The Emerson Journals
Journal one: On “Friendship” pt. 1
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay Friendship was first published in 1841, to view the essay in its entirety, go here. I’d recommend reading the essay before reading my distilled journaled interpretations.
“I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frostwork, but the solidest thing we know.”
“The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Quotes from Emerson’s essay “Friendship”, published in 1841
My initial thoughts:
Friendship is something we take for granted, especially in the 21st century, often abusing the opportunity altogether for temporary benefits be it financial, social, or as safety nets during difficult times. A variety of reasons are typically at hand for any of these so-called “pseudo” friendships, very few being genuine or just.
Today people engage in what has been widely accepted and viewed as “friendship” through a means of digital interactions through a handful of noisy distracting online apps. Over a short period of time thanks to these applications, nearly twenty years, people have started to display a significant regression in their ability to focus, be creative, have a meaningful connection to spirituality, and most importantly, to be socially functional. Friendship has taken a backseat in the 21st century, between family, co-workers, classmates, and public encounters, friendship is no longer considered a necessity due to the disconnection founded through the online connection. How mistaken we are and what a loss for us to have granted ourselves.
Emerson viewed friendship entirely different. To him, truth and tenderness were the two elements that comprised real friendship, and I agree. He perceived and described friendship much like the philosopher Seneca did, who wrote about it in letters to his friend Lucilius. To Emerson, friendship was a secure connection, a delight, a freedom found within the exchange and company of another (or many). Friendship in Emerson’s opinion was only possible when an individual was capable of being a friend to himself, to the world, and to the solitude of himself and his friend. By being capable of this, an individual can possess understanding, which is the heart of friendship.
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