,,the                                   
,,conduct ,,of ,,life4                  
,,by                               ,r4  
,w4 ,,emerson4                          
,,boston3                       ,,james 
,r4 ,,osgood ,,and ,,company1           
,,late ,,ticknor  ,,fields1 ,,and       
,,fields1 ,,osgood1  ,co4               
#ahga4            ,entered according to 
,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahfj1 by
                              ,r4 ,w4   
,,emerson1      in the ,clerk's ,office 
of the ,district ,court of the ,district
 of                                     
,massachusetts                          
,,contents4        ,i4 ,fate      ,,ii4 
,power     ,,iii4 ,wealth      ,,iv4    
,culture       ,v4 ,behavior      ,,vi4 
,worship     ,,vii4 ,considerations by  
the ,way    ,,viii4 ,beauty      ,,ix4  
,illusions                              
,i4                                     
,,fate4       ,delicate omens traced in 
air     ,to the lone bard true witness  
bare2     ,birds with auguries on their 

wings     ,chanted undeceiving things   
,him to beckon1 him to warn2     ,well  
might then the poet scorn     ,to learn 
of scribe or courier     ,hints writ in 
vaster character2     ,and on his mind1 
at dawn of day1     ,soft shadows of the
 evening lay4     ,for the prevision is 
allied     ,unto the thing so signified2
     ,or say1 the foresight that awaits 
,is the same ,genius that creates4      
,,fate4   ,it chanced during one winter1
 a few years ago1 that our cities were  
bent on discussing the theory of the    
,age4  ,by an odd coincidence1 four or  
five noted men were each reading a      
discourse to the citizens of ,boston or 
,new ,york1 on the ,spirit of the       
,times4  ,it so happened that the       
subject had the same prominence in some 
remarkable pamphlets and journals issued
 in ,london in the same season4  ,to me1
 however1 the question of the times     
resolved itself into a practical        
question of the conduct of life4  ,how  
shall ,i live8  ,we are incompetent to  

solve the times4  ,our geometry cannot  
span the huge orbits of the prevailing  
ideas1 behold their return1 and         
reconcile their opposition4 ,we can only
 obey our own polarity4  ',tis fine for 
us to speculate and elect our course1 if
 we must accept an irresistible         
dictation4  ,in our first steps to gain 
our wishes1 we come upon immovable      
limitations4  ,we are fired with the    
hope to reform men4  ,after many        
experiments1 we find that we must begin 
earlier1--at school4  ,but the boys and 
girls are not docile2 we can make       
nothing of them4  ,we decide that they  
are not of good stock4  ,we must begin  
our reform earlier still1--at           
generation3 that is to say1 there is    
,fate1 or laws of the world4  ,but if   
there be irresistible dictation1 this   
dictation understands itself4  ,if we   
must accept ,fate1 we are not less      
compelled to affirm liberty1 the        
significance of the individual1 the     
grandeur of duty1 the power of          

character4  ,this is true1 and that     
other is true4  ,but our geometry cannot
 span these extreme points1 and         
reconcile them4  ,what to do8 ,by       
obeying each thought frankly1 by        
harping1 or1 if you will1 pounding on   
each string1 we learn at last its power4
  ,by the same obedience to other       
thoughts1 we learn theirs1 and then     
comes some reasonable hope of           
harmonizing them4  ,we are sure1 that1  
though we know not how1 necessity does  
comport with liberty1 the individual    
with the world1 my polarity with the    
spirit of the times4 ,the riddle of the 
age has for each a private solution4    
,if one would study his own time1 it    
must be by this method of taking up in  
turn each of the leading topics which   
belong to our scheme of human life1 and1
 by firmly stating all that is agreeable
 to experience on one1 and doing the    
same justice to the opposing facts in   
the others1 the true limitations will   
appear4  ,any excess of emphasis1 on one

 part1 would be corrected1 and a just   
balance would be made4  ,but let us     
honestly state the facts4  ,our ,america
 has a bad name for superficialness4    
,great men1 great nations1 have not been
 boasters and buffoons1 but perceivers  
of the terror of life1 and have manned  
themselves to face it4  ,the ,spartan1  
embodying his religion in his country1  
dies before its majesty without a       
question4  ,the ,turk1 who believes his 
doom is written on the iron leaf in the 
moment when he entered the world1 rushes
 on the enemy's sabre with undivided    
will4  ,the ,turk1 the ,arab1 the       
,persian1 accepts the foreordained fate4
      ,on two days1 it steads not to run
 from thy grave1       ,the appointed1  
and the unappointed day2     ,on the    
first1 neither balm nor physician can   
save1       ,nor thee1 on the second1   
the ,universe slay4  ,the ,hindoo1 under
 the wheel1 is as firm4  ,our           
,calvinists1 in the last generation1 had
 something of the same dignity4  ,they  

felt that the weight of the ,universe   
held them down to their place4 ,what    
could they do8  ,wise men feel that     
there is something which cannot be      
talked or voted away1--a strap or belt  
which girds the world4      ,the        
,destiny1 minister general1     ,that   
executeth in the world o'er all1        
,the purveyance which ,god hath seen    
beforne1     ,so strong it is1 that tho'
 the world had sworn     ,the contrary  
of a thing by yea or nay1     ,yet      
sometime it shall fallen on a day       
,that falleth not oft in a thousand     
year2     ,for1 certainly1 our appetites
 here1     ,be it of war1 or peace1 or  
hate1 or love1     ,all this is ruled by
 the sight above4       ,,chaucer3 ,the 
,knight's ,tale4  ,the ,greek ,tragedy  
expressed the same sense3 ,whatever is  
fated1 that will take place4  ,the great
 immense mind of ,jove is not to be     
transgressed4  ,savages cling to a local
 god of one tribe or town4  ,the broad  
ethics of ,jesus were quickly narrowed  

to village theologies1 which preach an  
election or favoritism4  ,and1 now and  
then1 an amiable parson1 like ,jung     
,stilling1 or ,robert ,huntington1      
believes in a pistareen-,providence1    
which1 whenever the good man wants a    
dinner1 makes that somebody shall knock 
at his door1 and leave a half-dollar4   
,but ,nature is no sentimentalist1--does
 not cosset or pamper us4  ,we must see 
that the world is rough and surly1 and  
will not mind drowning a man or a woman2
 but swallows your ship like a grain of 
dust4  ,the cold1 inconsiderate of      
persons1 tingles your blood1 benumbs    
your feet1 freezes a man like an apple4 
,the diseases1 the elements1 fortune1   
gravity1 lightning1 respect no persons4 
,the way of ,providence is a little     
rude4 ,the habit of snake and spider1   
the snap of the tiger and other leapers 
and bloody jumpers1 the crackle of the  
bones of his prey in the coil of the    
anaconda1--these are in the system1 and 
our habits are like theirs4  ,you have  

just dined1 and1 however scrupulously   
the slaughter-house is concealed in the 
graceful distance of miles1 there is    
complicity1--expensive races1--race     
living at the expense of race4  ,the    
planet is liable to shocks from comets1 
perturbations from planets1 rendings    
from earthquake and volcano1 alterations
 of climate1 precessions of equinoxes4  
,rivers dry up by opening of the forest4
  ,the sea changes its bed4  ,towns and 
counties fall into it4  ,at ,lisbon1 an 
earthquake killed men like flies4 ,at   
,naples1 three years ago1 ten thousand  
persons were crushed in a few minutes4  
,the scurvy at sea2 the sword of the    
climate in the west of ,africa1 at      
,cayenne1 at ,panama1 at ,new ,orleans1 
cut off men like a massacre4  ,our      
western prairie shakes with fever and   
ague4  ,the cholera1 the small-pox1 have
 proved as mortal to some tribes1 as a  
frost to the crickets1 which1 having    
filled the summer with noise1 are       
silenced by a fall of the temperature of

 one night4  ,without uncovering what   
does not concern us1 or counting how    
many species of parasites hang on a     
bombyx2 or groping after intestinal     
parasites1 or infusory biters1 or the   
obscurities of alternate                
generation2--the forms of the shark1 the
 labrus1 the jaw of the sea-wolf paved  
with crushing teeth1 the weapons of the 
grampus1 and other warriors hidden in   
the sea1--are hints of ferocity in the  
interiors of nature4 ,let us not deny it
 up and down4 ,providence has a wild1   
rough1 incalculable road to its end1 and
 it is of no use to try to whitewash its
 huge1 mixed instrumentalities1 or to   
dress up that terrific benefactor in a  
clean shirt and white neckcloth of a    
student in divinity4  ,will you say1 the
 disasters which threaten mankind are   
exceptional1 and one need not lay his   
account for cataclysms every day8  ,aye1
 but what happens once1 may happen      
again1 and so long as these strokes are 
not to be parried by us1 they must be   

feared4  ,but these shocks and ruins are
 less destructive to us1 than the       
stealthy power of other laws which act  
on us daily4  ,an expense of ends to    
means is fate2--organization tyrannizing
 over character4 ,the menagerie1 or     
forms and powers of the spine1 is a book
 of fate3 the bill of the bird1 the     
skull of the snake1 determines          
tyrannically its limits4  ,so is the    
scale of races1 of temperaments2 so is  
sex2 so is climate2 so is the reaction  
of talents imprisoning the vital power  
in certain directions4 ,every spirit    
makes its house2 but afterwards the     
house confines the spirit4  ,the gross  
lines are legible to the dull3 the      
cabman is phrenologist so far3 he looks 
in your face to see if his shilling is  
sure4  ,a dome of brow denotes one      
thing2 a pot-belly another2 a squint1 a 
pugnose1 mats of hair1 the pigment of   
the epidermis1 betray character4        
,people seem sheathed in their tough    
organization4  ,ask ,spurzheim1 ask the 

doctors1 ask ,quetelet1 if temperaments 
decide nothing8 or if there be anything 
they do not decide8  ,read the          
description in medical books of the four
 temperaments1 and you will think you   
are reading your own thoughts which you 
had not yet told4  ,find the part which 
black eyes1 and which blue eyes1 play   
severally in the company4  ,how shall a 
man escape from his ancestors1 or draw  
off from his veins the black drop which 
he drew from his father's or his        
mother's life8  ,it often appears in a  
family1 as if all the qualities of the  
progenitors were potted in several      
jars1--some ruling quality in each son  
or daughter of the house1--and sometimes
 the unmixed temperament1 the rank      
unmitigated elixir1 the family vice1 is 
drawn off in a separate individual1 and 
the others are proportionally relieved4 
,we sometimes see a change of expression
 in our companion1 and say1 his father1 
or his mother1 comes to the windows of  
his eyes1 and sometimes a remote        

relative4  ,in different hours1 a man   
represents each of several of his       
ancestors1 as if there were seven or    
eight of us rolled up in each man's     
skin1--seven or eight ancestors at      
least1--and they constitute the variety 
of notes for that new piece of music    
which his life is4  ,at the corner of   
the street1 you read the possibility of 
each passenger1 in the facial angle1 in 
the complexion1 in the depth of his eye4
 ,his parentage determines it4  ,men are
 what their mothers made them4  ,you may
 as well ask a loom which weaves        
huckaback1 why it does not make         
cashmere1 as expect poetry from this    
engineer1 or a chemical discovery from  
that jobber4  ,ask the digger in the    
ditch to explain ,newton's laws3 the    
fine organs of his brain have been      
pinched by overwork and squalid poverty 
from father to son1 for a hundred years4
 ,when each comes forth from his        
mother's womb1 the gate of gifts closes 
behind him4 ,let him value his hands and

 feet1 he has but one pair4  ,so he has 
but one future1 and that is already     
predetermined in his lobes1 and         
described in that little fatty face1    
pig-eye1 and squat form4  ,all the      
privilege and all the legislation of the
 world cannot meddle or help to make a  
poet or a prince of him4  ,jesus said1  
,when he looketh on her1 he hath        
committed adultery4  ,but he is an      
adulterer before he has yet looked on   
the woman1 by the superfluity of animal1
 and the defect of thought1 in his      
constitution4 ,who meets him1 or who    
meets her1 in the street1 sees that they
 are ripe to be each other's victim4    
,in certain men1 digestion and sex      
absorb the vital force1 and the stronger
 these are1 the individual is so much   
weaker4  ,the more of these drones      
perish1 the better for the hive4  ,if1  
later1 they give birth to some superior 
individual1 with force enough to add to 
this animal a new aim1 and a complete   
apparatus to work it out1 all the       

ancestors are gladly forgotten4  ,most  
men and most women are merely one couple
 more4 ,now and then1 one has a new cell
 or camarilla opened in his brain1--an  
architectural1 a musical1 or a          
philological knack1 some stray taste or 
talent for flowers1 or chemistry1 or    
pigments1 or story-telling1 a good hand 
for drawing1 a good foot for dancing1 an
 athletic frame for wide journeying1    
c4--which skill nowise alters rank in   
the scale of nature1 but serves to pass 
the time1 the life of sensation going on
 as before4 ,at last1 these hints and   
tendencies are fixed in one1 or in a    
succession4  ,each absorbs so much food 
and force1 as to become itself a new    
centre4  ,the new talent draws off so   
rapidly the vital force1 that not enough
 remains for the animal functions1      
hardly enough for health2 so that1 in   
the second generation1 if the like      
genius appear1 the health is visibly    
deteriorated1 and the generative force  
impaired4  ,people are born with the    

moral or with the material              
bias2--uterine brothers with this       
diverging destination3 and ,i suppose1  
with high magnifiers1 ,mr4 ,frauenhofer 
or ,dr4 ,carpenter might come to        
distinguish in the embryo at the fourth 
day1 this is a ,whig1 and that a        
,free-soiler4  ,it was a poetic attempt 
to lift this mountain of ,fate1 to      
reconcile this despotism of race with   
liberty1 which led the ,hindoos to say1 
,fate is nothing but the deeds committed
 in a prior state of existence4  ,i find
 the coincidence of the extremes of     
eastern and western speculation in the  
daring statement of ,schelling1 there is
 in every man a certain feeling1 that he
 has been what he is from all eternity1 
and by no means became such in time4    
,to say it less sublimely1--in the      
history of the individual is always an  
account of his condition1 and he knows  
himself to be a party to his present    
estate4  ,a good deal of our politics is
 physiological4  ,now and then1 a man of

 wealth in the heyday of youth adopts   
the tenet of broadest freedom4  ,in     
,england1 there is always some man of   
wealth and large connection planting    
himself1 during all his years of health1
 on the side of progress1 who1 as soon  
as he begins to die1 checks his forward 
play1 calls in his troops1 and becomes  
conservative4  ,all conservatives are   
such from personal defects4  ,they have 
been effeminated by position or nature1 
born halt and blind1 through luxury of  
their parents1 and can only1 like       
invalids1 act on the defensive4  ,but   
strong natures1 backwoodsmen1 ,new      
,hampshire giants1 ,napoleons1 ,burkes1 
,broughams1 ,websters1 ,kossuths1 are   
inevitable patriots1 until their life   
ebbs1 and their defects and gout1 palsy 
and money1 warp them4  ,the strongest   
idea incarnates itself in majorities and
 nations1 in the healthiest and         
strongest4 ,probably1 the election goes 
by avoirdupois weight1 and1 if you could
 weigh bodily the tonnage of any hundred

 of the ,whig and the ,democratic party 
in a town1 on the ,dearborn balance1 as 
they passed the hayscales1 you could    
predict with certainty which party would
 carry it4  ,on the whole1 it would be  
rather the speediest way of deciding the
 vote1 to put the selectmen or the mayor
 and aldermen at the hayscales4  ,in    
science1 we have to consider two things3
 power and circumstance4  ,all we know  
of the egg1 from each successive        
discovery1 is1 another vesicle2 and if1 
after five hundred years1 you get a     
better observer1 or a better glass1 he  
finds within the last observed another4 
,in vegetable and animal tissue1 it is  
just alike1 and all that the primary    
power or spasm operates1 is1 still1     
vesicles1 vesicles4  ,yes1--but the     
tyrannical ,circumstance6  ,a vesicle in
 new circumstances1 a vesicle lodged in 
darkness1 ,oken thought1 became animal2 
in light1 a plant4 ,lodged in the parent
 animal1 it suffers changes1 which end  
in unsheathing miraculous capability in 

the unaltered vesicle1 and it unlocks   
itself to fish1 bird1 or quadruped1 head
 and foot1 eye and claw4 ,the           
,circumstance is ,nature4  ,nature is1  
what you may do4  ,there is much you may
 not4  ,we have two things1--the        
circumstance1 and the life4  ,once we   
thought1 positive power was all4  ,now  
we learn1 that negative power1 or       
circumstance1 is half4 ,nature is the   
tyrannous circumstance1 the thick skull1
 the sheathed snake1 the ponderous1     
rock-like jaw2 necessitated activity2   
violent direction2 the conditions of a  
tool1 like the locomotive1 strong enough
 on its track1 but which can do nothing 
but mischief off of it2 or skates1 which
 are wings on the ice1 but fetters on   
the ground4  ,the book of ,nature is the
 book of ,fate4  ,she turns the gigantic
 pages1--leaf after leaf1--never        
re-turning one4  ,one leaf she lays     
down1 a floor of granite2 then a        
thousand ages1 and a bed of slate2 a    
thousand ages1 and a measure of coal2 a 

