He wrote, "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." This point is fundamental to the structure of the ideal man. He must cut a new path in his life, or else he is "false in all particulars." The theme of Self-Reliance is an elaboration of this idealist theme. We are to follow our own light, "the only prophet of that which must be, is that great nature in which we rest." It is both "the act of seeing and the thing seen," and it creates our world in depth by means of our insight and interpretations. Emerson's great emphasis upon nonconformity and integrity shows that the Over-soul creates a world through individuals rather than through the commerce of groups. "Where we find beauty in a flower or a forest or a poem, meaning and direction, or deep understanding, the voice of "this deity" is speaking through us and creating the world around us by such means. This deity does not speak to groups but, in radical protestant style, to each person alone to the degree he or she attends to the message." The value Emerson attributes to the messages depends upon the Over-soul being "self-sufficing and perfect in every hour." Emerson's focus is upon the individual. In Self-Reliance he says, "it is easy, in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." He complains that all men hear the inner voice in solitude but that they lose themselves when they enter into the world of men. "Society everywhere is a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members." Emerson feels man must work on his own and be diligent and truthful in that work to produce a better society. Man must be willing to take risks instead of conforming to the rules of society in order to prosper. Man should control society instead of allowing society to control him.
