Self-Reliance Self-Reliance "Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow their own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of Emerson's most famous quotations: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." This essay is an analysis into the nature of the “aboriginal self on which a universal reliance may be grounded.” The first hint of the philosophy
Letters and Notes on the Customs and Manners of the North American Indians efforts, noting his obvious devotion. The review ends by stating that, "This volume helps us to appreciate the significance of the cause and the varied achievements of a remarkable man who accepted his own challenge." Letters and Notes on the Customs and Manners of the North American Indians Letters and Notes on the Customs and Manners of the North American Indians is a two-volume travel narrative by George Catlin, an American painter, author, and traveler. The book, published in 1842 in London, was written during eight years of travel from 1832 to 1839 and contains many of Catlin’s illustrations. The