thousand ages1 and a layer of marl and  
mud3 vegetable forms appear2 her first  
misshapen animals1 zoophyte1 trilobium1 
fish2 then1 saurians1--rude forms1 in   
which she has only blocked her future   
statue1 concealing under these unwieldly
 monsters the fine type of her coming   
king4  ,the face of the planet cools and
 dries1 the races meliorate1 and man is 
born4  ,but when a race has lived its   
term1 it comes no more again4  ,the     
population of the world is a conditional
 population2 not the best1 but the best 
that could live now2 and the scale of   
tribes1 and the steadiness with which   
victory adheres to one tribe1 and defeat
 to another1 is as uniform as the       
superposition of strata4  ,we know in   
history what weight belongs to race4    
,we see the ,english1 ,french1 and      
,germans planting themselves on every   
shore and market of ,america and        
,australia1 and monopolizing the        
commerce of these countries4  ,we like  
the nervous and victorious habit of our 

own branch of the family4 ,we follow the
 step of the ,jew1 of the ,indian1 of   
the ,negro4  ,we see how much will has  
been expended to extinguish the ,jew1 in
 vain4  ,look at the unpalatable        
conclusions of ,knox1 in his ,fragment  
of ,races1--a rash and unsatisfactory   
writer1 but charged with pungent and    
unforgetable truths4 ,nature respects   
race1 and not hybrids4  ,every race has 
its own habitat4  ,detach a colony from 
the race1 and it deteriorates to the    
crab4  ,see the shades of the picture4  
,the ,german and ,irish millions1 like  
the ,negro1 have a great deal of guano  
in their destiny4  ,they are ferried    
over the ,atlantic1 and carted over     
,america1 to ditch and to drudge1 to    
make corn cheap1 and then to lie down   
prematurely to make a spot of green     
grass on the prairie4 ,one more fagot of
 these adamantine bandages1 is1 the new 
science of ,statistics4  ,it is a rule1 
that the most casual and extraordinary  
events--if the basis of population is   

broad enough--become matter of fixed    
calculation4  ,it would not be safe to  
say when a captain like ,bonaparte1 a   
singer like ,jenny ,lind1 or a navigator
 like ,bowditch1 would be born in       
,boston3 but1 on a population of twenty 
or two hundred millions1 something like 
accuracy may be had4#a    #a ,everything
 which pertains to the human species1   
considered as a       whole1 belongs to 
the order of physical facts4  ,the      
greater the       number of individuals1
 the more does the influence of the     
individual will disappear1 leaving      
predominance to a series of             
general facts dependent on causes by    
which society exists1 and is            
preserved4--,,quetelet4  ',tis frivolous
 to fix pedantically the date of        
particular inventions4 ,they have all   
been invented over and over fifty times4
  ,man is the arch machine1 of which all
 these shifts drawn from himself are toy
 models4 ,he helps himself on each      
emergency by copying or duplicating his 

own structure1 just so far as the need  
is4  ',tis hard to find the right       
,homer1 ,zoroaster1 or ,menu2 harder    
still to find the ,tubal ,cain1 or      
,vulcan1 or ,cadmus1 or ,copernicus1 or 
,fust1 or ,fulton1 the indisputable     
inventor4  ,there are scores and        
centuries of them4 ,the air is full of  
men4  ,this kind of talent so abounds1  
this constructive tool-making           
efficiency1 as if it adhered to the     
chemic atoms1 as if the air he breathes 
were made of ,vaucansons1 ,franklins1   
and ,watts4  ,doubtless1 in every       
million there will be an astronomer1 a  
mathematician1 a comic poet1 a mystic4  
,no one can read the history of         
astronomy1 without perceiving that      
,copernicus1 ,newton1 ,laplace1 are not 
new men1 or a new kind of men1 but that 
,thales1 ,anaximenes1 ,hipparchus1      
,empedocles1 ,aristarchus1 ,pythagoras1 
,o,enopides1 had anticipated them2 each 
had the same tense geometrical brain1   
apt for the same vigorous computation   

and logic1 a mind parallel to the       
movement of the world4 ,the ,roman mile 
probably rested on a measure of a degree
 of the meridian4 ,mahometan and        
,chinese know what we know of leap-year1
 of the ,gregorian calendar1 and of the 
precession of the equinoxes4  ,as1 in   
every barrel of cowries1 brought to ,new
 ,bedford1 there shall be one orangia1  
so there will1 in a dozen millions of   
,malays and ,mahometans1 be one or two  
astronomical skulls4 ,in a large city1  
the most casual things1 and things whose
 beauty lies in their casualty1 are     
produced as punctually and to order as  
the baker's muffin for breakfast4       
,punch makes exactly one capital joke a 
week2 and the journals contrive to      
furnish one good piece of news every    
day4  ,and not less work the laws of    
repression1 the penalties of violated   
functions4  ,famine1 typhus1 frost1 war1
 suicide1 and effete races1 must be     
reckoned calculable parts of the system 
of the world4  ,these are pebbles from  

the mountain1 hints of the terms by     
which our life is walled up1 and which  
show a kind of mechanical exactness1 as 
of a loom or mill1 in what we call      
casual or fortuitous events4  ,the force
 with which we resist these torrents of 
tendency looks so ridiculously          
inadequate1 that it amounts to little   
more than a criticism or a protest made 
by a minority of one1 under compulsion  
of millions4  ,i seemed1 in the height  
of a tempest1 to see men overboard      
struggling in the waves1 and driven     
about here and there4  ,they glanced    
intelligently at each other1 but 'twas  
little they could do for one another2   
'twas much if each could keep afloat    
alone4  ,well1 they had a right to their
 eye-beams1 and all the rest was ,fate4 
,we cannot trifle with this reality1    
this cropping-out in our planted gardens
 of the core of the world4 ,no picture  
of life can have any veracity that does 
not admit the odious facts4  ,a man's   
power is hooped in by a necessity1      

which1 by many experiments1 he touches  
on every side1 until he learns its arc4 
,the element running through entire     
nature1 which we popularly call ,fate1  
is known to us as limitation4  ,whatever
 limits us1 we call ,fate4  ,if we are  
brute and barbarous1 the fate takes a   
brute and dreadful shape4  ,as we       
refine1 our checks become finer4  ,if we
 rise to spiritual culture1 the         
antagonism takes a spiritual form4  ,in 
the ,hindoo fables1 ,vishnu follows     
,maya through all her ascending changes1
 from insect and crawfish up to         
elephant2 whatever form she took1 he    
took the male form of that kind1 until  
she became at last woman and goddess1   
and he a man and a god4  ,the           
limitations refine as the soul purifies1
 but the ring of necessity is always    
perched at the top4  ,when the gods in  
the ,norse heaven were unable to bind   
the ,fenris ,wolf with steel or with    
weight of mountains1--the one he snapped
 and the other he spurned with his      

heel1--they put round his foot a limp   
band softer than silk or cobweb1 and    
this held him3 the more he spurned it1  
the stiffer it drew4  ,so soft and so   
stanch is the ring of ,fate4 ,neither   
brandy1 nor nectar1 nor sulphuric ether1
 nor hell-fire1 nor ichor1 nor poetry1  
nor genius1 can get rid of this limp    
band4  ,for if we give it the high sense
 in which the poets use it1 even thought
 itself is not above ,fate3 that too    
must act according to eternal laws1 and 
all that is wilful and fantastic in it  
is in opposition to its fundamental     
essence4  ,and1 last of all1 high over  
thought1 in the world of morals1 ,fate  
appears as vindicator1 levelling the    
high1 lifting the low1 requiring justice
 in man1 and always striking soon or    
late1 when justice is not done4  ,what  
is useful will last2 what is hurtful    
will sink4  ,the doer must suffer1 said 
the ,greeks3 you would soothe a ,deity  
not to be soothed4  ,god himself cannot 
procure good for the wicked1 said the   

,welsh triad4  ,god may consent1 but    
only for a time1 said the bard of       
,spain4  ,the limitation is impassable  
by any insight of man4  ,in its last and
 loftiest ascensions1 insight itself1   
and the freedom of the will1 is one of  
its obedient members4  ,but we must not 
run into generalizations too large1 but 
show the natural bounds or essential    
distinctions1 and seek to do justice to 
the other elements as well4   ,thus we  
trace ,fate1 in matter1 mind1 and       
morals1--in race1 in retardations of    
strata1 and in thought and character as 
well4  ,it is everywhere bound or       
limitation4  ,but ,fate has its lord2   
limitation its limits2 is different seen
 from above and from below2 from within 
and from without4  ,for1 though ,fate is
 immense1 so is power1 which is the     
other fact in the dual world1 immense4  
,if ,fate follows and limits power1     
power attends and antagonizes ,fate4    
,we must respect ,fate as natural       
history1 but there is more than natural 

history4 ,for who and what is this      
criticism that pries into the matter8   
,man is not order of nature1 sack and   
sack1 belly and members1 link in a      
chain1 nor any ignominious baggage1 but 
a stupendous antagonism1 a dragging     
together of the poles of the ,universe4 
,he betrays his relation to what is     
below him1--thick-skulled1              
small-brained1 fishy1                   
quadrumanous1--quadruped ill-disguised1 
hardly escaped into biped1 and has paid 
for the new powers by loss of some of   
the old ones4  ,but the lightning which 
explodes and fashions planets1 maker of 
planets and suns1 is in him4  ,on one   
side1 elemental order1 sandstone and    
granite1 rock-ledges1 peat-bog1 forest1 
sea and shore2 and1 on the other part1  
thought1 the spirit which composes and  
decomposes nature1--here they are1 side 
by side1 god and devil1 mind and matter1
 king and conspirator1 belt and spasm1  
riding peacefully together in the eye   
and brain of every man4  ,nor can he    

blink the freewill4  ,to hazard the     
contradiction1--freedom is necessary4   
,if you please to plant yourself on the 
side of ,fate1 and say1 ,fate is all2   
then we say1 a part of ,fate is the     
freedom of man4 ,forever wells up the   
impulse of choosing and acting in the   
soul4 ,intellect annuls ,fate4  ,so far 
as a man thinks1 he is free4  ,and      
though nothing is more disgusting than  
the crowing about liberty by slaves1 as 
most men are1 and the flippant mistaking
 for freedom of some paper preamble like
 a ,declaration of ,independence1 or the
 statute right to vote1 by those who    
have never dared to think or to act1 yet
 it is wholesome to man to look not at  
,fate1 but the other way3 the practical 
view is the other4  ,his sound relation 
to these facts is to use and command1   
not to cringe to them4  ,look not on    
nature1 for her name is fatal1 said the 
oracle4  ,the too much contemplation of 
these limits induces meanness4  ,they   
who talk much of destiny1 their         

birth-star1 c41 are in a lower dangerous
 plane1 and invite the evils they fear4 
,i cited the instinctive and heroic     
races as proud believers in ,destiny4   
,they conspire with it2 a loving        
resignation is with the event4  ,but the
 dogma makes a different impression1    
when it is held by the weak and lazy4   
',tis weak and vicious people who cast  
the blame on ,fate4  ,the right use of  
,fate is to bring up our conduct to the 
loftiness of nature4 ,rude and          
invincible except by themselves are the 
elements4  ,so let man be4  ,let him    
empty his breast of his windy conceits1 
and show his lordship by manners and    
deeds on the scale of nature4  ,let him 
hold his purpose as with the tug of     
gravitation4  ,no power1 no persuasion1 
no bribe shall make him give up his     
point4  ,a man ought to compare         
advantageously with a river1 an oak1 or 
a mountain4  ,he shall have not less the
 flow1 the expansion1 and the resistance
 of these4  ',tis the best use of ,fate 

to teach a fatal courage4 ,go face the  
fire at sea1 or the cholera in your     
friend's house1 or the burglar in your  
own1 or what danger lies in the way of  
duty1 knowing you are guarded by the    
cherubim of ,destiny4  ,if you believe  
in ,fate to your harm1 believe it1 at   
least1 for your good4  ,for1 if ,fate is
 so prevailing1 man also is part of it1 
and can confront fate with fate4  ,if   
the ,universe have these savage         
accidents1 our atoms are as savage in   
resistance4  ,we should be crushed by   
the atmosphere1 but for the reaction of 
the air within the body4  ,a tube made  
of a film of glass can resist the shock 
of the ocean1 if filled with the same   
water4  ,if there be omnipotence in the 
stroke1 there is omnipotence of recoil4 
#a4 ,but ,fate against ,fate is only    
parrying and defence3 there are1 also1  
the noble creative forces4 ,the         
revelation of ,thought takes man out of 
servitude into freedom4  ,we rightly say
 of ourselves1 we were born1 and        

afterward we were born again1 and many  
times4  ,we have successive experiences 
so important1 that the new forgets the  
old1 and hence the mythology of the     
seven or the nine heavens4  ,the day of 
days1 the great day of the feast of     
life1 is that in which the inward eye   
opens to the ,unity in things1 to the   
omnipresence of law2--sees that what is 
must be1 and ought to be1 or is the     
best4  ,this beatitude dips from on high
 down on us1 and we see4  ,it is not in 
us so much as we are in it4  ,if the air
 come to our lungs1 we breathe and live2
 if not1 we die4  ,if the light come to 
our eyes1 we see2 else not4  ,and if    
truth come to our mind1 we suddenly     
expand to its dimensions1 as if we grew 
to worlds4  ,we are as lawgivers2 we    
speak for ,nature2 we prophesy and      
divine4  ,this insight throws us on the 
party and interest of the ,universe1    
against all and sundry2 against         
ourselves1 as much as others4  ,a man   
speaking from insight affirms of himself

 what is true of the mind3 seeing its   
immortality1 he says1 ,i am immortal2   
seeing its invincibility1 he says1 ,i am
 strong4  ,it is not in us1 but we are  
in it4 ,it is of the maker1 not of what 
is made4  ,all things are touched and   
changed by it4  ,this uses1 and is not  
used4  ,it distances those who share it1
 from those who share it not4  ,those   
who share it not are flocks and herds4  
,it dates from itself2--not from former 
men or better men1--gospel1 or          
constitution1 or college1 or custom4    
,where it shines1 ,nature is no longer  
intrusive1 but all things make a musical
 or pictorial impression4  ,the world of
 men show like a comedy without         
laughter3--populations1 interests1      
government1 history2--'tis all toy      
figures in a toy house4  ,it does not   
overvalue particular truths4  ,we hear  
eagerly every thought and word quoted   
from an intellectual man4 ,but1 in his  
presence1 our own mind is roused to     
activity1 and we forget very fast what  

he says1 much more interested in the new
 play of our own thought1 than in any   
thought of his4  ',tis the majesty into 
which we have suddenly mounted1 the     
impersonality1 the scorn of egotisms1   
the sphere of laws1 that engage us4     
,once we were stepping a little this    
way1 and a little that way2 now1 we are 
as men in a balloon1 and do not think so
 much of the point we have left1 or the 
point we would make1 as of the liberty  
and glory of the way4  ,just as much    
intellect as you add1 so much organic   
power4  ,he who sees through the design1
 presides over it1 and must will that   
which must be4 ,we sit and rule1 and1   
though we sleep1 our dream will come to 
pass4  ,our thought1 though it were only
 an hour old1 affirms an oldest         
necessity1 not to be separated from     
thought1 and not to be separated from   
will4 ,they must always have coexisted4 
,it apprises us of its sovereignty and  
godhead1 which refuse to be severed from
 it4  ,it is not mine or thine1 but the 

will of all mind4  ,it is poured into   
the souls of all men1 as the soul itself
 which constitutes them men4  ,i know   
not whether there be1 as is alleged1 in 
the upper region of our atmosphere1 a   
permanent westerly current1 which       
carries with it all atoms which rise to 
that height1 but ,i see1 that when souls
 reach a certain clearness of           
perception1 they accept a knowledge and 
motive above selfishness4 ,a breath of  
will blows eternally through the        
universe of souls in the direction of   
the ,right and ,necessary4  ,it is the  
air which all intellects inhale and     
exhale1 and it is the wind which blows  
the worlds into order and orbit4        
,thought dissolves the material         
universe1 by carrying the mind up into a
 sphere where all is plastic4 ,of two   
men1 each obeying his own thought1 he   
whose thought is deepest will be the    
strongest character4  ,always one man   
more than another represents the will of
 ,divine ,providence to the period4  #b4

 ,if thought makes free1 so does the    
moral sentiment4  ,the mixtures of      
spiritual chemistry refuse to be        
analyzed4  ,yet we can see that with the
 perception of truth is joined the      
desire that it shall prevail4  ,that    
affection is essential to will4         
,moreover1 when a strong will appears1  
it usually results from a certain unity 
of organization1 as if the whole energy 
of body and mind flowed in one          
direction4 ,all great force is real and 
elemental4  ,there is no manufacturing a
 strong will4  ,there must be a pound to
 balance a pound4  ,where power is shown
 in will1 it must rest on the universal 
force4  ,alaric and ,bonaparte must     
believe they rest on a truth1 or their  
will can be bought or bent4  ,there is a
 bribe possible for any finite will4    
,but the pure sympathy with universal   
ends is an infinite force1 and cannot be
 bribed or bent4  ,whoever has had      
experience of the moral sentiment cannot
 choose but believe in unlimited power4 

