Meaning of “Whether this be the best way is of…”

Solitude of Self; Stanton develops an extended navigation metaphor to argue that every person must be equipped for the emergencies and decisions of an individual life.

The Human Machine, discussion of using experience for self-command. Bennett’s claim is philosophical self-training advice; it does not imply that every failure is beneficial or emotionally easy.

On Liberty, Chapter III; Mill contrasts imitation with actively choosing one’s own plan of life.

Essays, First Series, essay II, “Self-Reliance,” Project Gutenberg #2944. “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” follows Emerson’s claim that society conspires against the manhood of its members through conformity. The represented Gutenberg witness prints a comma after “man,” while the frozen catalog quotation omits that punctuation; the wording is otherwise the same. It remains Transcendentalist moral rhetoric about self-trust and independence rather than a universal instruction to reject social norms or expertise.

Walden; Thoreau contrasts one’s own deliberate track with paths chosen by others.

Conclusion of Walden; Thoreau argues for following one’s own measure and direction.