...Obey thy heart," and "God enters by a private door into every individual" (from "Intellect") and then "The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face...also enjoy an original relation to the universe?" (from Nature). They heard each of these, blinking, and all remained silent when I asked for comments....

...in revolutionary fashion: "Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers . . . Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe?" And so, "Let us demand our own works and laws and worship." Turning his back on tradition, Emerson...