"Experience" is an essay by
Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was published in the collection ''
Essays: Second Series'' in 1844. The essay is preceded by a poem of the same title.
In one passage, Emerson speaks out against the effort to over-intellectualize life - and particularly against experiments to create
utopias, or ideal communities. A wise and happy life, Emerson believes, requires a different attitude. The mention of "Education Farm" is a reference to
Brook Farm, a short-lived utopian community founded by former
Unitarian minister
George Ripley and his wife
Sophia Ripley.
Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
1844 essays
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