Many 19th C essays were originally lectures delivered to an audience—almost all of Emerson's essays, for example. There was a huge lecture circuit across the U.

Many 19th C essays were originally lectures delivered to an audience—almost all of Emerson's essays, for example. There was a huge lecture circuit across the U.S. Maybe my favourite talks are William James' On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings (1890s), and its sequel What Makes a Life Significant. https://archive.org/details/onsomeoflifeside00jameiala/page/n7/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/onsomeoflifeside00jameiala/page/...