【美国人物志】拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生(10/12)

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拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生，美国思想家，诗人。1836年出版处女作《论自然》。他文学上的贡献主要在散文和诗歌上。
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America
Negro
Emerson
文中的南北均大写~~The 1850s were not a peaceful time for America. The nation was divided by a bitter argument about slavery. Most people in the South defended slavery. They believed the agricultural economy of the South depended on Negro slaves. Most people in the North condemned slavery. They believed it was wrong for one man to own another. Emerson was not interested in debates or disputes. But he was prepared to defend truth, as he saw it. Emerson believed that the slaves should be freed. But he did not take an active part in the anti-slavery movement. All his beliefs about the individual opposed the idea of group action -- even group action against slavery. As the dispute became more intense, however, Emerson finally, quietly, added his voice to the anti-slavery campaign. When one of his children wrote a school report about building a house, he said no one should build a house without a place to hide runaway slaves.