.

[429]Burke.Both Fox and Burke opposed the taxation of the American colonies and sympathized with their resistance; it was on the subject of the French Revolution that the two friends clashed.

[430]Sheridan.Richard Brinsley Sheridan, an Irish dramatist, member of the famous Literary Club to which both Fox and Burke belonged.

[431]Circe.According to Greek legend, Circe was a beautiful enchantress. Men who partook of the draught she offered, were turned to swine.

[432]Captain Symmes.The only real personage of this group. He asserted that there was an opening to the interior of the earth which was stocked with plants and animals.

[433]Clerisy.What word would we be more apt to use here?

[434]St. Michael's (Square).St. Michael's was an order instituted by Louis XI. of France.

[435]Cologne water.A perfumed water first made at the city of Cologne in Germany, from which it took its name.

[436]Poland.This kingdom of Europe was, in the eighteenth century, taken possession of and divided among its powerful neighbors, Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

[437]Philhellene.Friend of Greece.

[438]As Heaven and Earth are fairer far, etc. This passage is quoted from Book II. of Keats'Hyperion.

[439]Waverley.The Waverley novels, a name applied to all of Scott's novels fromWaverley, the title of the first one.

[440]Robin Hood.An English outlaw and popular hero, the subject of many ballads.

[441]Minerva.In Roman mythology, the goddess of wisdom corresponding to the Greek Pallas-Athene.

[442]Juno.In Roman mythology, the wife of the supreme god Jupiter.

[443]Polymnia.In Greek mythology, one of the nine muses who presided over sacred poetry; the name is more usually written Polyhymia.

[444]Delphic Sibyl.In ancient mythology, the Sibyls were certain women who possessed the power of prophecy. One of these who made her abode at Delphi in Greece was called the Delphian, or Delphic, sibyl.

[445]Hafiz.A Persian poet of the fourteenth century.

[446]Firdousi.A Persian poet of the tenth century.

[447]She was an elemental force, etc. Of this passage Oliver Wendell Holmes said that Emerson "speaks of woman in language that seems to pant for rhythm and rhyme."

[448]Byzantine.An ornate style of architecture developed in the fourth and fifth centuries, marked especially by its use of gold and color.

[449]Golden Book.In a book, called "the Golden Book," were recorded the names of all the children of Venetian noblemen.

[450]Schiraz.A province of Persia famous especially for its roses, wine, and nightingales, and described by the poets as a place of ideal beauty.

[451]Osman.The name given by Emerson in his journal and essays to his ideal man, one subject to the same conditions as himself.

[452]Koran.The sacred book of the Mohammedans.

[453]Jove.Jupiter, the supreme god of Roman mythology.

[454]Silenus.In Greek mythology, the leader of the satyrs. This fable, which Emerson credits to tradition, was original.

[455]Her owl.The owl was the bird sacred to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom.

[456]This essay was first printed in the periodical calledThe Dial.It was a part of Emerson's philosophic faith that there is no such thing as giving,—everything that belongs to a man or that he ought to have, will come to him. But in the ordinarily accepted sense of the word, Emerson was a gracious giver and receiver. In his family the old New England custom of New Year's presents was kept up to his last days. His presents were accompanied with verses to be read before the gift was opened.

[456]This essay was first printed in the periodical calledThe Dial.

It was a part of Emerson's philosophic faith that there is no such thing as giving,—everything that belongs to a man or that he ought to have, will come to him. But in the ordinarily accepted sense of the word, Emerson was a gracious giver and receiver. In his family the old New England custom of New Year's presents was kept up to his last days. His presents were accompanied with verses to be read before the gift was opened.

[457]Into chancery.The phrase "in chancery," means in litigation, as an estate, in a court of equity.

[458]Cocker.Spoil, indulge,—a word now little used.

[459]Fruits are acceptable gifts.Emerson took especial pleasure in the beauty of fruits and the thought of how they had been evolved from useless, insipid seed cases.

[460]To let the petitioner, etc. We can hardly imagine Emerson's asking a gift or favor. He often quoted the words of Landor, an English writer: "The highest price you can pay for a thing is to ask for it."

[461]Furies.In Roman mythology, three goddesses who sought out and punished evil-doers.

[462]A man's biography, etc. Emerson wrote in his journal: "Long ago I wrote ofgiftsand neglected a capitalexample. John Thoreau, Jr. [who, like his brother Henry, was a lover of nature] one day put a bluebird's box on my barn,—fifteen years ago it must be,—and there it still is, with every summer a melodious family in it adorning the place and singing its praises. There's a gift for you which cost the giver no money, but nothing which he bought could have been as good."

[463]Sin offering.Under the Hebrew law, a sacrifice or offering for sin. See Leviticus xxiii. 19. Explain what Emerson means here by the word.

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