,each pulse from that heart is an oath  
from the ,most ,high4  ,i know not what 
the word sublime means1 if it be not the
 intimations in this infant of a        
terrific force4  ,a text of heroism1 a  
name and anecdote of courage1 are not   
arguments1 but sallies of freedom4  ,one
 of these is the verse of the ,persian  
,hafiz1 ',tis written on the gate of    
,heaven1 ',wo unto him who suffers      
himself to be betrayed by ,fate6'  ,does
 the reading of history make us         
fatalists8  ,what courage does not the  
opposite opinion show6  ,a little whim  
of will to be free gallantly contending 
against the universe of chemistry4  ,but
 insight is not will1 nor is affection  
will4 ,perception is cold1 and goodness 
dies in wishes2 as ,voltaire said1 'tis 
the misfortune of worthy people that    
they are cowards2 un des plus grands    
malheurs des honnetes gens c'est qu'ils 
sont des laches4 ,there must be a fusion
 of these two to generate the energy of 
will4  ,there can be no driving force1  

except through the conversion of the man
 into his will1 making him the will1 and
 the will him4  ,and one may say boldly1
 that no man has a right perception of  
any truth1 who has not been reacted on  
by it1 so as to be ready to be its      
martyr4  ,the one serious and formidable
 thing in nature is a will4  ,society is
 servile from want of will1 and         
therefore the world wants saviours and  
religions4 ,one way is right to go3 the 
hero sees it1 and moves on that aim1 and
 has the world under him for root and   
support4  ,he is to others as the world4
 ,his approbation is honor2 his dissent1
 infamy4  ,the glance of his eye has the
 force of sunbeams4  ,a personal        
influence towers up in memory only      
worthy1 and we gladly forget numbers1   
money1 climate1 gravitation1 and the    
rest of ,fate4   ,we can afford to allow
 the limitation1 if we know it is the   
meter of the growing man4  ,we stand    
against ,fate1 as children stand up     
against the wall in their father's      

house1 and notch their height from year 
to year4 ,but when the boy grows to man1
 and is master of the house1 he pulls   
down that wall1 and builds a new and    
bigger4  ',tis only a question of time4 
,every brave youth is in training to    
ride and rule this dragon4  ,his science
 is to make weapons and wings of these  
passions and retarding forces4 ,now     
whether1 seeing these two things1 fate  
and power1 we are permitted to believe  
in unity8  ,the bulk of mankind believe 
in two gods4 ,they are under one        
dominion here in the house1 as friend   
and parent1 in social circles1 in       
letters1 in art1 in love1 in religion3  
but in mechanics1 in dealing with steam 
and climate1 in trade1 in politics1 they
 think they come under another2 and that
 it would be a practical blunder to     
transfer the method and way of working  
of one sphere1 into the other4  ,what   
good1 honest1 generous men at home1 will
 be wolves and foxes on change6  ,what  
pious men in the parlor will vote for   

what reprobates at the polls6  ,to a    
certain point1 they believe themselves  
the care of a ,providence4  ,but1 in a  
steamboat1 in an epidemic1 in war1 they 
believe a malignant energy rules4  ,but 
relation and connection are not         
somewhere and sometimes1 but everywhere 
and always4  ,the divine order does not 
stop where their sight stops4 ,the      
friendly power works on the same rules1 
in the next farm1 and the next planet4  
,but1 where they have not experience1   
they run against it1 and hurt           
themselves4  ,fate1 then1 is a name for 
facts not yet passed under the fire of  
thought2--for causes which are          
impenetrated4  ,but every jet of chaos  
which threatens to exterminate us1 is   
convertible by intellect into wholesome 
force4  ,fate is unpenetrated causes4   
,the water drowns ship and sailor1 like 
a grain of dust4  ,but learn to swim1   
trim your bark1 and the wave which      
drowned it1 will be cloven by it1 and   
carry it1 like its own foam1 a plume and

 a power4  ,the cold is inconsiderate of
 persons1 tingles your blood1 freezes a 
man like a dew-drop4  ,but learn to     
skate1 and the ice will give you a      
graceful1 sweet1 and poetic motion4     
,the cold will brace your limbs and     
brain to genius1 and make you foremost  
men of time4 ,cold and sea will train an
 imperial ,saxon race1 which nature     
cannot bear to lose1 and1 after cooping 
it up for a thousand years in yonder    
,england1 gives a hundred ,englands1 a  
hundred ,mexicos4  ,all the bloods it   
shall absorb and domineer3 and more than
 ,mexicos1--the secrets of water and    
steam1 the spasms of electricity1 the   
ductility of metals1 the chariot of the 
air1 the ruddered balloon are awaiting  
you4  ,the annual slaughter from typhus 
far exceeds that of war2 but right      
drainage destroys typhus4 ,the plague in
 the sea-service from scurvy is healed  
by lemon juice and other diets portable 
or procurable3 the depopulation by      
cholera and small-pox is ended by       

drainage and vaccination2 and every     
other pest is not less in the chain of  
cause and effect1 and may be fought off4
  ,and1 whilst art draws out the venom1 
it commonly extorts some benefit from   
the vanquished enemy4  ,the mischievous 
torrent is taught to drudge for man3 the
 wild beasts he makes useful for food1  
or dress1 or labor2 the chemic          
explosions are controlled like his      
watch4  ,these are now the steeds on    
which he rides4 ,man moves in all modes1
 by legs of horses1 by wings of wind1 by
 steam1 by gas of balloon1 by           
electricity1 and stands on tiptoe       
threatening to hunt the eagle in his own
 element4  ,there's nothing he will not 
make his carrier4  ,steam was1 till the 
other day1 the devil which we dreaded4  
,every pot made by any human potter or  
brazier had a hole in its cover1 to let 
off the enemy1 lest he should lift pot  
and roof1 and carry the house away4 ,but
 the ,marquis of ,worcester1 ,watt1 and 
,fulton bethought themselves1 that1     

where was power1 was not devil1 but was 
,god2 that it must be availed of1 and   
not by any means let off and wasted4    
,could he lift pots and roofs and houses
 so handily8 he was the workman they    
were in search of4  ,he could be used to
 lift away1 chain1 and compel other     
devils1 far more reluctant and          
dangerous1 namely1 cubic miles of earth1
 mountains1 weight or resistance of     
water1 machinery1 and the labors of all 
men in the world2 and time he shall     
lengthen1 and shorten space4  ,it has   
not fared much otherwise with higher    
kinds of steam4  ,the opinion of the    
million was the terror of the world1 and
 it was attempted1 either to dissipate  
it1 by amusing nations1 or to pile it   
over with strata of society1--a layer of
 soldiers2 over that1 a layer of lords2 
and a king on the top2 with clamps and  
hoops of castles1 garrisons1 and police4
 ,but1 sometimes1 the religious         
principle would get in1 and burst the   
hoops1 and rive every mountain laid on  

top of it4  ,the ,fultons and ,watts of 
politics1 believing in unity1 saw that  
it was a power1 and1 by satisfying it1  
7as justice satisfies everybody17       
through a different disposition of      
society1--grouping it on a level1       
instead of piling it into a             
mountain1--they have contrived to make  
of this terror the most harmless and    
energetic form of a ,state4  ,very      
odious1 ,i confess1 are the lessons of  
,fate4 ,who likes to have a dapper      
phrenologist pronouncing on his         
fortunes8  ,who likes to believe that he
 has hidden in his skull1 spine1 and    
pelvis1 all the vices of a ,saxon or    
,celtic race1 which will be sure to pull
 him down1--with what grandeur of hope  
and resolve he is fired1--into a        
selfish1 huckstering1 servile1 dodging  
animal8  ,a learned physician tells us1 
the fact is invariable with the         
,neapolitan1 that1 when mature1 he      
assumes the forms of the unmistakable   
scoundrel4  ,that is a little           

overstated1--but may pass4  ,but these  
are magazines and arsenals4  ,a man must
 thank his defects1 and stand in some   
terror of his talents4  ,a transcendent 
talent draws so largely on his forces1  
as to lame him2 a defect pays him       
revenues on the other side4  ,the       
sufferance1 which is the badge of the   
,jew1 has made him1 in these days1 the  
ruler of the rulers of the earth4 ,if   
,fate is ore and quarry1 if evil is good
 in the making1 if limitation is power  
that shall be1 if calamities1           
oppositions1 and weights are wings and  
means1--we are reconciled4  ,fate       
involves the melioration4  ,no statement
 of the ,universe can have any          
soundness1 which does not admit its     
ascending effort4  ,the direction of the
 whole1 and of the parts1 is toward     
benefit1 and in proportion to the       
health4  ,behind every individual1      
closes organization3 before him1 opens  
liberty1--the ,better1 the ,best4  ,the 
first and worst races are dead4  ,the   

second and imperfect races are dying    
out1 or remain for the maturing of      
higher4  ,in the latest race1 in man1   
every generosity1 every new perception1 
the love and praise he extorts from his 
fellows1 are certificates of advance out
 of fate into freedom4  ,liberation of  
the will from the sheaths and clogs of  
organization which he has outgrown1 is  
the end and aim of this world4  ,every  
calamity is a spur and valuable hint2   
and where his endeavors do not yet fully
 avail1 they tell as tendency4 ,the     
whole circle of animal life1--tooth     
against tooth1--devouring war1 war for  
food1 a yelp of pain and a grunt of     
triumph1 until1 at last1 the whole      
menagerie1 the whole chemical mass is   
mellowed and refined for higher         
use1--pleases at a sufficient           
perspective4  ,but to see how fate      
slides into freedom1 and freedom into   
fate1 observe how far the roots of every
 creature run1 or find1 if you can1 a   
point where there is no thread of       

connection4  ,our life is consentaneous 
and far-related4  ,this knot of nature  
is so well tied1 that nobody was ever   
cunning enough to find the two ends4    
,nature is intricate1 overlapped1       
interweaved1 and endless4  ,christopher 
,wren said of the beautiful ,king's     
,college chapel1 that1 if anybody would 
tell him where to lay the first stone1  
he would build such another4  ,but where
 shall we find the first atom in this   
house of man1 which is all consent1     
inosculation1 and balance of parts8     
,the web of relation is shown in        
habitat1 shown in hybernation4  ,when   
hybernation was observed1 it was found1 
that1 whilst some animals became torpid 
in winter1 others were torpid in summer3
 hybernation then was a false name4     
,the long sleep is not an effect of     
cold1 but is regulated by the supply of 
food proper to the animal4  ,it becomes 
torpid when the fruit or prey it lives  
on is not in season1 and regains its    
activity when its food is ready4  ,eyes 

are found in light2 ears in auricular   
air2 feet on land2 fins in water2 wings 
in air2 and1 each creature where it was 
meant to be1 with a mutual fitness4     
,every zone has its own ,fauna4 ,there  
is adjustment between the animal and its
 food1 its parasite1 its enemy4         
,balances are kept4 ,it is not allowed  
to diminish in numbers1 nor to exceed4  
,the like adjustments exist for man4    
,his food is cooked1 when he arrives2   
his coal in the pit2 the house          
ventilated2 the mud of the deluge dried2
 his companions arrived at the same     
hour1 and awaiting him with love1       
concert1 laughter1 and tears4 ,these are
 coarse adjustments1 but the invisible  
are not less4  ,there are more          
belongings to every creature than his   
air and his food4  ,his instincts must  
be met1 and he has predisposing power   
that bends and fits what is near him to 
his use4  ,he is not possible until the 
invisible things are right for him1 as  
well as the visible4  ,of what changes1 

then1 in sky and earth1 and in finer    
skies and earths1 does the appearance of
 some ,dante or ,columbus apprise us6   
,how is this effected8  ,nature is no   
spendthrift1 but takes the shortest way 
to her ends4  ,as the general says to   
his soldiers1 if you want a fort1 build 
a fort1 so nature makes every creature  
do its own work and get its living1--is 
it planet1 animal1 or tree4  ,the planet
 makes itself4  ,the animal cell makes  
itself2--then1 what it wants4  ,every   
creature1--wren or dragon1--shall make  
its own lair4 ,as soon as there is life1
 there is self-direction1 and absorbing 
and using of material4 ,life is         
freedom1--life in the direct ratio of   
its amount4  ,you may be sure1 the      
new-born man is not inert4  ,life works 
both voluntarily and supernaturally in  
its neighborhood4 ,do you suppose1 he   
can be estimated by his weight in       
pounds1 or1 that he is contained in his 
skin1--this reaching1 radiating1        
jaculating fellow8 ,the smallest candle 

fills a mile with its rays1 and the     
papillae of a man run out to every star4
  ,when there is something to be done1  
the world knows how to get it done4 ,the
 vegetable eye makes leaf1 pericarp1    
root1 bark1 or thorn1 as the need is2   
the first cell converts itself into     
stomach1 mouth1 nose1 or nail1 according
 to the want3 the world throws its life 
into a hero or a shepherd2 and puts him 
where he is wanted4  ,dante and         
,columbus were ,italians1 in their time3
 they would be ,russians or ,americans  
to-day4 ,things ripen1 new men come4    
,the adaptation is not capricious4  ,the
 ulterior aim1 the purpose beyond       
itself1 the correlation by which planets
 subside and crystallize1 then animate  
beasts and men1 will not stop1 but will 
work into finer particulars1 and from   
finer to finest4  ,the secret of the    
world is1 the tie between person and    
event4  ,person makes event1 and event  
person4 ,the times1 the age1 what is    
that1 but a few profound persons and a  

few active persons who epitomize the    
times8--,goethe1 ,hegel1 ,metternich1   
,adams1 ,calhoun1 ,guizot1 ,peel1       
,cobden1 ,kossuth1 ,rothschild1 ,astor1 
,brunel1 and the rest4  ,the same       
fitness must be presumed between a man  
and the time and event1 as between the  
sexes1 or between a race of animals and 
the food it eats1 or the inferior races 
it uses4  ,he thinks his fate alien1    
because the copula is hidden4  ,but the 
soul contains the event that shall      
befall it1 for the event is only the    
actualization of its thoughts2 and what 
we pray to ourselves for is always      
granted4  ,the event is the print of    
your form4  ,it fits you like your skin4
  ,what each does is proper to him4     
,events are the children of his body and
 mind4  ,we learn that the soul of ,fate
 is the soul of us1 as ,hafiz sings1    
,alas6 till now ,i had not known1       
,my guide and fortune's guide are one4  
,all the toys that infatuate men1 and   
which they play for1--houses1 land1     

money1 luxury1 power1 fame1 are the     
selfsame thing1 with a new gauze or two 
of illusion overlaid4  ,and of all the  
drums and rattles by which men are made 
willing to have their heads broke1 and  
are led out solemnly every morning to   
parade1--the most admirable is this by  
which we are brought to believe that    
events are arbitrary1 and independent of
 actions4  ,at the conjuror's1 we detect
 the hair by which he moves his puppet1 
but we have not eyes sharp enough to    
descry the thread that ties cause and   
effect4  ,nature magically suits the man
 to his fortunes1 by making these the   
fruit of his character4  ,ducks take to 
the water1 eagles to the sky1 waders to 
the sea margin1 hunters to the forest1  
clerks to counting-rooms1 soldiers to   
the frontier4  ,thus events grow on the 
same stem with persons2 are sub-persons4
 ,the pleasure of life is according to  
the man that lives it1 and not according
 to the work or the place4 ,life is an  
ecstasy4  ,we know what madness belongs 

to love1--what power to paint a vile    
object in hues of heaven4  ,as insane   
persons are indifferent to their dress1 
diet1 and other accommodations1 and1 as 
we do in dreams1 with equanimity1 the   
most absurd acts1 so1 a drop more of    
wine in our cup of life will reconcile  
us to strange company and work4 ,each   
creature puts forth from itself its own 
condition and sphere1 as the slug sweats
 out its slimy house on the pear-leaf1  
and the woolly aphides on the apple     
perspire their own bed1 and the fish its
 shell4  ,in youth1 we clothe ourselves 
with rainbows1 and go as brave as the   
zodiac4 ,in age1 we put out another sort
 of perspiration1--gout1 fever1         
rheumatism1 caprice1 doubt1 fretting1   
and avarice4  ,a man's fortunes are the 
fruit of his character4 ,a man's friends
 are his magnetisms4  ,we go to         
,herodotus and ,plutarch for examples of
 ,fate2 but we are examples4  ,quisque  
suos patimur manes4  ,the tendency of   
every man to enact all that is in his   

constitution is expressed in the old    
belief1 that the efforts which we make  
to escape from our destiny only serve to
 lead us into it3 and ,i have noticed1 a
 man likes better to be complimented on 
his position1 as the proof of the last  
or total excellence1 than on his merits4
  ,a man will see his character emitted 
in the events that seem to meet1 but    
which exude from and accompany him4     
,events expand with the character4  ,as 
once he found himself among toys1 so now
 he plays a part in colossal systems1   
and his growth is declared in his       
ambition1 his companions1 and his       
performance4  ,he looks like a piece of 
luck1 but is a piece of causation2--the 
mosaic1 angulated and ground to fit into
 the gap he fills4  ,hence in each town 
there is some man who is1 in his brain  
and performance1 an explanation of the  
tillage1 production1 factories1 banks1  
churches1 ways of living1 and society1  
of that town4  ,if you do not chance to 
meet him1 all that you see will leave   

you a little puzzled3 if you see him1 it
 will become plain4  ,we know in        
,massachusetts who built ,new ,bedford1 
who built ,lynn1 ,lowell1 ,lawrence1    
,clinton1 ,fitchburg1 ,holyoke1         
,portland1 and many another noisy mart4 
,each of these men1 if they were        
transparent1 would seem to you not so   
much men1 as walking cities1 and1       
wherever you put them1 they would build 
one4  ,history is the action and        
reaction of these two1--,nature and     
,thought2--two boys pushing each other  
on the curb-stone of the pavement4      
,everything is pusher or pushed3 and    
matter and mind are in perpetual tilt   
and balance1 so4  ,whilst the man is    
weak1 the earth takes up him4 ,he plants
 his brain and affections4  ,by and by  
he will take up the earth1 and have his 
gardens and vineyards in the beautiful  
order and productiveness of his thought4
  ,every solid in the universe is ready 
to become fluid on the approach of the  
mind1 and the power to flux it is the   

measure of the mind4  ,if the wall      
remain adamant1 it accuses the want of  
thought4  ,to a subtler force1 it will  
stream into new forms1 expressive of the
 character of the mind4 ,what is the    
city in which we sit here1 but an       
aggregate of incongruous materials1     
which have obeyed the will of some man8 
,the granite was reluctant1 but his     
hands were stronger1 and it came4  ,iron
 was deep in the ground1 and well       
combined with stone2 but could not hide 
from his fires4  ,wood1 lime1 stuffs1   
fruits1 gums1 were dispersed over the   
earth and sea1 in vain4  ,here they are1
 within reach of every man's            
day-labor1--what he wants of them4 ,the 
whole world is the flux of matter over  
the wires of thought to the poles or    
points where it would build4  ,the races
 of men rise out of the ground          
preoccupied with a thought which rules  
them1 and divided into parties ready    
armed and angry to fight for this       
metaphysical abstraction4 ,the quality  

of the thought differences the ,egyptian
 and the ,roman1 the ,austrian and the  
,american4  ,the men who come on the    
stage at one period are all found to be 
related to each other4 ,certain ideas   
are in the air4 ,we are all             
impressionable1 for we are made of them2
 all impressionable1 but some more than 
others1 and these first express them4   
,this explains the curious              
contemporaneousness of inventions and   
discoveries4  ,the truth is in the air1 
and the most impressionable brain will  
announce it first1 but all will announce
 it a few minutes later4  ,so women1 as 
most susceptible1 are the best index of 
the coming hour4 ,so the great man1 that
 is1 the man most imbued with the spirit
 of the time1 is the impressionable     
man1--of a fibre irritable and delicate1
 like iodine to light4  ,he feels the   
infinitesimal attractions4 ,his mind is 
righter than others1 because he yields  
to a current so feeble as can be felt   
only by a needle delicately poised4     

