clear utterance, after long decades of years, in which he had
'heard nothing but infinite jangling and jabbering, and inarticulate
twittering and screeching.' Then Carlyle enjoined on his American friend
for rule of life, 'Give no ear to any man's praise or censure; know that
that is _not_ it; on the one side is as Heaven, if you have strength to
keep silent and climb unseen; yet on the other side, yawning always at
one's right hand and one's left, is the frightfullest Abyss and
Pandemonium' (Dec. 8, 1837). Emerson's temperament and his whole method
made the warning needless, and, as before, while 'vociferous platitude
was dinning his ears on all sides,' a whole world of thought was
'silently building itself in these calm depths.' But what would those
two divinities of his, Plato and Socrates, have said of a man who 'could
not give an account of himself if challenged'? Assuredly not every one
who saith Plato, Plato, is admitted to that ideal kingdom.

It was soon after this that the _Dial_ was projected. It had its origin
in the Transcendental Club, a little knot of speculative students at
Boston, who met four or five times a year at one another's houses to
discuss questions mainly theological, from more liberal points of view
than was at that time common, 'the air then in America getting a little
too close and stagnant.' The Club was first formed in 1836. The _Dial_
appeared in 1840, and went on for four years at quarterly intervals.
Emerson was a constant contributor, and for the last half of its
existence he acted as editor. 'I submitted,' he told Carlyle, 'to what
seemed a necessity of petty literary patriotism--I know not what else to
call it--and took charge of our thankless little _Dial_ here, without
subscribers enough to pay even a publisher, much less any labourer; it
has no penny for editor or contributor, nothing but abuse in the
newspapers, or, at best, silence; but it serves as a sort of portfolio,
to carry about a few poems or sentences which would otherwise be
transcribed or circulated, and we always are waiting until somebody
shall come and make it good. But I took it, and it took me and a great
deal of good time to a small purpose' (July 1, 1842). On the whole one
must agree that it was to small purpose. Emerson's name has reflected
lustre on the _Dial_, but when his contributions are taken out, and,
say, half a dozen besides, the residuum is in the main very poor stuff,
and some of it has a droll resem