a certain poet Meaning Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888), an American educator and philosopher; Alcott was Emerson's neighbor and an admirer of Emerson's essay on nature.
acrostic A short poem in which the first, middle, or last letter of each line spells a word or phrase when read in sequence.
Agamemnon In Greek mythology, the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War; he was killed by his wife, Clytemnestra.
agaric A form of fungi, including many edible mushrooms.
Agrippa, Cornelius (1486-1535) German physician.
alembic A distilling machine.
Alexandrian stanza A palindrome; an arrangement of words that reads the same backwards or forward — for example, "If I had a hi-fi."
Alfred (d. 899) Alfred was the king (871-99) of what was then called West Saxony, in the southwest portion of England.
Algiers The capital of Algeria, a country in northwest Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea.
alms to sots Donations to drunkards.
alter idem Latin, meaning "the same, but somehow different"; in another reality.
amelioration An improvement.
an ancient historian Emerson is referring to Gaius Sallustius Crispus, or Sallust (86-34 B.C.), a Roman historian.
Anaxagoras (d. 428 B.C.) Greek philosopher; he believed that matter was composed of atoms.
ancillary Subordinate; a servant.
Andes A South American rugged mountain chain that runs parallel to the Pacific coast, through Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.
Animal Magnetism The term given to hypnosis by the pioneer experimenter Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), an Austrian physician.
anomalous Departing from the regular arrangement, general rule, or usual method; abnormal.
antediluvian Occurring before the biblical flood.
Antigone In Greek legend, she was the daughter of Oedipus and performed funeral rites over her brother's body in defiance of Creon, her uncle, who became Thebes' king after the fall of Oedipus.
anti-nomianism Belief in a religious doctrine that promotes faith rather than adherence to moral laws; moral laws are relative, not fixed or universal.
antinomianism Belief in the religious doctrine that promotes faith rather than adherence to moral laws.
apocalypse A prophetic revelation.
Apollo In Greek mythology, the god of poetry, prophecy, music, healing, and light.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) A Greek philosopher who once studied with Plato, Aristotle advocated moderate behavior and the use of logic as the proper tool of investigation.
Arrian Second-century Greek historian.
asp A small, venomous snake.
Assyria An ancient Near Eastern kingdom; emblematic of an early period of splendor.
azote A former name for nitrogen.
Bacon, Francis (1561-1626) An English essayist, statesman, and philosopher, he proposed a theory of scientific knowledge based on observation and experiment, which came to be known as the inductive method.
Bailey's Dictionary Officially known as the Universal Etymological English Dictionary, compiled in 1721 by Nathaniel Bailey (d. 1742).
bantling A baby.
Barbados The easternmost island of the West Indies, Barbados was a British colony until it became independent in 1966; British legislation abolished slavery in the West Indies in 1833.
Beaumont, Francis (d. 1616) An English dramatist, he co-authored all of his major works, including The Maides Ragedy (1611), with John Fletcher.
Behmen, Jacob (1575-1624) German mystic.
Bentham, Jeremy (1748-1832) British philosopher; recognized as the official founder of utilitarianism, which holds that the chief purpose of human social existence is to secure the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Bering, Vitus (d. 1741) Danish explorer.
Berkeley, George (1685-1753) Berkeley was a leading advocate of empiricism and idealism in British philosophy; as an idealist, he argued that all the sensible qualities of an object — for example, taste, color, and odor — depend on the mind of the viewer.
Berserkirs Savage warriors of Norse mythology.
Bible-society One of a number of societies organized for translating and distributing bibles.
bivouac A camp without tents.
"blasted with excess of light" Spoken about the English poet John Milton in "The Progress of Poesy" (1757), by the English romantic poet Thomas Gray (1716 — 71).
bleeding A medical practice in which blood is released from a patient's veins, supposedly to drain away infections or toxic matter.
blindman's buff A game in which a blindfolded player tries to catch and identify other players.
boats Boasts.
Brahmins Members of the cultural and social elite in India.
Brutus, Marcus (d. 42 B.C.) A Roman general who conspired to assassinate Julius Caesar.
