Revue française d'études américaines 2002- 1 (no91)| ISSN | ISSN numérique : en cours | ISBN : | page 8 à 26 Distribution électronique Cairn pour les éditions Belin. © Belin. Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. Il est interdit, sauf accord préalable et écrit de l’éditeur, de reproduire (notamment par photocopie) partiellement ou totalement le présent article, de le stocker dans une banque de données ou de le communiquer au public sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit.

ABSTRACT — This paper seeks to describe and interpret the pervasive practice of quoting in Emerson’s essays. The focus is on the early texts, and although the aim is not to identify the often hidden sources, various corpuses are addressed (the Bible, German and English poets, and Emerson’s own journals, the origin of much self-quotation). Emerson’s relentless quoting is shown to be not only in accordance with the Romantic self-consciousness of literature, or with traditional rhetorical requirements of authority and variety, but also, more fundamentally and quite paradoxically, with the philosophy of self-reliance. For the Emersonian, nonconformist “scholar”, quoting does not amount to obedience, but expresses unison with truths uttered in the past: echoing the voices of other ages is a way of finding one’s own.

This paper seeks to describe and interpret the pervasive practice of quoting in Emerson’s essays. The focus is on the early texts, and although the aim is not to identify the often hidden sources, various corpuses are addressed (the Bible, German and English poets, and Emerson’s own journals, the origin of much self-quotation). Emerson’s relentless quoting is shown to be not only in accordance with the Romantic self-consciousness of literature, or with traditional rhetorical requirements of authority and variety, but also, more fundamentally and quite paradoxically, with the philosophy of self-reliance. For the Emersonian, nonconformist “scholar”, quoting does not amount to obedience, but expresses unison with truths uttered in the past: echoing the voices of other ages is a way of finding one’s own.
Keywords : , Emerson, Quoting, Bible, Rhetoric, Originality.