Representative Men · Theme
Moral Sentiment and Intellect
How Representative Men develops Moral Sentiment and Intellect.
Emerson emphasizes that true greatness integrates moral purpose with intellectual power, arguing that intellect without moral sentiment is incomplete and that the saint and the thinker must ultimately be reconciled.
Where it surfaces
- Plato; or, the Philosopher
Plato's philosophy is grounded in the Good as the prime cause; virtue and felicity depend on the science of the real, and courage is knowledge.
- Plato: New Readings
Emerson highlights Plato's moral conclusions, such as the coincidence of science and virtue, and the intrinsic profit of justice, emphasizing the moral aim that endeared him to mankind.
- Swedenborg; or, the Mystic
The chapter explores the tension between moral sentiment and intellect, particularly in Swedenborg's later rejection of his own intellectual faculties.
- Napoleon; or, the Man of the World
The chapter critiques Napoleon for lacking a higher moral purpose. He is described as 'no saint' and 'no hero in the high sense,' and his ends are purely material. Emerson implies that true greatness requires a public or moral aim.