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charis_mae
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#1
Old 11-08-2007, 09:01 PM

Quote:
The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.

But why should you keep your head over your shoulder? Why drag about this corpse of your memory, lest you contradict somewhat you have stated in this or that public place? Suppose you should contradict yourself; what then? It seems to be a rule of wisdom never to rely on your memory alone, scarcely even in acts of pure memory, but to bring the past for judgment into the thousand-eyed present, and live ever in a new day. In your metaphysics you have denied personality to the Deity: yet when the devout motions of the soul come, yield to them heart and life, though they should clothe God with shape and color. Leave your theory, as Joseph his coat in the hand of the harlot, and flee.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. -- `Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' -- Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
Emerson's "Self-Reliance" has always been my favorite essay. I just always loved its emphasis that each of us has something valuable that we can contribute and that we should not be afraid to express ourselves.

I know he's not probably not going to be popular here, :lol: but I thought I'd see if there's anyone else who loves his writing.

Or, heck, if there's anyone who slogged through an essay of his in high school English. XD

Jenova
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#2
Old 11-08-2007, 11:26 PM

I read Self-Reliance in English not too long ago. I thought it was pretty good. What other things has he done?

charis_mae
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#3
Old 11-09-2007, 02:51 AM

You can find other works of his here. I think he wrote mostly essays on a variety of subjects, but it looks like he also did some poetry.

 


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