,the correlation is shown in defects4   
,moeller1 in his ,essay on              
,architecture1 taught that the building 
which was fitted accurately to answer   
its end1 would turn out to be beautiful1
 though beauty had not been intended4   
,i find the like unity in human         
structures rather virulent and          
pervasive2 that a crudity in the blood  
will appear in the argument2 a hump in  
the shoulder will appear in the speech  
and handiwork4  ,if his mind could be   
seen1 the hump would be seen4  ,if a man
 has a seesaw in his voice1 it will run 
into his sentences1 into his poem1 into 
the structure of his fable1 into his    
speculation1 into his charity4  ,and1 as
 every man is hunted by his own daemon1 
vexed by his own disease1 this checks   
all his activity4  ,so each man1 like   
each plant1 has his parasites4 ,a       
strong1 astringent1 bilious nature has  
more truculent enemies than the slugs   
and moths that fret my leaves4  ,such an
 one has curculios1 borers1 knife-worms3

 a swindler ate him first1 then a       
client1 then a quack1 then smooth1      
plausible gentlemen1 bitter and selfish 
as ,moloch4  ,this correlation really   
existing can be divined4 ,if the threads
 are there1 thought can follow and show 
them4  ,especially when a soul is quick 
and docile2 as ,chaucer sings1      ,or 
if the soul of proper kind     ,be so   
perfect as men find1     ,that it wot   
what is to come1     ,and that he       
warneth all and some     ,of every of   
their aventures1     ,by previsions or  
figures2     ,but that our flesh hath   
not might     ,it to understand aright  
,for it is warned too darkly4--  ,some  
people are made up of rhyme1            
coincidence1 omen1 periodicity1 and     
presage3 they meet the person they seek2
 what their companion prepares to say to
 them1 they first say to him2 and a     
hundred signs apprise them of what is   
about to befall4  ,wonderful intricacy  
in the web1 wonderful constancy in the  
design this vagabond life admits4  ,we  

wonder how the fly finds its mate1 and  
yet year after year we find two men1 two
 women1 without legal or carnal tie1    
spend a great part of their best time   
within a few feet of each other4 ,and   
the moral is1 that what we seek we shall
 find2 what we flee from flees from us2 
as ,goethe said1 what we wish for in    
youth1 comes in heaps on us in old age1 
too often cursed with the granting of   
our prayer3 and hence the high caution1 
that1 since we are sure of having what  
we wish1 we beware to ask only for high 
things4  ,one key1 one solution to the  
mysteries of human condition1 one       
solution to the old knots of fate1      
freedom1 and foreknowledge1 exists1 the 
propounding1 namely1 of the double      
consciousness4  ,a man must ride        
alternately on the horses of his private
 and his public nature1 as the          
equestrians in the circus throw         
themselves nimbly from horse to horse1  
or plant one foot on the back of one1   
and the other foot on the back of the   

other4  ,so when a man is the victim of 
his fate1 has sciatica in his loins1 and
 cramp in his mind2 a club-foot and a   
club in his wit2 a sour face1 and a     
selfish temper2 a strut in his gait1 and
 a conceit in his affection2 or is      
ground to powder by the vice of his     
race2 he is to rally on his relation to 
the ,universe1 which his ruin benefits4 
,leaving the daemon who suffers1 he is  
to take sides with the ,deity who       
secures universal benefit by his pain4  
,to offset the drag of temperament and  
race1 which pulls down1 learn this      
lesson1 namely1 that by the cunning     
co-presence of two elements1 which is   
throughout nature1 whatever lames or    
paralyzes you1 draws in with it the     
divinity1 in some form1 to repay4  ,a   
good intention clothes itself with      
sudden power4  ,when a god wishes to    
ride1 any chip or pebble will bud and   
shoot out winged feet1 and serve him for
 a horse4  ,let us build altars to the  
,blessed ,unity which holds nature and  

souls in perfect solution1 and compels  
every atom to serve an universal end4   
,i do not wonder at a snow-flake1 a     
shell1 a summer landscape1 or the glory 
of the stars2 but at the necessity of   
beauty under which the universe lies2   
that all is and must be pictorial2 that 
the rainbow1 and the curve of the       
horizon1 and the arch of the blue vault 
are only results from the organism of   
the eye4 ,there is no need for foolish  
amateurs to fetch me to admire a garden 
of flowers1 or a sun-gilt cloud1 or a   
waterfall1 when ,i cannot look without  
seeing splendor and grace4  ,how idle to
 choose a random sparkle here or there1 
when the indwelling necessity plants the
 rose of beauty on the brow of chaos1   
and discloses the central intention of  
,nature to be harmony and joy4  ,let us 
build altars to the ,beautiful          
,necessity4 ,if we thought men were free
 in the sense1 that1 in a single        
exception one fantastical will could    
prevail over the law of things1 it were 

all one as if a child's hand could pull 
down the sun4  ,if1 in the least        
particular1 one could derange the order 
of nature1--who would accept the gift of
 life8  ,let us build altars to the     
,beautiful ,necessity1 which secures    
that all is made of one piece2 that     
plaintiff and defendant1 friend and     
enemy1 animal and planet1 food and      
eater1 are of one kind4  ,in astronomy1 
is vast space1 but no foreign system2 in
 geology1 vast time1 but the same laws  
as to-day4 ,why should we be afraid of  
,nature1 which is no other than         
philosophy and theology embodied8 ,why  
should we fear to be crushed by savage  
elements1 we who are made up of the same
 elements8 ,let us build to the         
,beautiful ,necessity1 which makes man  
brave in believing that he cannot shun a
 danger that is appointed1 nor incur one
 that is not2 to the ,necessity which   
rudely or softly educates him to the    
perception that there are no            
contingencies2 that ,law rules          

throughout existence1 a ,law which is   
not intelligent but intelligence1--not  
personal nor impersonal1--it disdains   
words and passes understanding2 it      
dissolves persons2 it vivifies nature2  
yet solicits the pure in heart to draw  
on all its omnipotence4                 
,,ii4                                   
,,power4       ,his tongue was framed to
 music1     ,and his hand was armed with
 skill1     ,his face was the mould of  
beauty1     ,and his heart the throne of
 will4                                  
,,power4   ,there is not yet any        
inventory of a man's faculties1 any more
 than a bible of his opinions4  ,who    
shall set a limit to the influence of a 
human being8 ,there are men1 who1 by    
their sympathetic attractions1 carry    
nations with them1 and lead the activity
 of the human race4  ,and if there be   
such a tie1 that1 wherever the mind of  
man goes1 nature will accompany him1    
perhaps there are men whose magnetisms  
are of that force to draw material and  

elemental powers1 and1 where they       
appear1 immense instrumentalities       
organize around them4  ,life is a search
 after power2 and this is an element    
with which the world is so              
saturated1--there is no chink or crevice
 in which it is not lodged1--that no    
honest seeking goes unrewarded4  ,a man 
should prize events and possessions as  
the ore in which this fine mineral is   
found2 and he can well afford to let    
events and possessions1 and the breath  
of the body go1 if their value has been 
added to him in the shape of power4  ,if
 he have secured the elixir1 he can     
spare the wide gardens from which it was
 distilled4 ,a cultivated man1 wise to  
know and bold to perform1 is the end to 
which nature works1 and the education of
 the will is the flowering and result of
 all this geology and astronomy4  ,all  
successful men have agreed in one       
thing1--they were causationists4 ,they  
believed that things went not by luck1  
but by law2 that there was not a weak or

 a cracked link in the chain that joins 
the first and last of things4  ,a belief
 in causality1 or strict connection     
between every trifle and the principle  
of being1 and1 in consequence1 belief in
 compensation1 or1 that nothing is got  
for nothing1--characterizes all valuable
 minds1 and must control every effort   
that is made by an industrious one4 ,the
 most valiant men are the best believers
 in the tension of the laws4  ,all the  
great captains1 said ,bonaparte1 have   
performed vast achievements by          
conforming with the rules of the        
art1--by adjusting efforts to obstacles4
  ,the key to the age may be this1 or   
that1 or the other1 as the young orators
 describe2--the key to all ages         
is--,imbecility2 imbecility in the vast 
majority of men1 at all times1 and1 even
 in heroes1 in all but certain eminent  
moments2 victims of gravity1 custom1 and
 fear4  ,this gives force to the        
strong1--that the multitude have no     
habit of self-reliance or original      

action4  ,we must reckon success a      
constitutional trait4 ,courage1--the old
 physicians taught1 7and their meaning  
holds1 if their physiology is a little  
mythical17--courage1 or the degree of   
life1 is as the degree of circulation of
 the blood in the arteries4 ,during     
passion1 anger1 fury1 trials of         
strength1 wrestling1 fighting1 a large  
amount of blood is collected in the     
arteries1 the maintenance of bodily     
strength requiring it1 and but little is
 sent into the veins4  ,this condition  
is constant with intrepid persons4      
,where the arteries hold their blood1 is
 courage and adventure possible4  ,where
 they pour it unrestrained into the     
veins1 the spirit is low and feeble4    
,for performance of great mark1 it needs
 extraordinary health4  ,if ,eric is in 
robust health1 and has slept well1 and  
is at the top of his condition1 and     
thirty years old1 at his departure from 
,greenland1 he will steer west1 and his 
ships will reach ,newfoundland4  ,but   

take out ,eric1 and put in a stronger   
and bolder man1--,biorn1 or             
,thorfin1--and the ships will1 with just
 as much ease1 sail six hundred1 one    
thousand1 fifteen hundred miles further1
 and reach ,labrador and ,new ,england4 
,there is no chance in results4  ,with  
adults1 as with children1 one class     
enter cordially into the game1 and whirl
 with the whirling world2 the others    
have cold hands1 and remain bystanders2 
or are only dragged in by the humor and 
vivacity of those who can carry a dead  
weight4  ,the first wealth is health4   
,sickness is poor-spirited1 and cannot  
serve any one3 it must husband its      
resources to live4  ,but health or      
fulness answers its own ends1 and has to
 spare1 runs over1 and inundates the    
neighborhoods and creeks of other men's 
necessities4  ,all power is of one kind1
 a sharing of the nature of the world4  
,the mind that is parallel with the laws
 of nature will be in the current of    
events1 and strong with their strength4 

,one man is made of the same stuff of   
which events are made2 is in sympathy   
with the course of things2 can predict  
it4 ,whatever befalls1 befalls him      
first2 so that he is equal to whatever  
shall happen4  ,a man who knows men1 can
 talk well on politics1 trade1 law1 war1
 religion4  ,for1 everywhere1 men are   
led in the same manners4  ,the advantage
 of a strong pulse is not to be supplied
 by any labor1 art1 or concert4  ,it is 
like the climate1 which easily rears a  
crop1 which no glass1 or irrigation1 or 
tillage1 or manures1 can elsewhere      
rival4  ,it is like the opportunity of a
 city like ,new ,york1 or               
,constantinople1 which needs no         
diplomacy to force capital or genius or 
labor to it4 ,they come of themselves1  
as the waters flow to it4  ,so a broad1 
healthy1 massive understanding seems to 
lie on the shore of unseen rivers1 of   
unseen oceans1 which are covered with   
barks1 that1 night and day1 are drifted 
to this point4  ,that is poured into its

 lap1 which other men lie plotting for4 
,it is in everybody's secret2           
anticipates everybody's discovery2 and  
if it do not command every fact of the  
genius and the scholar1 it is because it
 is large and sluggish1 and does not    
think them worth the exertion which you 
do4  ,this affirmative force is in one1 
and is not in another1 as one horse has 
the spring in him1 and another in the   
whip4  ,on the neck of the young man1   
said ,hafiz1 sparkles no gem so gracious
 as enterprise4 ,import into any        
stationary district1 as into an old     
,dutch population in ,new ,york or      
,pennsylvania1 or among the planters of 
,virginia1 a colony of hardy ,yankees1  
with seething brains1 heads full of     
steam-hammer1 pulley1 crank1 and toothed
 wheel1--and everything begins to shine 
with values4 ,what enhancement to all   
the water and land in ,england1 is the  
arrival of ,james ,watt or ,brunel6  ,in
 every company1 there is not only the   
active and passive sex1 but1 in both men

 and women1 a deeper and more important 
sex of mind1 namely1 the inventive or   
creative class of both men and women1   
and the uninventive or accepting class4 
,each plus man represents his set1 and1 
if he have the accidental advantage of  
personal ascendency1--which implies     
neither more nor less of talent1 but    
merely the temperamental or taming eye  
of a soldier or a schoolmaster1 7which  
one has1 and one has not1 as one has a  
black moustache and one a blond17 then  
quite easily and without envy or        
resistance1 all his coadjutors and      
feeders will admit his right to absorb  
them4  ,the merchant works by           
book-keeper and cashier2 the lawyer's   
authorities are hunted up by clerks2 the
 geologist reports the surveys of his   
subalterns2 ,commander ,wilkes          
appropriates the results of all the     
naturalists attached to the ,expedition2
 ,thorwaldsen's statue is finished by   
stone-cutters2 ,dumas has journeymen2   
and ,shakspeare was theatre-manager1 and

 used the labor of many young men1 as   
well as the playbooks4  ,there is always
 room for a man of force1 and he makes  
room for many4 ,society is a troop of   
thinkers1 and the best heads among them 
take the best places4  ,a feeble man can
 see the farms that are fenced and      
tilled1 the houses that are built4 ,the 
strong man sees the possible houses and 
farms4 ,his eye makes estates1 as fast  
as the sun breeds clouds4  ,when a new  
boy comes into school1 when a man       
travels1 and encounters strangers every 
day1 or1 when into any old club a new   
comer is domesticated1 that happens     
which befalls1 when a strange ox is     
driven into a pen or pasture where      
cattle are kept2 there is at once a     
trial of strength between the best pair 
of horns and the new comer1 and it is   
settled thenceforth which is the leader4
  ,so now1 there is a measuring of      
strength1 very courteous1 but decisive1 
and an acquiescence thenceforward when  
these two meet4  ,each reads his fate in

 the other's eyes4  ,the weaker party   
finds1 that none of his information or  
wit quite fits the occasion4 ,he thought
 he knew this or that3 he finds that he 
omitted to learn the end of it4         
,nothing that he knows will quite hit   
the mark1 whilst all the rival's arrows 
are good1 and well thrown4  ,but if he  
knew all the facts in the encyclopaedia1
 it would not help him3 for this is an  
affair of presence of mind1 of attitude1
 of aplomb3 the opponent has the sun and
 wind1 and1 in every cast1 the choice of
 weapon and mark2 and1 when he himself  
is matched with some other antagonist1  
his own shafts fly well and hit4 ',tis a
 question of stomach and constitution4  
,the second man is as good as the       
first1--perhaps better2 but has not     
stoutness or stomach1 as the first has1 
and so his wit seems over-fine or       
under-fine4  ,health is good1--power1   
life1 that resists disease1 poison1 and 
all enemies1 and is conservative1 as    
well as creative4  ,here is question1   

every spring1 whether to graft with wax1
 or whether with clay2 whether to       
whitewash or to potash1 or to prune2 but
 the one point is the thrifty tree4  ,a 
good tree1 that agrees with the soil1   
will grow in spite of blight1 or bug1 or
 pruning1 or neglect1 by night and by   
day1 in all weathers and all treatments4
  ,vivacity1 leadership1 must be had1   
and we are not allowed to be nice in    
choosing4  ,we must fetch the pump with 
dirty water1 if clean cannot be had4    
,if we will make bread1 we must have    
contagion1 yeast1 emptyings1 or what    
not1 to induce fermentation into the    
dough3 as the torpid artist seeks       
inspiration at any cost1 by virtue or by
 vice1 by friend or by fiend1 by prayer 
or by wine4  ,and we have a certain     
instinct1 that where is great amount of 
life1 though gross and peccant1 it has  
its own checks and purifications1 and   
will be found at last in harmony with   
moral laws4  ,we watch in children with 
pathetic interest1 the degree in which  

