So...?

Honestly I enjoyed several aspects of Emerson's "Self-Reliance", but then was extremely confused at other times. I understand his need for originality, and his hatred of imitation, but his lack of a need for consistency was a bit concerning to me. It's all good and well to theoretically be misunderstood, but what about practical matters? What if you feel like you husband is your husband one day, and just a random passer-by the next? Does Emerson believe in any kind of universal truth? Any sort of consistency? Or does he merely mean that is we trust our feelings, we are bound to average out to the right thing?

Also, the verse about the heart being deceptive above all things kept flitting through my head. How can we truly trust ourselves? If upon a random day we feel as though the Bible is true and ought to always be obeyed, then if we continue in it against our feelings, are we lacking self-reliance, or only relying on the solidarity of the self on a previous day?

And to end this very thoroughly scattered post, what are Emerson's views on religion? He seems to believe in a God, maybe, some of the time? I'm just very confused as to what he truly believes. Does he truly believe nothing? Would this somehow make him a cynic?

Comments on Briana's :)