Book 1, Nature, Addresses & Lectures : Chapter 1, Introductions & First Lectures Summary and Analysis

There is a double Table of Contents for this mammoth book. The first of these is being used to describe the work in one respect. What has been called "Book 1" here is in reality the way the first of the two Table of Contents describes the entire book. The chapter designates materials found under this first general heading in the second Table of Contents. Readers soon discover that this first set of documents is actually speeches in their written format. Emerson had enough of a reputation to be granted or invited to give speaking engagements to graduating classes of colleges. Another group of his speeches are presented to the Free Masons. Due to the secrecy of this society, it is not possible to make an exact interpretation...