they possess recuperative force4 ,when  
they are hurt by us1 or by each other1  
or go to the bottom of the class1 or    
miss the annual prizes1 or are beaten in
 the game1--if they lose heart1 and     
remember the mischance in their chamber 
at home1 they have a serious check4     
,but if they have the buoyancy and      
resistance that preoccupies them with   
new interest in the new moment1--the    
wounds cicatrize1 and the fibre is the  
tougher for the hurt4  ,one comes to    
value this plus health1 when he sees    
that all difficulties vanish before it4 
,a timid man listening to the alarmists 
in ,congress1 and in the newspapers1 and
 observing the profligacy of            
party1--sectional interests urged with a
 fury which shuts its eyes to           
consequences1 with a mind made up to    
desperate extremities1 ballot in one    
hand1 and rifle in the other1--might    
easily believe that he and his country  
have seen their best days1 and he       
hardens himself the best he can against 

the coming ruin4  ,but1 after this has  
been foretold with equal confidence     
fifty times1 and government six per     
cents have not declined a quarter of a  
mill1 he discovers that the enormous    
elements of strength which are here in  
play1 make our politics unimportant4    
,personal power1 freedom1 and the       
resources of nature strain every faculty
 of every citizen4  ,we prosper with    
such vigor1 that1 like thrifty trees1   
which grow in spite of ice1 lice1 mice1 
and borers1 so we do not suffer from the
 profligate swarms that fatten on the   
national treasury4  ,the huge animals   
nourish huge parasites1 and the rancor  
of the disease attests the strength of  
the constitution4  ,the same energy in  
the ,greek ,demos drew the remark1 that 
the evils of popular government appear  
greater than they are2 there is         
compensation for them in the spirit and 
energy it awakens4 ,the rough and ready 
style which belongs to a people of      
sailors1 foresters1 farmers1 and        

mechanics1 has its advantages4  ,power  
educates the potentate4 ,as long as our 
people quote ,english standards they    
dwarf their own proportions4  ,a        
,western lawyer of eminence said to me  
he wished it were a penal offence to    
bring an ,english law-book into a court 
in this country1 so pernicious had he   
found in his experience our deference to
 ,english precedent4 ,the very word     
'commerce' has only an ,english meaning1
 and is pinched to the cramp exigencies 
of ,english experience4  ,the commerce  
of rivers1 the commerce of railroads1   
and who knows but the commerce of       
air-balloons1 must add an ,american     
extension to the pond-hole of admiralty4
  ,as long as our people quote ,english 
standards1 they will miss the           
sovereignty of power2 but let these     
rough riders1--legislators in           
shirt-sleeves1--,hoosier1 ,sucker1      
,wolverine1 ,badger1--or whatever hard  
head ,arkansas1 ,oregon1 or ,utah sends1
 half orator1 half assassin1 to         

represent its wrath and cupidity at     
,washington1--let these drive as they   
may2 and the disposition of territories 
and public lands1 the necessity of      
balancing and keeping at bay the        
snarling majorities of ,german1 ,irish1 
and of native millions1 will bestow     
promptness1 address1 and reason1 at     
last1 on our buffalo-hunter1 and        
authority and majesty of manners4  ,the 
instinct of the people is right4  ,men  
expect from good whigs1 put into office 
by the respectability of the country1   
much less skill to deal with ,mexico1   
,spain1 ,britain1 or with our own       
malcontent members1 than from some      
strong transgressor1 like ,jefferson1 or
 ,jackson1 who first conquers his own   
government1 and then uses the same      
genius to conquer the foreigner4  ,the  
senators who dissented from ,mr4 ,polk's
 ,mexican war1 were not those who knew  
better1 but those who1 from political   
position1 could afford it2 not ,webster1
 but ,benton and ,calhoun4  ,this power1

 to be sure1 is not clothed in satin4   
',tis the power of ,lynch law1 of       
soldiers and pirates2 and it bullies the
 peaceable and loyal4 ,but it brings its
 own antidote2 and here is my           
point1--that all kinds of power usually 
emerge at the same time2 good energy1   
and bad2 power of mind1 with physical   
health2 the ecstasies of devotion1 with 
the exasperations of debauchery4  ,the  
same elements are always present1 only  
sometimes these conspicuous1 and        
sometimes those2 what was yesterday     
foreground1 being to-day                
background1--what was surface1 playing  
now a not less effective part as basis4 
,the longer the drought lasts1 the more 
is the atmosphere surcharged with water4
  ,the faster the ball falls to the sun1
 the force to fly off is by so much     
augmented4  ,and1 in morals1 wild       
liberty breeds iron conscience2 natures 
with great impulses have great          
resources1 and return from far4  ,in    
politics1 the sons of democrats will be 

whigs2 whilst red republicanism1 in the 
father1 is a spasm of nature to engender
 an intolerable tyrant in the next age4 
,on the other hand1 conservatism1 ever  
more timorous and narrow1 disgusts the  
children1 and drives them for a mouthful
 of fresh air into radicalism4  ,those  
who have most of this coarse            
energy1--the 'bruisers1' who have run   
the gauntlet of caucus and tavern       
through the county or the state1 have   
their own vices1 but they have the good 
nature of strength and courage4 ,fierce 
and unscrupulous1 they are usually frank
 and direct1 and above falsehood4 ,our  
politics fall into bad hands1 and       
churchmen and men of refinement1 it     
seems agreed1 are not fit persons to    
send to ,congress4 ,politics is a       
deleterious profession1 like some       
poisonous handicrafts4 ,men in power    
have no opinions1 but may be had cheap  
for any opinion1 for any purpose1--and  
if it be only a question between the    
most civil and the most forcible1 ,i    

lean to the last4  ,these ,hoosiers and 
,suckers are really better than the     
snivelling opposition4  ,their wrath is 
at least of a bold and manly cast4      
,they see1 against the unanimous        
declarations of the people1 how much    
crime the people will bear2 they proceed
 from step to step1 and they have       
calculated but too justly upon their    
,excellencies1 the ,new ,england        
governors1 and upon their ,honors1 the  
,new ,england legislators4  ,the        
messages of the governors and the       
resolutions of the legislatures1 are a  
proverb for expressing a sham virtuous  
indignation1 which1 in the course of    
events1 is sure to be belied4  ,in      
trade1 also1 this energy usually carries
 a trace of ferocity4 ,philanthropic and
 religious bodies do not commonly make  
their executive officers out of saints4 
,the communities hitherto founded by    
,socialists1--the ,jesuits1 the         
,port-,royalists1 the ,american         
communities at ,new ,harmony1 at ,brook 

,farm1 at ,zoar1 are only possible1 by  
installing ,judas as steward4  ,the rest
 of the offices may be filled by good   
burgesses4  ,the pious and charitable   
proprietor has a foreman not quite so   
pious and charitable4  ,the most amiable
 of country gentlemen has a certain     
pleasure in the teeth of the bull-dog   
which guards his orchard4 ,of the       
,shaker society1 it was formerly a sort 
of proverb in the country1 that they    
always sent the devil to market4  ,and  
in representations of the ,deity1       
painting1 poetry1 and popular religion  
have ever drawn the wrath from ,hell4   
,it is an esoteric doctrine of society1 
that a little wickedness is good to make
 muscle2 as if conscience were not good 
for hands and legs1 as if poor decayed  
formalists of law and order cannot run  
like wild goats1 wolves1 and conies2    
that1 as there is a use in medicine for 
poisons1 so the world cannot move       
without rogues2 that public spirit and  
the ready hand are as well found among  

the malignants4 ',tis not very rare1 the
 coincidence of sharp private and       
political practice1 with public spirit1 
and good neighborhood4  ,i knew a burly 
,boniface who for many years kept a     
public-house in one of our rural        
capitals4 ,he was a knave whom the town 
could ill spare4 ,he was a social1      
vascular creature1 grasping and selfish4
  ,there was no crime which he did not  
or could not commit4  ,but he made good 
friends of the selectmen1 served them   
with his best chop1 when they supped at 
his house1 and also with his honor the  
,judge1 he was very cordial1 grasping   
his hand4 ,he introduced all the fiends1
 male and female1 into the town1 and    
united in his person the functions of   
bully1 incendiary1 swindler1 barkeeper1 
and burglar4 ,he girdled the trees1 and 
cut off the horses' tails of the        
temperance people1 in the night4  ,he   
led the rummies' and radicals in        
town-meeting with a speech4  ,meantime1 
he was civil1 fat1 and easy1 in his     

house1 and precisely the most           
public-spirited citizen4 ,he was active 
in getting the roads repaired and       
planted with shade-trees2 he subscribed 
for the fountains1 the gas1 and the     
telegraph2 he introduced the new        
horse-rake1 the new scraper1 the        
baby-jumper1 and what not1 that         
,connecticut sends to the admiring      
citizens4  ,he did this the easier1 that
 the peddler stopped at his house1 and  
paid his keeping1 by setting up his new 
trap on the landlord's premises4        
,whilst thus the energy for originating 
and executing work1 deforms itself by   
excess1 and so our axe chops off our own
 fingers1--this evil is not without     
remedy4  ,all the elements whose aid man
 calls in1 will sometimes become his    
masters1 especially those of most subtle
 force4 ,shall he1 then1 renounce steam1
 fire1 and electricity1 or1 shall he    
learn to deal with them8  ,the rule for 
this whole class of agencies is1--all   
plus is good2 only put it in the right  

place4  ,men of this surcharge of       
arterial blood cannot live on nuts1     
herb-tea1 and elegies2 cannot read      
novels1 and play whist2 cannot satisfy  
all their wants at the ,thursday        
,lecture1 or the ,boston ,athenaeum4    
,they pine for adventure1 and must go to
 ,pike's ,peak2 had rather die by the   
hatchet of a ,pawnee1 than sit all day  
and every day at a counting-room desk4  
,they are made for war1 for the sea1 for
 mining1 hunting1 and clearing2 for     
hair-breadth adventures1 huge risks1 and
 the joy of eventful living4 ,some men  
cannot endure an hour of calm at sea4   
,i remember a poor ,malay cook1 on board
 a ,liverpool packet1 who1 when the wind
 blew a gale1 could not contain his joy2
 ,blow6 he cried1 me do tell you1 blow6 
,their friends and governors must see   
that some vent for their explosive      
complexion is provided4  ,the roisters  
who are destined for infamy at home1 if 
sent to ,mexico1 will cover you with    
glory1 and come back heroes and         

generals4  ,there are ,oregons1         
,californias1 and ,exploring            
,expeditions enough appertaining to     
,america1 to find them in files to gnaw1
 and in crocodiles to eat4  ,the young  
,english are fine animals1 full of      
blood1 and when they have no wars to    
breathe their riotous valors in1 they   
seek for travels as dangerous as war1   
diving into ,maelstroms2 swimming       
,hellesponts2 wading up the snowy       
,himmaleh2 hunting lion1 rhinoceros1    
elephant1 in ,south ,africa2 gypsying   
with ,borrow in ,spain and ,algiers2    
riding alligators in ,south ,america    
with ,waterton2 utilizing ,bedouin1     
,sheik1 and ,pacha1 with ,layard2       
yachting among the icebergs of          
,lancaster ,sound2 peeping into craters 
on the equator2 or running on the       
creases of ,malays in ,borneo4  ,the    
excess of virility has the same         
importance in general history1 as in    
private and industrial life4 ,strong    
race or strong individual rests at last 

on natural forces1 which are best in the
 savage1 who1 like the beasts around    
him1 is still in reception of the milk  
from the teats of ,nature4  ,cut off the
 connection between any of our works1   
and this aboriginal source1 and the work
 is shallow4  ,the people lean on this1 
and the mob is not quite so bad an      
argument as we sometimes say1 for it has
 this good side4  ,march without the    
people1 said a ,french deputy from the  
tribune1 and you march into night3 their
 instincts are a finger-pointing of     
,providence1 always turned toward real  
benefit4  ,but when you espouse an      
,orleans party1 or a ,bourbon1 or a     
,montalembert party1 or any other but an
 organic party1 though you mean well1   
you have a personality instead of a     
principle1 which will inevitably drag   
you into a corner4  ,the best anecdotes 
of this force are to be had from savage 
life1 in explorers1 soldiers1 and       
buccaneers4  ,but who cares for         
fallings-out of assassins1 and fights of

 bears1 or grindings of icebergs8       
,physical force has no value1 where     
there is nothing else4  ,snow in        
snow-banks1 fire in volcanoes and       
solfataras is cheap4  ,the luxury of ice
 is in tropical countries1 and midsummer
 days4  ,the luxury of fire is1 to have 
a little on our hearth3 and of          
electricity1 not volleys of the charged 
cloud1 but the manageable stream on the 
battery-wires4  ,so of spirit1 or       
energy2 the rests or remains of it in   
the civil and moral man1 are worth all  
the cannibals in the ,pacific4  ,in     
history1 the great moment is1 when the  
savage is just ceasing to be a savage1  
with all his hairy ,pelasgic strength   
directed on his opening sense of        
beauty3--and you have ,pericles and     
,phidias1--not yet passed over into the 
,corinthian civility4 ,everything good  
in nature and the world is in that      
moment of transition1 when the swarthy  
juices still flow plentifully from      
nature1 but their astringency or        

acridity is got out by ethics and       
humanity4  ,the triumphs of peace have  
been in some proximity to war4  ,whilst 
the hand was still familiar with the    
sword-hilt1 whilst the habits of the    
camp were still visible in the port and 
complexion of the gentleman1 his        
intellectual power culminated3 the      
compression and tension of these stern  
conditions is a training for the finest 
and softest arts1 and can rarely be     
compensated in tranquil times1 except by
 some analogous vigor drawn from        
occupations as hardy as war4  ,we say   
that success is constitutional2 depends 
on a plus condition of mind and body1 on
 power of work1 on courage3 that it is  
of main efficacy in carrying on the     
world1 and1 though rarely found in the  
right state for an article of commerce1 
but oftener in the supersaturate or     
excess1 which makes it dangerous and    
destructive1 yet it cannot be spared1   
and must be had in that form1 and       
absorbents provided to take off its     

edge4  ,the affirmative class monopolize
 the homage of mankind4  ,they originate
 and execute all the great feats4  ,what
 a force was coiled up in the skull of  
,napoleon6  ,of the sixty thousand men  
making his army at ,eylau1 it seems some
 thirty thousand were thieves and       
burglars4  ,the men whom1 in peaceful   
communities1 we hold if we can1 with    
iron at their legs1 in prisons1 under   
the muskets of sentinels1 this man dealt
 with1 hand to hand1 dragged them to    
their duty1 and won his victories by    
their bayonets4  ,this aboriginal might 
gives a surprising pleasure when it     
appears under conditions of supreme     
refinement1 as in the proficients in    
high art4 ,when ,michel ,angelo was     
forced to paint the ,sistine ,chapel in 
fresco1 of which art he knew nothing1 he
 went down into the ,pope's gardens     
behind the ,vatican1 and with a shovel  
dug out ochres1 red and yellow1 mixed   
them with glue and water with his own   
hands1 and having1 after many trials1 at

 last suited himself1 climbed his       
ladders1 and painted away1 week after   
week1 month after month1 the sibyls and 
prophets4  ,he surpassed his successors 
in rough vigor1 as much as in purity of 
intellect and refinement4  ,he was not  
crushed by his one picture left         
unfinished at last4  ,michel was wont to
 draw his figures first in skeleton1    
then to clothe them with flesh1 and     
lastly to drape them4 ,ah6 said a brave 
painter to me1 thinking on these things1
 if a man has failed1 you will find he  
has dreamed instead of working4  ,there 
is no way to success in our art1 but to 
take off your coat1 grind paint1 and    
work like a digger on the railroad1 all 
day and every day4  ,success goes thus  
invariably with a certain plus or       
positive power3 an ounce of power must  
balance an ounce of weight4  ,and1      
though a man cannot return into his     
mother's womb1 and be born with new     
amounts of vivacity1 yet there are two  
economies1 which are the best succedanea

 which the case admits4  ,the first is1 
the stopping off decisively our         
miscellaneous activity1 and             
concentrating our force on one or a few 
points2 as the gardener1 by severe      
pruning1 forces the sap of the tree into
 one or two vigorous limbs1 instead of  
suffering it to spindle into a sheaf of 
twigs4  ,enlarge not thy destiny1 said  
the oracle3 endeavor not to do more than
 is given thee in charge4  ,the one     
prudence in life is concentration2 the  
one evil is dissipation3 and it makes no
 difference whether our dissipations are
 coarse or fine2 property and its cares1
 friends1 and a social habit1 or        
politics1 or music1 or feasting4        
,everything is good which takes away one
 plaything and delusion more1 and drives
 us home to add one stroke of faithful  
work4  ,friends1 books1 pictures1 lower 
duties1 talents1 flatteries1 hopes1--all
 are distractions which cause           
oscillations in our giddy balloon1 and  
make a good poise and a straight course 

impossible4  ,you must elect your work2 
you shall take what your brain can1 and 
drop all the rest4  ,only so1 can that  
amount of vital force accumulate1 which 
can make the step from knowing to doing4
  ,no matter how much faculty of idle   
seeing a man has1 the step from knowing 
to doing is rarely taken4  ',tis a stop 
out of a chalk circle of imbecility into
 fruitfulness4 ,many an artist lacking  
this1 lacks all3 he sees the masculine  
,angelo or ,cellini with despair4 ,he1  
too1 is up to ,nature and the ,first    
,cause in his thought4  ,but the spasm  
to collect and swing his whole being    
into one act1 he has not4 ,the poet     
,campbell said1 that a man accustomed to
 work was equal to any achievement he   
resolved on1 and1 that1 for himself1    
necessity not inspiration was the       
prompter of his muse4  ,concentration is
 the secret of strength in politics1 in 
war1 in trade1 in short1 in all         
management of human affairs4  ,one of   
the high anecdotes of the world is the  

