BIOGRAPHICAL, religious, and literary interests control the
selection of these twenty-five sermons from the total number of
approximately one hundred and seventy unpublished manu-
scripts. Emerson's first sermon, the one he preached the most
times, the three at the time of his ordination and its anniversary,
one delivered immediately after the death of his wife, and an-
other on his return from his European trip, -- throw a vivid
light upon the life and thought of the young preacher, preparing
and delivering his weekly sermons during the most critical and
formative years of his life. His views on themes which else-
where in his writings receive scant attention are exhibited in a
wide range of 'curiosities' such as the discourses on Astronomy,
Conversation, the Choice of a Vocation, Miracles, and Re-
ligious Liberalism and Society. His first full-length treatments
of the central principles of his thinking also appear. Editorial
attention is given to the character of his literary craftsmanship
and his methods of preaching.

The old religion and the new find juxtaposed expression in
the sermons. The young preacher belonged to both the first
and the second stages in the development of religious liberalism,
associated with the names of William Ellery Channing and
Theodore Parker; and in his own thinking he bridges the gap
between them. His place in the on-going movement of American
religious thought and culture assumes new significance in the
light of the sermons.

The sermons have been printed in chronological order, that

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