Representative men

In 'Representative Men,' Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers a series of lectures and writings that examine the lives and principles of six significant historical figures.

Emerson discusses Plato as the philosopher, Swedenborg as the mystic, Montaigne as the skeptic, Shakespeare as the poet, Napoleon as the man of the world, and Goethe as the writer.

The book reflects Emerson's meditations on individual greatness and the everyday virtues of these 'Representative Men,' highlighting their impact on Western civilization and the collective human consciousness.

Emerson's work contrasts with Thomas Carlyle's 'On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History' by portraying great men as lenses through which people can see themselves, rather than as divinely gifted individuals above the common person.