reply of ,newton to the inquiry1 how he 
had been able to achieve his            
discoveries8--,by always intending my   
mind4  ,or if you will have a text from 
politics1 take this from ,plutarch3     
,there was1 in the whole city1 but one  
street in which ,pericles was ever seen1
 the street which led to the            
market-place and the council house4  ,he
 declined all invitations to banquets1  
and all gay assemblies and company4     
,during the whole period of his         
administration1 he never dined at the   
table of a friend4  ,or if we seek an   
example from trade1--,i hope1 said a    
good man to ,rothschild1 your children  
are not too fond of money and business3 
,i am sure you would not wish that4--,i 
am sure ,i should wish that3 ,i wish    
them to give mind1 soul1 heart1 and body
 to business1--that is the way to be    
happy4  ,it requires a great deal of    
boldness and a great deal of caution1 to
 make a great fortune1 and when you have
 got it1 it requires ten times as much  

wit to keep it4  ,if ,i were to listen  
to all the projects proposed to me1 ,i  
should ruin myself very soon4 ,stick to 
one business1 young man4  ,stick to your
 brewery1 7he said this to young        
,buxton17 and you will be the great     
brewer of ,london4  ,be brewer1 and     
banker1 and merchant1 and manufacturer1 
and you will soon be in the ,gazette4   
,many men are knowing1 many are         
apprehensive and tenacious1 but they do 
not rush to a decision4 ,but in our     
flowing affairs a decision must be      
made1--the best1 if you can2 but any is 
better than none4  ,there are twenty    
ways of going to a point1 and one is the
 shortest2 but set out at once on one4  
,a man who has that presence of mind    
which can bring to him on the instant   
all he knows1 is worth for action a     
dozen men who know as much1 but can only
 bring it to light slowly4  ,the good   
,speaker in the ,house is not the man   
who knows the theory of parliamentary   
tactics1 but the man who decides        

off-hand4  ,the good judge is not he who
 does hair-splitting justice to every   
allegation1 but who1 aiming at          
substantial justice1 rules something    
intelligible for the guidance of        
suitors4 ,the good lawyer is not the man
 who has an eye to every side and angle 
of contingency1 and qualifies all his   
qualifications1 but who throws himself  
on your part so heartily1 that he can   
get you out of a scrape4  ,dr4 ,johnson 
said1 in one of his flowing sentences1  
,miserable beyond all names of          
wretchedness is that unhappy pair1 who  
are doomed to reduce beforehand to the  
principles of abstract reason all the   
details of each domestic day4  ,there   
are cases where little can be said1 and 
much must be done4  ,the second         
substitute for temperament is drill1 the
 power of use and routine4  ,the hack is
 a better roadster than the ,arab barb4 
,in chemistry1 the galvanic stream1     
slow1 but continuous1 is equal in power 
to the electric spark1 and is1 in our   

arts1 a better agent4  ,so in human     
action1 against the spasm of energy1 we 
offset the continuity of drill4 ,we     
spread the same amount of force over    
much time1 instead of condensing it into
 a moment4  ',tis the same ounce of gold
 here in a ball1 and there in a leaf4   
,at ,west ,point1 ,col4 ,buford1 the    
chief engineer1 pounded with a hammer on
 the trunnions of a cannon1 until he    
broke them off4  ,he fired a piece of   
ordnance some hundred times in swift    
succession1 until it burst4  ,now which 
stroke broke the trunnion8 ,every       
stroke4  ,which blast burst the piece8  
,every blast4  ,diligence passe sens    
,henry ,,viii4 was wont to say1 or1     
great is drill4  ,john ,kemble said1    
that the worst provincial company of    
actors would go through a play better   
than the best amateur company4  ,basil  
,hall likes to show that the worst      
regular troops will beat the best       
volunteers4  ,practice is nine tenths4  
,a course of mobs is good practice for  

orators4  ,all the great speakers were  
bad speakers at first4 ,stumping it     
through ,england for seven years1 made  
,cobden a consummate debater4  ,stumping
 it through ,new ,england for twice     
seven1 trained ,wendell ,phillips4  ,the
 way to learn ,german1 is1 to read the  
same dozen pages over and over a hundred
 times1 till you know every word and    
particle in them1 and can pronounce and 
repeat them by heart4  ,no genius can   
recite a ballad at first reading1 so    
well as mediocrity can at the fifteenth 
or twentieth reading4  ,the rule for    
hospitality and ,irish 'help1' is1 to   
have the same dinner every day          
throughout the year4  ,at last1 ,mrs4   
,o',shaughnessy learns to cook it to a  
nicety1 the host learns to carve it1 and
 the guests are well served4  ,a        
humorous friend of mine thinks1 that the
 reason why ,nature is so perfect in her
 art1 and gets up such inconceivably    
fine sunsets1 is1 that she has learned  
how1 at last1 by dint of doing the same 

thing so very often4 ,cannot one        
converse better on a topic on which he  
has experience1 than on one which is    
new8  ,men whose opinion is valued on   
',change1 are only such as have a       
special experience1 and off that ground 
their opinion is not valuable1 ,more are
 made good by exercitation1 than by     
nature1 said ,democritus4  ,the friction
 in nature is so enormous that we cannot
 spare any power4  ,it is not question  
to express our thought1 to elect our    
way1 but to overcome resistances of the 
medium and material in everything we do4
  ,hence the use of drill1 and the      
worthlessness of amateurs to cope with  
practitioners4  ,six hours every day at 
the piano1 only to give facility of     
touch2 six hours a day at painting1 only
 to give command of the odious          
materials1 oil1 ochres1 and brushes4    
,the masters say1 that they know a      
master in music1 only by seeing the pose
 of the hands on the keys2--so difficult
 and vital an act is the command of the 

instrument4 ,to have learned the use of 
the tools1 by thousands of              
manipulations2 to have learned the arts 
of reckoning1 by endless adding and     
dividing1 is the power of the mechanic  
and the clerk4 ,i remarked in ,england1 
in confirmation of a frequent experience
 at home1 that1 in literary circles1 the
 men of trust and consideration1        
bookmakers1 editors1 university deans   
and professors1 bishops1 too1 were by no
 means men of the largest literary      
talent1 but usually of a low and        
ordinary intellectuality1 with a sort of
 mercantile activity and working talent4
 ,indifferent hacks and mediocrities    
tower1 by pushing their forces to a     
lucrative point1 or by working power1   
over multitudes of superior men1 in ,old
 as in ,new ,england4  ,i have not      
forgotten that there are sublime        
considerations which limit the value of 
talent and superficial success4  ,we can
 easily overpraise the vulgar hero4     
,there are sources on which we have not 

drawn4  ,i know what ,i abstain from4   
,i adjourn what ,i have to say on this  
topic to the chapters on ,culture and   
,worship4  ,but this force or spirit1   
being the means relied on by ,nature for
 bringing the work of the day about1--as
 far as we attach importance to         
household life1 and the prizes of the   
world1 we must respect that4  ,and ,i   
hold1 that an economy may be applied to 
it2 it is as much a subject of exact law
 and arithmetic as fluids and gases are2
 it may be husbanded1 or wasted2 every  
man is efficient only as he is a        
container or vessel of this force1 and  
never was any signal act or achievement 
in history1 but by this expenditure4    
,this is not gold1 but the gold-maker2  
not the fame1 but the exploit4  ,if     
these forces and this husbandry are     
within reach of our will1 and the laws  
of them can be read1 we infer that all  
success1 and all conceivable benefit for
 man1 is also1 first or last1 within his
 reach1 and has its own sublime         

economies by which it may be attained4  
,the world is mathematical1 and has no  
casualty1 in all its vast and flowing   
curve4 ,success has no more             
eccentricity1 than the gingham and      
muslin we weave in our mills4  ,i know  
no more affecting lesson to our busy1   
plotting ,new ,england brains1 than to  
go into one of the factories with which 
we have lined all the watercourses in   
the ,states4  ,a man hardly knows how   
much he is a machine1 until he begins to
 make telegraph1 loom1 press1 and       
locomotive1 in his own image4  ,but in  
these1 he is forced to leave out his    
follies and hindrances1 so that when we 
go to the mill1 the machine is more     
moral than we4  ,let a man dare go to a 
loom1 and see if he be equal to it4     
,let machine confront machine1 and see  
how they come out4 ,the world-mill is   
more complex than the calico-mill1 and  
the architect stooped less4  ,in the    
gingham-mill1 a broken thread or a shred
 spoils the web through a piece of a    

hundred yards1 and is traced back to the
 girl that wove it1 and lessens her     
wages4  ,the stockholder1 on being shown
 this1 rubs his hands with delight4     
,are you so cunning1 ,mr4 ,profitless1  
and do you expect to swindle your master
 and employer1 in the web you weave8  ,a
 day is a more magnificent cloth than   
any muslin1 the mechanism that makes it 
is infinitely cunninger1 and you shall  
not conceal the sleezy1 fraudulent1     
rotten hours you have slipped into the  
piece1 nor fear that any honest thread1 
or straighter steel1 or more inflexible 
shaft1 will not testify in the web4     
,,iii4                                  
,,wealth4       ,who shall tell what did
 befall1     ,far away in time1 when    
once1     ,over the lifeless ball1      
,hung idle stars and suns8     ,what god
 the element obeyed8     ,wings of what 
wind the lichen bore1     ,wafting the  
puny seeds of power1     ,which1 lodged 
in rock1 the rock abrade8     ,and well 
the primal pioneer     ,knew the strong 

task to it assigned     ,patient through
 ,heaven's enormous year     ,to build  
in matter home for mind4     ,from air  
the creeping centuries drew     ,the    
matted thicket low and wide1     ,this  
must the leaves of ages strew     ,the  
granite slab to clothe and hide1        
,ere wheat can wave its golden pride4   
,what smiths1 and in what furnace1      
rolled     7,in dizzy aeons dim and mute
     ,the reeling brain can ill compute7
     ,copper and iron1 lead1 and gold8  
,what oldest star the fame can save     
,of races perishing to pave     ,the    
planet with a floor of lime8     ,dust  
is their pyramid and mole3     ,who saw 
what ferns and palms were pressed       
,under the tumbling mountain's breast1  
,in the safe herbal of the coal8        
,but when the quarried means were piled1
     ,all is waste and worthless1 till  
,arrives the wise selecting will1       
,and1 out of slime and chaos1 ,wit      
,draws the threads of fair and fit4     
,then temples rose1 and towns1 and      

marts1     ,the shop of toil1 the hall  
of arts2     ,then flew the sail across 
the seas     ,to feed the ,north from   
tropic trees2     ,the storm-wind wove1 
the torrent span1     ,where they were  
bid the rivers ran2     ,new slaves     
fulfilled the poet's dream1             
,galvanic wire1 strong-shouldered steam4
     ,then docks were built1 and crops  
were stored1     ,and ingots added to   
the hoard4     ,but1 though light-headed
 man forget1     ,remembering ,matter   
pays her debt3     ,still1 through her  
motes and masses1 draw     ,electric    
thrills and ties of ,law1     ,which    
bind the strengths of ,nature wild      
,to the conscience of a child4          
,,wealth4   ,as soon as a stranger is   
introduced into any company1 one of the 
first questions which all wish to have  
answered1 is1 ,how does that man get his
 living8  ,and with reason4  ,he is no  
whole man until he knows how to earn a  
blameless livelihood4 ,society is       
barbarous1 until every industrious man  

can get his living without dishonest    
customs4  ,every man is a consumer1 and 
ought to be a producer4  ,he fails to   
make his place good in the world1 unless
 he not only pays his debt1 but also    
adds something to the common wealth4    
,nor can he do justice to his genius1   
without making some larger demand on the
 world than a bare subsistence4  ,he is 
by constitution expensive1 and needs to 
be rich4  ,wealth has its source in     
applications of the mind to nature1 from
 the rudest strokes of spade and axe1 up
 to the last secrets of art4 ,intimate  
ties subsist between thought and all    
production2 because a better order is   
equivalent to vast amounts of brute     
labor4  ,the forces and the resistances 
are ,nature's1 but the mind acts in     
bringing things from where they abound  
to where they are wanted2 in wise       
combining2 in directing the practice of 
the useful arts1 and in the creation of 
finer values1 by fine art1 by eloquence1
 by song1 or the reproductions of       

memory4  ,wealth is in applications of  
mind to nature1 and the art of getting  
rich consists not in industry1 much less
 in saving1 but in a better order1 in   
timeliness1 in being at the right spot4 
,one man has stronger arms1 or longer   
legs2 another sees by the course of     
streams1 and growth of markets1 where   
land will be wanted1 makes a clearing to
 the river1 goes to sleep1 and wakes up 
rich4  ,steam is no stronger now1 than  
it was a hundred years ago2 but is put  
to better use4  ,a clever fellow was    
acquainted with the expansive force of  
steam2 he also saw the wealth of wheat  
and grass rotting in ,michigan4  ,then  
he cunningly screws on the steam-pipe to
 the wheat-crop4  ,puff now1 ,o ,steam6 
,the steam puffs and expands as before1 
but this time it is dragging all        
,michigan at its back to hungry ,new    
,york and hungry ,england4  ,coal lay in
 ledges under the ground since the      
,flood1 until a laborer with pick and   
windlass brings it to the surface4  ,we 

may well call it black diamonds4  ,every
 basket is power and civilization4  ,for
 coal is a portable climate4  ,it       
carries the heat of the tropics to      
,labrador and the polar circle3 and it  
is the means of transporting itself     
whithersoever it is wanted4 ,watt and   
,stephenson whispered in the ear of     
mankind their secret1 that a half-ounce 
of coal will draw two tons a mile1 and  
coal carries coal1 by rail and by boat1 
to make ,canada as warm as ,calcutta1   
and with its comfort brings its         
industrial power4  ,when the farmer's   
peaches are taken from under the tree1  
and carried into town1 they have a new  
look1 and a hundredfold value over the  
fruit which grew on the same bough1 and 
lies fulsomely on the ground4  ,the     
craft of the merchant is this bringing a
 thing from where it abounds1 to where  
it is costly4  ,wealth begins in a tight
 roof that keeps the rain and wind out2 
in a good pump that yields you plenty of
 sweet water2 in two suits of clothes1  

so to change your dress when you are    
wet2 in dry sticks to burn2 in a good   
double-wick lamp2 and three meals2 in a 
horse1 or a locomotive1 to cross the    
land2 in a boat to cross the sea2 in    
tools to work with2 in books to read2   
and so1 in giving1 on all sides1 by     
tools and auxiliaries1 the greatest     
possible extension to our powers1 as if 
it added feet1 and hands1 and eyes1 and 
blood1 length to the day1 and knowledge1
 and good-will4  ,wealth begins with    
these articles of necessity4 ,and here  
we must recite the iron law which       
,nature thunders in these northern      
climates4  ,first1 she requires that    
each man should feed himself4 ,if1      
happily1 his fathers have left him no   
inheritance1 he must go to work1 and by 
making his wants less1 or his gains     
more1 he must draw himself out of that  
state of pain and insult in which she   
forces the beggar to lie4  ,she gives   
him no rest until this is done3 she     
starves1 taunts1 and torments him1 takes

 away warmth1 laughter1 sleep1 friends1 
and daylight1 until he has fought his   
way to his own loaf4  ,then1 less       
peremptorily1 but still with sting      
enough1 she urges him to the acquisition
 of such things as belong to him4       
,every warehouse and shop-window1 every 
fruit-tree1 every thought of every hour1
 opens a new want to him1 which it      
concerns his power and dignity to       
gratify4  ,it is of no use to argue the 
wants down3 the philosophers have laid  
the greatness of man in making his wants
 few2 but will a man content himself    
with a hut and a handful of dried pease8
  ,he is born to be rich4  ,he is       
thoroughly related2 and is tempted out  
by his appetites and fancies to the     
conquest of this and that piece of      
nature1 until he finds his well-being in
 the use of his planet1 and of more     
planets than his own4  ,wealth requires1
 besides the crust of bread and the     
roof1--the freedom of the city1 the     
freedom of the earth1 travelling1       

machinery1 the benefits of science1     
music1 and fine arts1 the best culture1 
and the best company4  ,he is the rich  
man who can avail himself of all men's  
faculties4  ,he is the richest man who  
knows how to draw a benefit from the    
labors of the greatest number of men1 of
 men in distant countries1 and in past  
times4  ,the same correspondence that is
 between thirst in the stomach1 and     
water in the spring1 exists between the 
whole of man and the whole of nature4   
,the elements offer their service to    
him4  ,the sea1 washing the equator and 
the poles1 offers its perilous aid1 and 
the power and empire that follow        
it1--day by day to his craft and        
audacity4  ,beware of me1 it says1 but  
if you can hold me1 ,i am the key to all
 the lands4  ,fire offers1 on its side1 
an equal power4  ,fire1 steam1          
lightning1 gravity1 ledges of rock1     
mines of iron1 lead1 quicksilver1 tin1  
and gold2 forests of all woods2 fruits  
of all climates2 animals of all habits2 

