a weakness but a sign of growth The present age is full of restlessness but that restlessness will bring discovery and rebirth Criticism and Self-Examination Emerson calls his century an Age of Criticism He believes people now question everything their thoughts society and traditions Many fear this criticism but Emerson sees it as progress He says that discontent marks a period of evolution toward new knowledge To him self-criticism means awakening It shows that human beings are ready to rise above the blind obedience of the past and move toward freedom of the mind It is the start of a cultural revolution Respect and Rebellion Toward the Past Emerson honors the great thinkers of the past but refuses to be their slave He writes Books are the best of things well used abused among the worst The past should inspire not imprison Each generation must he says write its own books or rather each generation for the next succeeding America must stop copying Europe and express its own voice He wants scholars to learn from old wisdom yet add new light for their own time The Spirit of Revolution and the Common People Emerson believes that his age needs a literary and spiritual revolution He admires writers like Wordsworth and Goethe who found beauty in the near the low the common He says We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe True poetry and truth come from ordinary life not from royal courts The American scholar must therefore look around his own land and people discover their daily struggles and find new meaning and dignity in common humanity Toward a New American Identity For Emerson his age is a turning point for America He says the country must throw off its day of dependence and become culturally free The scholar s duty is to unite the nation through knowledge and faith in human power He writes A nation of men will for the first time exist because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men The American scholar will help the people think and act with courage and independence In short Emerson s age is one of reflection change and promise It stands between the dead past and the unborn future He respects old learning but rejects blind imitation He dreams of a new era where self-trust and creativity will replace dependence on others His vision of the American scholar leads to a national awakening It is a future where freedom of thought will shape both man and nation