Buddhism A philosophical religion based on the teachings of Buddha; adherents believe that the self, or the "soul," has no independent reality apart from the many inseparable parts of the universe.
Buffon, Comte Georges Louis Leclerc de (1707-88) A French naturalist, he is noted for his 44-volume Histoire naturelle (finished in 1804), a comprehensive formulation of the biological sciences.
Burns, Robert (1759-96) The Scottish poet who wrote "Tam o'Shanter" and "Auld Lang Syne."
Caesar, Gaius Julius (100-44 B.C.) A Roman general, statesman, and emperor, he was given a mandate by the people to rule as dictator for life; he was stabbed to death by a group of republicans led by Brutus and Cassius.
calculator A mathematician.
calices Outer leaves at the base of flowers.
Caliph Ali (d. 661) The fourth caliph — or leader — of the Muslim community, Caliph Ali's descendants are regarded as the true successors to the prophet Mohammed.
Calvinism A Christian theological perspective associated with the work of John Calvin (1509-64), who advocated the final authority of the Bible and salvation by grace alone.
camera obscura A darkened box with a lens, through which objects are projected on a surface in their natural colors; the ancestor of the camera.
"Can crowd . . . to eternity" Spoken by Lucifer in Cain (1821), by the English romantic poet Lord George Byron (1788-1824).
Cardano, Girolamo (1501-76) Italian mathematician.
Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881) English historian, philosopher, and essayist.
Cato, Marcus Porcius (95-46 B.C.) Also known as Cato the Younger, he was a leading Stoic and Roman conservative in the last years of the Roman republic; he supported Pompey against Caesar in the nation's civil war and committed suicide after Caesar's victory.
Chalmers, Alexander (1759-1834) A Scottish biographer, he compiled the thirty-two volume British Biographical Dictionary.
Chapman, George (d. 1634) An English poet and dramatist noted for his translations of Homer.
charity-boy A boy attending a school for indigent children and funded by charitable donations.
Charles ll (1630-85) King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1660 — 85), he reigned at the beginning of the Restoration.
Charmides . . . Timaeus Two dialogues written by Plato.
Chatham, First Earl of (1708-78) More widely known as Willim Pitt the Elder, he supported the American colonists' bid for independence in the British Parliament.
Chaucer, Geoffrey (d. 1400) The English poet who wrote The Canterbury Tales.
Chimborazo An inactive volcano in Ecuador.
Christina (1626-89) Queen of Sweden.
chronometers Highly accurate timepieces.
churlish Unrefined.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius (106-43 B.C.) A Roman statesman and Stoic philosopher, he is best known for his speech making.
Clarkson, Thomas (1760-1846) A pioneer of the British antislavery movement.
closet Originally, any small room, such as a study, where an individual could withdraw in privacy.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834) A British poet and critic, his works include "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1798).
commit sacrilege with David Although David distinguished himself as a monarch who was faithful to God and as a ruler who administered justice impartially, he did not escape the demoralizing influences of his great prosperity and unrestricted power. He had numerous wives and lovers, and because his passion for Bathsheba was so great, he sent her husband, Uriah, to the front lines, thereby ensuring his death. Afterward, David married Bathsheba, but God was so displeased with David's transgression that he caused the son of David and Bathsheba to die.
Condillac, Etienne (1715-80) A French philosopher, he established the doctrine known as sensationalism, which holds that all human knowledge is strictly the result of sensory perception.
connate Tnborn; innate.
consanguinity A close affinity, or connection.
constellation Harp another name for Lyra, a constellation of stars in the northern hemisphere; it contains Vega, the fourth brightest star in the heavens.
Copernicus, Nicolaus (1473-1543) The Polish astronomer who theorized that the earth revolves around the sun.
copestones Meaning capstone, the top stone of a wall.
corporeal Physical.
Cowper, William (1731-1800) The English poet whose major work is The Task.
craft Guile; deception.
Cromwell, Oliver (1599-1658) Cromwell was the Lord Protector of England (1653-58).
cumber To confound or trouble the mind or senses.
cumbers To trouble the mind or the senses.
Cuvier, Georges (1769-1832) A French naturalist, he is considered to be the founder of comparative anatomy.