the powers of tillage2 the fabrics of   
his chemic laboratory2 the webs of his  
loom2 the masculine draught of his      
locomotive1 the talismans of the        
machine-shop2 all grand and subtile     
things1 minerals1 gases1 ethers1        
passions1 war1 trade1 government1 are   
his natural playmates1 and1 according to
 the excellence of the machinery in each
 human being1 is his attraction for the 
instruments he is to employ4  ,the world
 is his tool-chest1 and he is           
successful1 or his education is carried 
on just so far1 as is the marriage of   
his faculties with nature1 or1 the      
degree in which he takes up things into 
himself4  ,the strong race is strong on 
these terms4  ,the ,saxons are the      
merchants of the world2 now1 for a      
thousand years1 the leading race1 and by
 nothing more than their quality of     
personal independence1 and1 in its      
special modification1 pecuniary         
independence4 ,no reliance for bread and
 games on the government1 no clanship1  

no patriarchal style of living by the   
revenues of a chief1 no marrying-on1--no
 system of clientship suits them2 but   
every man must pay his scot4  ,the      
,english are prosperous and peaceable1  
with their habit of considering that    
every man must take care of himself1 and
 has himself to thank1 if he do not     
maintain and improve his position in    
society4  ,the subject of economy mixes 
itself with morals1 inasmuch as it is a 
peremptory point of virtue that a man's 
independence be secured4 ,poverty       
demoralizes4  ,a man in debt is so far a
 slave2 and ,wall-street thinks it easy 
for a millionaire to be a man of his    
word1 a man of honor1 but1 that1 in     
failing circumstances1 no man can be    
relied on to keep his integrity4  ,and  
when one observes in the hotels and     
palaces of our ,atlantic capitals1 the  
habit of expense1 the riot of the       
senses1 the absence of bonds1 clanship1 
fellow-feeling of any kind1 he feels1   
that1 when a man or a woman is driven to

 the wall1 the chances of integrity are 
frightfully diminished1 as if virtue    
were coming to be a luxury which few    
could afford1 or1 as ,burke said1 at a  
market almost too high for humanity4    
,he may fix his inventory of necessities
 and of enjoyments on what scale he     
pleases1 but if he wishes the power and 
privilege of thought1 the chalking out  
his own career1 and having society on   
his own terms1 he must bring his wants  
within his proper power to satisfy4     
,the manly part is to do with might and 
main what you can do4  ,the world is    
full of fops who never did anything1 and
 who have persuaded beauties and men of 
genius to wear their fop livery1 and    
these will deliver the fop opinion1 that
 it is not respectable to be seen       
earning a living2 that it is much more  
respectable to spend without earning2   
and this doctrine of the snake will come
 also from the elect sons of light2 for 
wise men are not wise at all hours1 and 
will speak five times from their taste  

or their humor1 to once from their      
reason4 ,the brave workman1 who might   
betray his feeling of it in his manners1
 if he do not succumb in his practice1  
must replace the grace or elegance      
forfeited1 by the merit of the work     
done4  ,no matter whether he make shoes1
 or statues1 or laws4 ,it is the        
privilege of any human work which is    
well done to invest the doer with a     
certain haughtiness4 ,he can well afford
 not to conciliate1 whose faithful work 
will answer for him4  ,the mechanic at  
his bench carries a quiet heart and     
assured manners1 and deals on even terms
 with men of any condition4 ,the artist 
has made his picture so true1 that it   
disconcerts criticism4  ,the statue is  
so beautiful1 that it contracts no stain
 from the market1 but makes the market a
 silent gallery for itself4 ,the case of
 the young lawyer was pitiful to        
disgust1--a paltry matter of buttons or 
tweezer-cases2 but the determined youth 
saw in it an aperture to insert his     

dangerous wedges1 made the              
insignificance of the thing forgotten1  
and gave fame by his sense and energy to
 the name and affairs of the ,tittleton 
snuffbox factory4  ,society in large    
towns is babyish1 and wealth is made a  
toy4  ,the life of pleasure is so       
ostentatious1 that a shallow observer   
must believe that this is the agreed    
best use of wealth1 and1 whatever is    
pretended1 it ends in cosseting4  ,but1 
if this were the main use of surplus    
capital1 it would bring us to           
barricades1 burned towns1 and tomahawks1
 presently4  ,men of sense esteem wealth
 to be the assimilation of nature to    
themselves1 the converting of the sap   
and juices of the planet to the         
incarnation and nutriment of their      
design4  ,power is what they want1--not 
candy2--power to execute their design1  
power to give legs and feet1 form and   
actuality to their thought1 which1 to a 
clear-sighted man1 appears the end for  
which the ,universe exists1 and all its 

resources might be well applied4        
,columbus thinks that the sphere is a   
problem for practical navigation1 as    
well as for closet geometry1 and looks  
on all kings and peoples as cowardly    
landsmen1 until they dare fit him out4  
,few men on the planet have more truly  
belonged to it4  ,but he was forced to  
leave much of his map blank4 ,his       
successors inherited his map1 and       
inherited his fury to complete it4  ,so 
the men of the mine1 telegraph1 mill1   
map1 and survey1--the monomaniacs1 who  
talk up their project in marts1 and     
offices1 and entreat men to             
subscribe3--how did our factories get   
built8 how did ,north ,america get      
netted with iron rails1 except by the   
importunity of these orators1 who       
dragged all the prudent men in8  ,is    
party the madness of many for the gain  
of a few8  ,this speculative genius is  
the madness of few for the gain of the  
world4  ,the projectors are sacrificed1 
but the public is the gainer4  ,each of 

these idealists1 working after his      
thought1 would make it tyrannical1 if he
 could4  ,he is met and antagonized by  
other speculators1 as hot as he4  ,the  
equilibrium is preserved by these       
counteractions1 as one tree keeps down  
another in the forest1 that it may not  
absorb all the sap in the ground4  ,and 
the supply in nature of railroad        
presidents1 copper-miners1              
grand-junctioners1 smoke-burners1       
fire-annihilators1 c41 is limited by the
 same law which keeps the proportion in 
the supply of carbon1 of alum1 and of   
hydrogen4  ,to be rich is to have a     
ticket of admission to the master-works 
and chief men of each race4  ,it is to  
have the sea1 by voyaging2 to visit the 
mountains1 ,niagara1 the ,nile1 the     
desert1 ,rome1 ,paris1 ,constantinople2 
to see galleries1 libraries1 arsenals1  
manufactories4 ,the reader of           
,humboldt's ,cosmos follows the marches 
of a man whose eyes1 ears1 and mind are 
armed by all the science1 arts1 and     

implements which mankind have any where 
accumulated1 and who is using these to  
add to the stock4  ,so is it with       
,denon1 ,beckford1 ,belzoni1 ,wilkinson1
 ,layard1 ,kane1 ,lepsius1 and          
,livingston4  ,the rich man1 says       
,saadi1 is everywhere expected and at   
home4  ,the rich take up something more 
of the world into man's life4 ,they     
include the country as well as the town1
 the ocean-side1 the ,white ,hills1 the 
,far ,west1 and the old ,european       
homesteads of man1 in their notion of   
available material4  ,the world is his1 
who has money to go over it4  ,he       
arrives at the sea-shore1 and a         
sumptuous ship has floored and carpeted 
for him the stormy ,atlantic1 and made  
it a luxurious hotel1 amid the horrors  
of tempests4  ,the ,persians say1 ',tis 
the same to him who wears a shoe1 as if 
the whole earth were covered with       
leather4  ,kings are said to have long  
arms1 but every man should have long    
arms1 and should pluck his living1 his  

instruments1 his power1 and his knowing1
 from the sun1 moon1 and stars4  ,is not
 then the demand to be rich legitimate8 
,yet1 ,i have never seen a rich man4  ,i
 have never seen a man as rich as all   
men ought to be1 or1 with an adequate   
command of nature4  ,the pulpit and the 
press have many commonplaces denouncing 
the thirst for wealth2 but if men should
 take these moralists at their word1 and
 leave off aiming to be rich1 the       
moralists would rush to rekindle at all 
hazards this love of power in the       
people1 lest civilization should be     
undone4  ,men are urged by their ideas  
to acquire the command over nature4     
,ages derive a culture from the wealth  
of ,roman ,caesars1 ,leo ,tenths1       
magnificent ,kings of ,france1 ,grand   
,dukes of ,tuscany1 ,dukes of           
,devonshire1 ,townleys1 ,vernons1 and   
,peels1 in ,england2 or whatever great  
proprietors4  ,it is the interest of all
 men1 that there should be ,vaticans and
 ,louvres full of noble works of art2   

,british ,museums1 and ,french ,gardens 
of ,plants1 ,philadelphia ,academies of 
,natural ,history1 ,bodleian1           
,ambrosian1 ,royal1 ,congressional      
,libraries4  ,it is the interest of all 
that there should be ,exploring         
,expeditions2 ,captain ,cooks to voyage 
round the world1 ,rosses1 ,franklins1   
,richardsons1 and ,kanes1 to find the   
magnetic and the geographic poles4  ,we 
are all richer for the measurement of a 
degree of latitude on the earth's       
surface4  ,our navigation is safer for  
the chart4  ,how intimately our         
knowledge of the system of the ,universe
 rests on that6--and a true economy in a
 state or an individual will forget its 
frugality in behalf of claims like      
these4  ,whilst it is each man's        
interest1 that1 not only ease and       
convenience of living1 but also wealth  
or surplus product should exist         
somewhere1 it need not be in his hands4 
,often it is very undesirable to him4   
,goethe said well1 nobody should be rich

 but those who understand it4  ,some men
 are born to own1 and can animate all   
their possessions4  ,others cannot3     
their owning is not graceful2 seems to  
be a compromise of their character3 they
 seem to steal their own dividends4     
,they should own who can administer2 not
 they who hoard and conceal2 not they   
who1 the greater proprietors they are1  
are only the greater beggars1 but they  
whose work carves out work for more1    
opens a path for all4  ,for he is the   
rich man in whom the people are rich1   
and he is the poor man in whom the      
people are poor3 and how to give all    
access to the masterpieces of art and   
nature1 is the problem of civilization4 
,the socialism of our day has done good 
service in setting men on thinking how  
certain civilizing benefits1 now only   
enjoyed by the opulent1 can be enjoyed  
by all4  ,for example1 the providing to 
each man the means and apparatus of     
science1 and of the arts4  ,there are   
many articles good for occasional use1  

which few men are able to own4 ,every   
man wishes to see the ring of ,saturn1  
the satellites and belts of ,jupiter and
 ,mars2 the mountains and craters in the
 moon3 yet how few can buy a telescope6 
and of those1 scarcely one would like   
the trouble of keeping it in order1 and 
exhibiting it4  ,so of electrical and   
chemical apparatus1 and many the like   
things4  ,every man may have occasion to
 consult books which he does not care to
 possess1 such as cyclopedias1          
dictionaries1 tables1 charts1 maps1 and 
public documents3 pictures also of      
birds1 beasts1 fishes1 shells1 trees1   
flowers1 whose names he desires to know4
  ,there is a refining influence from   
the arts of ,design on a prepared mind1 
which is as positive as that of music1  
and not to be supplied from any other   
source4  ,but pictures1 engravings1     
statues1 and casts1 beside their first  
cost1 entail expenses1 as of galleries  
and keepers for the exhibition2 and the 
use which any man can make of them is   

rare1 and their value1 too1 is much     
enhanced by the numbers of men who can  
share their enjoyment4  ,in the ,greek  
cities1 it was reckoned profane1 that   
any person should pretend a property in 
a work of art1 which belonged to all who
 could behold it4  ,i think             
sometimes1--could ,i only have music on 
my own terms2--could ,i live in a great 
city1 and know where ,i could go        
whenever ,i wished the ablution and     
inundation of musical waves1--that were 
a bath and a medicine4  ,if properties  
of this kind were owned by states1      
towns1 and lyceums1 they would draw the 
bonds of neighborhood closer4  ,a town  
would exist to an intellectual purpose4 
,in ,europe1 where the feudal forms     
secure the permanence of wealth in      
certain families1 those families buy and
 preserve those things1 and lay them    
open to the public4  ,but in ,america1  
where democratic institutions divide    
every estate into small portions1 after 
a few years1 the public should step into

 the place of these proprietors1 and    
provide this culture and inspiration for
 the citizen4  ,man was born to be rich1
 or1 inevitably grows rich by the use of
 his faculties2 by the union of thought 
with nature4  ,property is an           
intellectual production4  ,the game     
requires coolness1 right reasoning1     
promptness1 and patience in the players4
 ,cultivated labor drives out brute     
labor4  ,an infinite number of shrewd   
men1 in infinite years1 have arrived at 
certain best and shortest ways of doing1
 and this accumulated skill in arts1    
cultures1 harvestings1 curings1         
manufactures1 navigations1 exchanges1   
constitutes the worth of our world      
to-day4  ,commerce is a game of skill1  
which every man cannot play1 which few  
men can play well4  ,the right merchant 
is one who has the just average of      
faculties we call common sense2 a man of
 a strong affinity for facts1 who makes 
up his decision on what he has seen4    
,he is thoroughly persuaded of the      

truths of arithmetic4  ,there is always 
a reason1 in the man1 for his good or   
bad fortune1 and so1 in making money4   
,men talk as if there were some magic   
about this1 and believe in magic1 in all
 parts of life4  ,he knows1 that all    
goes on the old road1 pound for pound1  
cent for cent1--for every effect a      
perfect cause1--and that good luck is   
another name for tenacity of purpose4   
,he insures himself in every            
transaction1 and likes small and sure   
gains4  ,probity and closeness to the   
facts are the basis1 but the masters of 
the art add a certain long arithmetic4  
,the problem is1 to combine many and    
remote operations1 with the accuracy and
 adherence to the facts1 which is easy  
in near and small transactions2 so to   
arrive at gigantic results1 without any 
compromise of safety4  ,napoleon was    
fond of telling the story of the        
,marseilles banker1 who said to his     
visitor1 surprised at the contrast      
between the splendor of the banker's    

chateau and hospitality1 and the        
meanness of the counting-room in which  
he had seen him1--,young man1 you are   
too young to understand how masses are  
formed1--the true and only              
power1--whether composed of money1      
water1 or men1 it is all alike1--a mass 
is an immense centre of motion1 but it  
must be begun1 it must be kept up3--and 
he might have added1 that the way in    
which it must be begun and kept up1 is1 
by obedience to the law of particles4   
,success consists in close appliance to 
the laws of the world1 and1 since those 
laws are intellectual and moral1 an     
intellectual and moral obedience4       
,political ,economy is as good a book   
wherein to read the life of man1 and the
 ascendency of laws over all private and
 hostile influences1 as any ,bible which
 has come down to us4  ,money is        
representative1 and follows the nature  
and fortunes of the owner4  ,the coin is
 a delicate meter of civil1 social1 and 
moral changes4  ,the farmer is covetous 

of his dollar1 and with reason4 ,it is  
no waif to him4  ,he knows how many     
strokes of labor it represents4  ,his   
bones ache with the day's work that     
earned it4  ,he knows how much land it  
represents2--how much rain1 frost1 and  
sunshine4  ,he knows that1 in the       
dollar1 he gives you so much discretion 
and patience1 so much hoeing1 and       
threshing4  ,try to lift his dollar2 you
 must lift all that weight4  ,in the    
city1 where money follows the skit of a 
pen1 or a lucky rise in exchange1 it    
comes to be looked on as light4  ,i wish
 the farmer held it dearer1 and would   
spend it only for real bread2 force for 
force4  ,the farmer's dollar is heavy1  
and the clerk's is light and nimble2    
leaps out of his pocket2 jumps on to    
cards and faro-tables3 but still more   
curious is its susceptibility to        
metaphysical changes4  ,it is the finest
 barometer of social storms1 and        
announces revolutions4  ,every step of  
civil advancement makes every man's     

dollar worth more4  ,in ,california1 the
 country where it grew1--what would it  
buy8  ,a few years since1 it would buy a
 shanty1 dysentery1 hunger1 bad company1
 and crime4 ,there are wide countries1  
like ,siberia1 where it would buy little
 else to-day1 than some petty mitigation
 of suffering4 ,in ,rome1 it will buy   
beauty and magnificence4 ,forty years   
ago1 a dollar would not buy much in     
,boston4  ,now it will buy a great deal 
more in our old town1 thanks to         
railroads1 telegraphs1 steamers1 and the
 contemporaneous growth of ,new ,york1  
and the whole country4  ,yet there are  
many goods appertaining to a capital    
city1 which are not yet purchasable     
here1 no1 not with a mountain of        
dollars4 ,a dollar in ,florida is not   
worth a dollar in ,massachusetts4  ,a   
dollar is not value1 but representative 
of value1 and1 at last1 of moral values4
  ,a dollar is rated for the corn it    
will buy1 or to speak strictly1 not for 
the corn or house-room1 but for         

,athenian corn1 and ,roman              
house-room1--for the wit1 probity1 and  
power1 which we eat bread and dwell in  
houses to share and exert4  ,wealth is  
mental2 wealth is moral4  ,the value of 
a dollar is1 to buy just things3 a      
dollar goes on increasing in value with 
all the genius1 and all the virtue of   
the world4  ,a dollar in a university1  
is worth more than a dollar in a jail2  
in a temperate1 schooled1 law-abiding   
community1 than in some sink of crime1  
where dice1 knives1 and arsenic1 are in 
constant play4  ,the ,bank-,note        
,detector is a useful publication4 ,but 
the current dollar1 silver or paper1 is 
itself the detector of the right and    
wrong where it circulates4  ,is it not  
instantly enhanced by the increase of   
equity8  ,if a trader refuses to sell   
his vote1 or adheres to some odious     
right1 he makes so much more equity in  
,massachusetts2 and every acre in the   
,state is more worth1 in the hour of his
 action4 ,if you take out of            

