Sabbath Originally, Saturday, the seventh day of the week reserved by Jews as a day of rest; Sunday is observed as the Sabbath by Christians.
Samos A Greek island.
Saturnalia A period of unrestrained license and revelry; associated with the ancient Roman festival of Saturn.
savant Here, a scholar.
Savoyards Inhabitants of Savoy, now a province of southeast France; during Emerson's lifetime, Savoyards were renowned for their woodcarving.
Saxon breasts Part of the American construction of race in the 1800s was the development of the notion of a "Saxon" or "Anglo-Saxon" race, supposedly derived from the Teutonic conquerors of England following the Roman Empire; Americans who wished to maintain an elite class of descendants of northern European Protestants excluded Irish, eastern and southern Europeans, and people of color from the notion of "true" Americans.
Scanderbeg (d. 1468) Revolutionary leader and national hero of Albania.
Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von (1775-1854) German philosopher. Oken, Lorenz (1779-1851) German naturalist. mesmerism hypnotism. Behmen, Jacob (1575-1624) German mystic.
Scipio Africanus the "Elder" (237-183 B.C.) Until Julius Caesar, he was the greatest Roman general, defeating the mighty Hannibal at Zama in 202 B.C.
scorice The refuse left after melting metal.
See the great ball which they roll from Baltimore to Bunker Hill A political stunt used by the Whigs in the 1840 American presidential campaign to illustrate their growing majority.
sepulchres Vaults for burial.
sere Withered.
set at naught To set aside, or deem inconsequential.
Shakers A religious organization originating in England in 1747; early members believed in miracle cures and exhibited hysterical manifestations of being possessed.
signet A small seal pressed into a hot wax wafer in order to make a document official.
slough The skin of a snake, especially the outer layer that is periodically cast off.
Socrates (d. 399 B.C.) The Greek philosopher who initiated a question-and-answer method of teaching — called the Socratic method — as a means of achieving self-knowledge; opponents of Socrates' method felt that he was undermining the authority of the state by teaching youths to question received knowledge. He was brought to trial, convicted of corrupting youth, and condemned to die; he carried out the sentence by drinking poison.
sod Grassy surface soil.
solstice The two times of the year when the sun reaches its most northerly (summer) and southerly (winter) positions, with reference to the equator. These are the longest and shortest days, respectively, of the year.
Sophocles (d. 406 B.C.) A Greek dramatist whose plays include Antigone and Oedipus Rex.
Spartan fife Refers to the fife, a small flute, used in tandem with drums to provide cadence for marching soldiers.
Spenser, Edmund (1552-99) The English poet whose best-known work is The Faerie Queene.
Sphinx A creature of Egyptian mythology that was often the subject of Egyptian art and sculpture; the sphinx has a human's head and an animal's body.
Spinoza, Baruch (1632-77) Dutch theologian and philosopher.
St. Peter's The most famous building in Vatican City, Rome; the Vatican Basilica of St. Peter, built by Constantine I to honor the apostle Paul, martyred three hundred years earlier.
Stewart, Douglas (1753-1828) Scottish philosopher.
Stoic One who approaches life rationally, indifferent to pleasure and emotional pain.
stumps The name given to political speakers who employed the practice of addressing audiences from anywhere, including standing on the tops of tree stumps.
subaltern Subordinate.
Swedenborg, Emanuel (1688-1772) A Swedish scientist, mystic, philosopher, and theologian, Swedenborg insisted that the scriptures are the immediate word of God. He postulated many scientific theories that were far ahead of their time, including the idea that all matter is made up of tiny swirling particles (later called atoms). He also set out to prove the existence of an immortal soul. Theologically, he asserted that the heavenly trinity is reproduced in human beings as soul, body, and mind. His teachings became the nucleus of the Church of the New Jerusalem.
Swedenborgism The philosophical system derived by the Swedish philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772); emphasizes mystical insight and an idealistic vision of human nature.
sycophantic Trying to win favors from influential people by excessive fawning and flattery.
tacks The movement of a sailboat against the wind by setting sails and steering back and forth across the direction of the wind; each leg of the journey is a single tack.
Temperance The nineteenth- and twenteenth-century American movement to promote — both by law and persuasion — abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
The Grand Turk The Sultan of Turkey.
the Pacha A variation of "pasha," a Turkish government official of high rank.
the pit In early theaters, the cheapest seats behind the orchestra, below the level of the stage.
The Tempest A romantic drama written in 1611 by William Shakespeare; it recounts the story of a magician, Prospero, and others who are shipwrecked on an island.
the temple of Delphi The Greek temple in the town of Delphi that was the home of the Delphic prophets and the oracle of Apollo.
Thebes An ancient city in Egypt, it was a major center of national life and culture at the time of the Pharaohs; many of its magnificent monuments had fallen into ruin by Emerson's time.
Thermopylae A mountain pass in Greece, where the Spartans, under the leadership of Leonidas, were defeated by Xerxes and the Persians.
Third Estate The "common people" under the French monarchy; the clergy and nobles formed the first two estates.
Thor In Norse mythology, the god of thunder; he is commemorated in the name of the fifth day of the week, Thursday.
Timoleon One of Achilles' immortal horses.
titular Existing only in title, or name.
Transcendentalism A religious, literary, and philosophical movement in New England between 1836, when Emerson published Nature, and 1844, when The Dial — the publishing entity of the transcendental movement — ceased publication. Influenced by Unitarianism, transcendentalists denied the existence of miracles, preferring a Christianity that rested on the teachings of Christ and not on his deeds. They experimented with communal living and supported educational innovation, the abolitionist and feminist movements, and the reform of the church and society, generally. New England transcendentalists were committed to intuition as a way of knowing, to individualism, and to a belief in the divinity of humans and nature.
tropes literary devices that use words in non-literal ways, such as irony or metaphor.
Troubadours A class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, they lived in southern France in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries and composed poems of love and chivalry.
Troy An ancient city in Asia Minor and the site of the Trojan War.
Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques (1727-81) French economic theorist; his reforms of the French financial systems were blocked by the forces of privilege in the clergy and the nobility.
unhandselled Unappreciated.
Unitarianism A form of Christianity that asserts that God is one person, the Father, rather than the three-in-one person as the doctrine of the Trinity asserts; Unitarians are confident in an individual's rational abilities for moral self-guidance.
