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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Emerson's "The Over-Soul", which of the following is NOT the essence of the over-soul?
(a) Human consciousness.
(b) Spirituality.
(c) Intellectual discussion.
(d) An indwelling sense of God.

2. What right of individuals has never been tried as the foundation of a state?
(a) Reverence.
(b) Love.
(c) Employment.
(d) Trust.

3. What did Emerson say about communion in "The Lord's Supper"?
(a) It is a meaningless ritual.
(b) It should only be observed as part of Last Rites.
(c) It is the most important ritual in Christianity.
(d) It was a miracle that is downplayed in the Bible.

4. What word or phrase means a belief that God's grace allows an individual to ignore all laws, divine and terrestrial?
(a) Faith.
(b) Divine providence.
(c) Entitlement.
(d) Antinomianism.

5. What does Emerson believe about nature?
(a) It will be the only thing that lasts.
(b) It is unchanging.
(c) It can be used as an analogy for all aspects of life.
(d) It is bipolar.

6. What did Plato emphasize over the body, according to "Plato, or the Philosopher"?
(a) Human relationships.
(b) Faith.
(c) The heart.
(d) The human soul.

7. Which of the following is the best and most efficient type of economy for man, according to Emerson?
(a) Democratic republic.
(b) Private enterprise.
(c) Enlightened socialism.
(d) Public bureaucracy.

8. Who said, "Do not flatter your benefactors"?
(a) The Buddha.
(b) Jesus Christ.
(c) An unnamed Indian guru.
(d) Benjamin Franklin.

9. What is the primary tool of the poet?
(a) Experience.
(b) Language.
(c) Imagination.
(d) Truth.

10. Who sees through appearances and trends to seize life and speak truth?
(a) The poet.
(b) The academic.
(c) The philosopher.
(d) The artist.

11. What seldom-acknowledged factor in coloring people's experience is a large part of everyone's life?
(a) Temperaments.
(b) Faith.
(c) Career.
(d) Upbringing.

12. Who can too often judge and categorize art and literature, according to "The Poet"?
(a) Censors of thought.
(b) Poets.
(c) Philosophers.
(d) Umpires of taste.

13. Where did Emerson deliver "The Lord's Supper" as a sermon?
(a) The Second Church of Boston.
(b) St. Louis Cathedral.
(c) Westminster Abbey.
(d) Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral.

14. Which of the following is NOT one of the categories Emerson divides the world into?
(a) Beauty.
(b) Language.
(c) Commodity.
(d) Truth.

15. How should history be understood, according to Emerson's essay "History"?
(a) As biography.
(b) As a piece of the puzzle of the human experience.
(c) As the first and most basic art form.
(d) As subjective narrative.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word did Plato use to explain opposites joined together, according to "Plato, or the Philosopher"?

2. In what style is "Selected Writings" written?

3. How is the soul different from the physical body, according to Emerson?

4. What, with friendship, creates a "cordial goodwill," according to "Friendship"?

5. Each person has his or her own vocation that can be discovered by ______.

(see the answer keys)

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