Emerson And Thoreau Essay -- essays research papers

&8220Dance to the beat of your own drummer A piece of advice that I energize been told my whole life, and have tried my hardest to follow. The words were taken from Thoreau&8217s quote, &8220If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a various drummer. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau changed our lives. How? Well, the answer is not so simple as the statement. To understand fully how they affected our lives, we have to understand the philosophy of Emerson and Thoreau, and the relationship between the two. So let&8217s begin with the relationship between Emerson and Thoreau.Emerson was born in 1803, into a family of ministers. He went to Harvard where he studied theology and philosophy, among other subjects. It was at Harvard where Emerson find transendentalism, and his career shifted paths. He started to give lectures on his philosophy of life and the human spirit. It was at one of these lectures that a young, influential man by the name Thoreau send-off was introduced to Emerson. Thoreau, born in 1817, was the son of a pencil maker. His mother ran a boarding house where she hosted many of the intellectuals of their time. Thoreau attended Harvard as well, and that was where he was introduced to Emerson. He became transfixed with Emerson&8217s philosophy while sitting in o...