# Our Long Apprenticeship to the Learning of Other Lands Draws to a Close by Ralph Waldo Emerson > “Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions that around us are rushing into life cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests.” > **— Ralph Waldo Emerson**, *The American Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa address, August 31, 1837* ## Sources and Context - **Primary source:** Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar,” Phi Beta Kappa address, Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 31, 1837; text in [*Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson*](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16643) (Project Gutenberg), checked word for word. - **Exact original:** “Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions that around us are rushing into life cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests.” No editorial change; the source's footnote marker is omitted. - **Context:** Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. later called the address America's “Intellectual Declaration of Independence.” It followed Webster's dictionary by nine years and extended his linguistic claim to scholarship and philosophy. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/War With Empire|War With Empire]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/war with empire/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] - **Article:** [[articles/How Europe's Refuse Built the Apex Civilization Called America|How Europe's Refuse Built the Apex Civilization Called America]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Ralph Waldo Emerson|Ralph Waldo Emerson]] - [[wiki/Charter Civilization|Charter Civilization]] - [[wiki/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands, draws to a close. The millions that around us are rushing into life cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa address, August 31, 1837 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-ralph-waldo-emerson-apprenticeship-learning-other-lands ```