Romantics:
* William Wordsworth: Emerson admired Wordsworth's focus on nature, individual experience, and the power of imagination.
* Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Emerson was drawn to Coleridge's ideas on the imagination and the unity of all things.
* Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Emerson saw Goethe as a model of the "universal man," embodying a fusion of art, science, and spirituality.
* Victor Hugo: Emerson appreciated Hugo's romantic sensibility and his emphasis on the individual and the unconventional.
Transcendentalists:
* Immanuel Kant: Emerson was influenced by Kant's philosophy of idealism, emphasizing the importance of reason and intuition.
* Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling: Emerson found inspiration in Schelling's concept of the "absolute," a unifying principle that underlies all reality.
* Søren Kierkegaard: Although Kierkegaard came later, Emerson was likely influenced by his focus on individual existence and the struggle for faith.
Other notable influences:
* Plato: Emerson was drawn to Plato's ideas about the ideal world of forms.
* Pythagoras: Emerson was influenced by Pythagoras' concept of a cosmic harmony and the interconnectedness of all things.
* Confucius: Emerson appreciated Confucius' focus on ethical living and the importance of tradition.
It's important to note that Emerson wasn't just passively absorbing these influences. He actively engaged with these writers' ideas, reinterpreted them in his own context, and developed his own unique philosophical and literary perspective. He blended these influences with American experiences, creating a unique brand of transcendentalism that resonated with his time and continues to influence thinkers today.