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I agree with the following argument out of John Banville's analysis at NYBR on Richardson's book on Emerson (yes.. this is Tal on Banville on Richardson on Emerson. I haven't read the book so it might be that this is a direct analysis of Richardson's and not Banville's on Richardson's. Well anyway:)
"...His second major theme is that of Emerson the creative reader.[1] At no point does Richardson identify to whom his book is primarily addressed, but we may make a fair guess from the fact that he opens his introduction with that splendid piece of encouragement and accommodation from Emerson's great essay "The American Scholar":
Meek young men grow up in libraries believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote those books. "
so right. of course. but this interpretation preserves a lot of meekishness still: other than instructing us to read critically, it doesn't say a whole lot about how to write, or how to muster the courage to write.
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