They were not martyrs, being, on the contrary, an
unusually joyous and happy company, but, all the same, they gave the
best of their lives to the service of humanity. They honestly and
earnestly believed they could demonstrate the practicability of their
theories, to the advantage of their fellow-beings, and they faithfully
tried to accomplish that purpose. If the Pilgrims of Plymouth deserve
honor for unselfish devotion to religious reform, why should not the
Brook Farm pioneers of social reform receive correspondingly suitable
recognition. It is true they did not immediately attain the ends they
sought but neither did the Pilgrims; and the end is not yet.
It should be said that not all the Transcendentalists joined Doctor
Ripley in his Utopian undertaking. Ralph Waldo Emerson for example was
not of our company. Indeed, he was not of any company. An inspiring
preacher he gained early fame as a pulpit orator in the First Unitarian
Church of Cambridge, Mass., but even the liberal communion of that free
congregation was too close for his independent spirit, and he abandoned
a career of brilliant promise in the ministry, as he said, "for his
soul's peace.
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