# Representative Men — Character guide

> Key figures in Representative Men by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

- [Plato](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/plato.md): Greek philosopher and central subject of the second chapter, representing the philosopher type.
- [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/swedenborg.md): Swedish mystic and central subject of the third chapter, representing the mystic type.
- [William Shakespeare](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/shakespeare.md): English playwright and central subject of the fifth chapter, representing the poet type.
- [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/napoleon.md): French emperor and central subject of the sixth chapter, representing the man of the world.
- [Michel de Montaigne](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/montaigne.md): French essayist and central subject of the fourth chapter, representing the skeptic type.
- [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/goethe.md): German writer and central subject of the seventh chapter, representing the writer type.
- [Socrates](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/socrates.md): Greek philosopher and teacher of Plato, frequently discussed as a model of thought.
- [Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/mirabeau.md): French revolutionary leader and orator, discussed as a man of practical genius.
- [Francis Bacon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/bacon.md): English philosopher and statesman, cited as a representative of empirical science.
- [John Locke](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/locke.md): English philosopher whose ideas on government and knowledge are referenced.
- [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/chaucer.md): English poet, mentioned as a precursor to Shakespeare in poetic tradition.
- [Martin Luther](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/luther.md): German theologian and reformer, cited as a figure of moral and religious force.
- [Ben Jonson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/ben_jonson.md): English playwright and contemporary of Shakespeare, mentioned in literary context.
- [Homer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/homer.md): Ancient Greek epic poet, referenced as the archetype of poetic genius.
- [Dante Alighieri](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/dante.md): Italian poet, mentioned as a model of visionary writing.
- [Cicero](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/cicero.md): Roman orator and statesman, cited as an example of eloquence.
- [Isaac Newton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/newton.md): English physicist and mathematician, referenced as a symbol of scientific discovery.
- [Voltaire](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/voltaire.md): French Enlightenment writer, mentioned as a skeptic and wit.
- [Lord Byron](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/byron.md): English Romantic poet, cited as a figure of passionate individualism.
- [Michelangelo](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/michelangelo.md): Italian Renaissance artist, referenced as a model of creative power.
- [Plutarch](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/plutarch.md): Greek biographer, mentioned as a source of heroic lives.
- [Pericles](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/pericles.md): Athenian statesman, cited as an example of political leadership.
- [Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/talleyrand.md): French diplomat, mentioned in connection with Napoleon's era.
- [Jakob Böhme](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/behmen.md): German mystic, referenced as a precursor to Swedenborg.
- [Novalis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/novalis.md): German Romantic poet and philosopher, mentioned as a mystic writer.
- [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/jesus.md): Central figure of Christianity, referenced as a moral and spiritual exemplar.
- [Hamlet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/hamlet.md): Shakespearean character, cited as a type of reflective genius.
- [Saadi Shirazi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/saadi.md): Persian poet, mentioned as a representative of Eastern wisdom.
- [Manu](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/menu.md): Hindu lawgiver, referenced as an ancient source of moral order.
- [François Christophe de Kellermann](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/kellermann.md): French general, mentioned in the context of Napoleon's battles.
- [Étienne Dumont](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/dumont.md): Swiss writer and editor of Mirabeau's works, cited as a collaborator.
- [Sir Walter Raleigh](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/sir_walter_raleigh.md): English explorer and writer, mentioned as a figure of adventure.
- [Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters/lord_elgin.md): British diplomat who brought the Elgin Marbles to England, referenced briefly.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/representative_men_se/characters