The title essay begins with a humorist Emerson met on his travels, a man of good abilities who could not bear company, and asks how much of ourselves we owe to others and how much to solitude. Eleven more essays follow on civilization, art, eloquence, domestic life, farming, works and days, books, clubs, courage, success and old age.
Emerson in his practical, genial later manner, full of quotable sentences about how to live well among other people. Download the free EPUB.