...wise men, to give this idea some big-name clout. In his famous essay, "Self-Reliance," Emerson writes, "To believe your own thought, to believe that what...private heart is true for all men — that is genius." When in doubt, turn to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Housework was a pleasant pastime. When my floor was dirty,...

...I think we finally can come to terms with Emerson's proclamation at the outset of "Self-Reliance": "To believe your own thought, to believe that what...private heart, is true for all men, — that is genius" (CW2, 27). The insistence startles because it rings with the kind of fanaticism I've been trying to...