,state-street the ten honestest         
merchants1 and put in ten roguish       
persons1 controlling the same amount of 
capital1--the rates of insurance will   
indicate it2 the soundness of banks will
 show it3 the highways will be less     
secure3 the schools will feel it2 the   
children will bring home their little   
dose of the poison3 the judge will sit  
less firmly on the bench1 and his       
decisions be less upright2 he has lost  
so much support and constraint1--which  
all need2 and the pulpit will betray it1
 in a laxer rule of life4  ,an          
apple-tree1 if you take out every day   
for a number of days1 a load of loam1   
and put in a load of sand about its     
roots1--will find it out4  ,an          
apple-tree is a stupid kind of creature1
 but if this treatment be pursued for a 
short time1 ,i think it would begin to  
mistrust something4  ,and if you should 
take out of the powerful class engaged  
in trade a hundred good men1 and put in 
a hundred bad1 or1 what is just the same

 thing1 introduce a demoralizing        
institution1 would not the dollar1 which
 is not much stupider than an           
apple-tree1 presently find it out8  ,the
 value of a dollar is social1 as it is  
created by society4 ,every man who      
removes into this city1 with any        
purchasable talent or skill in him1     
gives to every man's labor in the city1 
a new worth4  ,if a talent is anywhere  
born into the world1 the community of   
nations is enriched2 and1 much more1    
with a new degree of probity4  ,the     
expense of crime1 one of the principal  
charges of every nation1 is so far      
stopped4  ,in ,europe1 crime is observed
 to increase or abate with the price of 
bread4  ,if the ,rothschilds at ,paris  
do not accept bills1 the people at      
,manchester1 at ,paisley1 at            
,birmingham1 are forced into the        
highway1 and landlords are shot down in 
,ireland4  ,the police records attest   
it4  ,the vibrations are presently felt 
in ,new ,york1 ,new ,orleans1 and       

,chicago4  ,not much otherwise1 the     
economical power touches the masses     
through the political lords4            
,rothschild refuses the ,russian loan1  
and there is peace1 and the harvests are
 saved4  ,he takes it1 and there is war1
 and an agitation through a large       
portion of mankind1 with every hideous  
result1 ending in revolution1 and a new 
order4  ,wealth brings with it its own  
checks and balances4  ,the basis of     
political economy is non-interference4  
,the only safe rule is found in the     
self-adjusting meter of demand and      
supply4  ,do not legislate4 ,meddle1 and
 you snap the sinews with your sumptuary
 laws4  ,give no bounties3 make equal   
laws3 secure life and property1 and you 
need not give alms4  ,open the doors of 
opportunity to talent and virtue1 and   
they will do themselves justice1 and    
property will not be in bad hands4 ,in a
 free and just commonwealth1 property   
rushes from the idle and imbecile1 to   
the industrious1 brave1 and persevering4

  ,the laws of nature play through      
trade1 as a toy-battery exhibits the    
effects of electricity4  ,the level of  
the sea is not more surely kept1 than is
 the equilibrium of value in society1 by
 the demand and supply3 and artifice or 
legislation punishes itself1 by         
reactions1 gluts1 and bankruptcies4     
,the sublime laws play indifferently    
through atoms and galaxies4 ,whoever    
knows what happens in the getting and   
spending of a loaf of bread and a pint  
of beer2 that no wishing will change the
 rigorous limits of pints and penny     
loaves2 that1 for all that is consumed1 
so much less remains in the basket and  
pot2 but what is gone out of these is   
not wasted1 but well spent1 if it       
nourish his body1 and enable him to     
finish his task2--knows all of political
 economy that the budgets of empires can
 teach him4  ,the interest of petty     
economy is this symbolization of the    
great economy2 the way in which a house1
 and a private man's methods1 tally with

 the solar system1 and the laws of give 
and take1 throughout nature2 and1       
however wary we are of the falsehoods   
and petty tricks which we suicidally    
play off on each other1 every man has a 
certain satisfaction1 whenever his      
dealing touches on the inevitable facts2
 when he sees that things themselves    
dictate the price1 as they always tend  
to do1 and1 in large manufactures1 are  
seen to do4 ,your paper is not fine or  
coarse enough1--is too heavy1 or too    
thin4 ,the manufacturer says1 he will   
furnish you with just that thickness or 
thinness you want2 the pattern is quite 
indifferent to him2 here is his         
schedule2--any variety of paper1 as     
cheaper or dearer1 with the prices      
annexed4  ,a pound of paper costs so    
much1 and you may have it made up in any
 pattern you fancy4  ,there is in all   
our dealings a self-regulation that     
supersedes chaffering4  ,you will rent a
 house1 but must have it cheap4  ,the   
owner can reduce the rent1 but so he    

incapacitates himself from making proper
 repairs1 and the tenant gets not the   
house he would have1 but a worse one2   
besides1 that a relation a little       
injurious is established between        
landlord and tenant4  ,you dismiss your 
laborer1 saying1 ,patrick1 ,i shall send
 for you as soon as ,i cannot do without
 you4  ,patrick goes off contented1 for 
he knows that the weeds will grow with  
the potatoes1 the vines must be planted1
 next week1 and1 however unwilling you  
may be1 the cantelopes1 crook-necks1 and
 cucumbers will send for him4  ,who but 
must wish that all labor and value      
should stand on the same simple and     
surly market8  ,if it is the best of its
 kind1 it will4  ,we must have joiner1  
locksmith1 planter1 priest1 poet1       
doctor1 cook1 weaver1 ostler2 each in   
turn1 through the year4  ,if a ,st4     
,michael's pear sells for a shilling1 it
 costs a shilling to raise it4  ,if1 in 
,boston1 the best securities offer      
twelve per cent4 for money1 they have   

just six per cent4 of insecurity4  ,you 
may not see that the fine pear costs you
 a shilling1 but it costs the community 
so much4  ,the shilling represents the  
number of enemies the pear has1 and the 
amount of risk in ripening it4  ,the    
price of coal shows the narrowness of   
the coal-field1 and a compulsory        
confinement of the miners to a certain  
district4  ,all salaries are reckoned on
 contingent1 as well as on actual       
services4  ,if the wind were always     
southwest by west1 said the skipper1    
women might take ships to sea4  ,one    
might say1 that all things are of one   
price2 that nothing is cheap or dear2   
and that the apparent disparities that  
strike us1 are only a shopman's trick of
 concealing the damage in your bargain4 
,a youth coming into the city from his  
native ,new ,hampshire farm1 with its   
hard fare still fresh in his            
remembrance1 boards at a first-class    
hotel1 and believes he must somehow have
 outwitted ,dr4 ,franklin and ,malthus1 

for luxuries are cheap4 ,but he pays for
 the one convenience of a better dinner1
 by the loss of some of the richest     
social and educational advantages4  ,he 
has lost what guards6 what incentives6  
,he will perhaps find by and by1 that he
 left the ,muses at the door of the     
hotel1 and found the ,furies inside4    
,money often costs too much1 and power  
and pleasure are not cheap4  ,the       
ancient poet said1 the gods sell all    
things at a fair price4  ,there is an   
example of the compensations in the     
commercial history of this country4     
,when the ,european wars threw the      
carrying-trade of the world1 from #ahjj 
to #ahab1 into ,american bottoms1 a     
seizure was now and then made of an     
,american ship4  ,of course1 the loss   
was serious to the owner1 but the       
country was indemnified2 for we charged 
threepence a pound for carrying cotton1 
sixpence for tobacco1 and so on2 which  
paid for the risk and loss1 and brought 
into the country an immense prosperity1 

early marriages1 private wealth1 the    
building of cities1 and of states3 and1 
after the war was over1 we received     
compensation over and above1 by treaty1 
for all the seizures4  ,well1 the       
,americans grew rich and great4  ,but   
the pay-day comes round4  ,britain1     
,france1 and ,germany1 which our        
extraordinary profits had impoverished1 
send out1 attracted by the fame of our  
advantages1 first their thousands1 then 
their millions1 of poor people1 to share
 the crop4 ,at first1 we employ them1   
and increase our prosperity3 but1 in the
 artificial system of society and of    
protected labor1 which we also have     
adopted and enlarged1 there come        
presently checks and stoppages4  ,then  
we refuse to employ these poor men4 ,but
 they will not so be answered4  ,they go
 into the poor rates1 and1 though we    
refuse wages1 we must now pay the same  
amount in the form of taxes4  ,again1 it
 turns out that the largest proportion  
of crimes are committed by foreigners4  

,the cost of the crime1 and the expense 
of courts1 and of prisons1 we must bear1
 and the standing army of preventive    
police we must pay4  ,the cost of       
education of the posterity of this great
 colony1 ,i will not compute4  ,but the 
gross amount of these costs will begin  
to pay back what we thought was a net   
gain from our transatlantic customers of
 #ahjj4 ,it is vain to refuse this      
payment4  ,we cannot get rid of these   
people1 and we cannot get rid of their  
will to be supported4  ,that has become 
an inevitable element of our politics2  
and1 for their votes1 each of the       
dominant parties courts and assists them
 to get it executed4  ,moreover1 we have
 to pay1 not what would have contented  
them at home1 but what they have learned
 to think necessary here2 so that       
opinion1 fancy1 and all manner of moral 
considerations complicate the problem4  
,there are a few measures of economy    
which will bear to be named without     
disgust2 for the subject is tender1 and 

we may easily have too much of it2 and  
therein resembles the hideous           
animalcules of which our bodies are     
built up1--which1 offensive in the      
particular1 yet compose valuable and    
effective masses4  ,our nature and      
genius force us to respect ends1 whilst 
we use means4  ,we must use the means1  
and yet1 in our most accurate using1    
somehow screen and cloak them1 as we can
 only give them any beauty1 by a        
reflection of the glory of the end4     
,that is the good head1 which serves the
 end1 and commands the means4  ,the     
rabble are corrupted by their means3 the
 means are too strong for them1 and they
 desert their end4  #a4 ,the first of   
these measures is that each man's       
expense must proceed from his character4
  ,as long as your genius buys1 the     
investment is safe1 though you spend    
like a monarch4  ,nature arms each man  
with some faculty which enables him to  
do easily some feat impossible to any   
other1 and thus makes him necessary to  

society4  ,this native determination    
guides his labor and his spending4  ,he 
wants an equipment of means and tools   
proper to his talent4  ,and to save on  
this point1 were to neutralize the      
special strength and helpfulness of each
 mind4 ,do your work1 respecting the    
excellence of the work1 and not its     
acceptableness4  ,this is so much       
economy1 that1 rightly read1 it is the  
sum of economy4  ,profligacy consists   
not in spending years of time or chests 
of money1--but in spending them off the 
line of your career4  ,the crime which  
bankrupts men and states1 is1           
job-work2--declining from your main     
design1 to serve a turn here or there4  
,nothing is beneath you1 if it is in the
 direction of your life3 nothing is     
great or desirable1 if it is off from   
that4  ,i think we are entitled here to 
draw a straight line1 and say1 that     
society can never prosper1 but must     
always be bankrupt1 until every man does
 that which he was created to do4       

,spend for your expense1 and retrench   
the expense which is not yours4         
,allston1 the painter1 was wont to say1 
that he built a plain house1 and filled 
it with plain furniture1 because he     
would hold out no bribe to any to visit 
him1 who had not similar tastes to his  
own4  ,we are sympathetic1 and1 like    
children1 want everything we see4  ,but 
it is a large stride to                 
independence1--when a man1 in the       
discovery of his proper talent1 has sunk
 the necessity for false expenses4  ,as 
the betrothed maiden1 by one secure     
affection1 is relieved from a system of 
slaveries1--the daily inculcated        
necessity of pleasing all1--so the man  
who has found what he can do1 can spend 
on that1 and leave all other spending4  
,montaigne said1 ,when he was a younger 
brother1 he went brave in dress and     
equipage1 but afterward his chateau and 
farms might answer for him4  ,let a man 
who belongs to the class of nobles1     
those1 namely1 who have found out that  

they can do something1 relieve himself  
of all vague squandering on objects not 
his4  ,let the realist not mind         
appearances4  ,let him delegate to      
others the costly courtesies and        
decorations of social life4  ,the       
virtues are economists1 but some of the 
vices are also4 ,thus1 next to humility1
 ,i have noticed that pride is a pretty 
good husband4  ,a good pride is1 as ,i  
reckon it1 worth from five hundred to   
fifteen hundred a year4  ,pride is      
handsome1 economical3 pride eradicates  
so many vices1 letting none subsist but 
itself1 that it seems as if it were a   
great gain to exchange vanity for pride4
  ,pride can go without domestics1      
without fine clothes1 can live in a     
house with two rooms1 can eat potato1   
purslain1 beans1 lyed corn1 can work on 
the soil1 can travel afoot1 can talk    
with poor men1 or sit silent            
well-contented in fine saloons4  ,but   
vanity costs money1 labor1 horses1 men1 
women1 health1 and peace1 and is still  

nothing at last1 a long way leading     
nowhere4--,only one drawback2 proud     
people are intolerably selfish1 and the 
vain are gentle and giving4  ,art is a  
jealous mistress1 and1 if a man have a  
genius for painting1 poetry1 music1     
architecture1 or philosophy1 he makes a 
bad husband1 and an ill provider1 and   
should be wise in season1 and not fetter
 himself with duties which will embitter
 his days1 and spoil him for his proper 
work4  ,we had in this region1 twenty   
years ago1 among our educated men1 a    
sort of ,arcadian fanaticism1 a         
passionate desire to go upon the land1  
and unite farming to intellectual       
pursuits4  ,many effected their purpose1
 and made the experiment1 and some      
became downright ploughmen2 but all were
 cured of their faith that scholarship  
and practical farming1 7,i mean1 with   
one's own hands17 could be united4      
,with brow bent1 with firm intent1 the  
pale scholar leaves his desk to draw a  
freer breath1 and get a juster statement

 of his thought1 in the garden-walk4 ,he
 stoops to pull up a purslain1 or a     
dock1 that is choking the young corn1   
and finds there are two3 close behind   
the last1 is a third2 he reaches out his
 hand to a fourth2 behind that1 are four
 thousand and one4  ,he is heated and   
untuned1 and1 by and by1 wakes up from  
his idiot dream of chickweed and        
red-root1 to remember his morning       
thought1 and to find1 that1 with his    
adamantine purposes1 he has been duped  
by a dandelion4  ,a garden is like those
 pernicious machineries we read of1     
every month1 in the newspapers1 which   
catch a man's coat-skirt or his hand1   
and draw in his arm1 his leg1 and his   
whole body to irresistible destruction4 
,in an evil hour he pulled down his     
wall1 and added a field to his          
homestead4  ,no land is bad1 but land is
 worse4  ,if a man own land1 the land   
owns him4 ,now let him leave home1 if he
 dare4 ,every tree and graft1 every hill
 of melons1 row of corn1 or quickset    

hedge1 all he has done1 and all he means
 to do1 stand in his way1 like duns1    
when he would go out of his gate4  ,the 
devotion to these vines and trees he    
finds poisonous4  ,long free walks1 a   
circuit of miles1 free his brain1 and   
serve his body4 ,long marches are no    
hardship to him4  ,he believes he       
composes easily on the hills4  ,but this
 pottering in a few square yards of     
garden is dispiriting and drivelling4   
,the smell of the plants has drugged    
him1 and robbed him of energy4  ,he     
finds a catalepsy in his bones4  ,he    
grows peevish and poor-spirited4  ,the  
genius of reading and of gardening are  
antagonistic1 like resinous and vitreous
 electricity4  ,one is concentrative in 
sparks and shocks3 the other is diffuse 
strength2 so that each disqualifies its 
workman for the other's duties4  ,an    
engraver whose hands must be of an      
exquisite delicacy of stroke1 should not
 lay stone walls4  ,sir ,david ,brewster
 gives exact instructions for           

microscopic observation3--,lie down on  
your back1 and hold the single lens and 
object over your eye1 c4 c4  ,how much  
more the seeker of abstract truth1 who  
needs periods of isolation1 and rapt    
concentration1 and almost a going out of
 the body to think6  #b4 ,spend after   
your genius1 and by system4 ,nature goes
 by rule1 not by sallies and saltations4
 ,there must be system in the economies4
  ,saving and unexpensiveness will not  
keep the most pathetic family from ruin1
 nor will bigger incomes make free      
spending safe4  ,the secret of success  
lies never in the amount of money1 but  
in the relation of income to outgo2 as  
if1 after expense has been fixed at a   
certain point1 then new and steady rills
 of income1 though never so small1 being
 added1 wealth begins4  ,but in         
ordinary1 as means increase1 spending   
increases faster1 so that1 large        
incomes1 in ,england and elsewhere1 are 
found not to help matters2--the eating  
quality of debt does not relax its      

voracity4  ,when the cholera is in the  
potato1 what is the use of planting     
larger crops8 ,in ,england1 the richest 
country in the universe1 ,i was assured 
by shrewd observers1 that great lords   
and ladies had no more guineas to give  
away than other people2 that liberality 
with money is as rare1 and as           
immediately famous a virtue as it is    
here4  ,want is a growing giant whom the
 coat of ,have was never large enough to
 cover4  ,i remember in ,warwickshire1  
to have been shown a fair manor1 still  
in the same name as in ,shakspeare's    
time4  ,the rent-roll1 ,i was told1 is  
some fourteen thousand pounds a year3   
but1 when the second son of the late    
proprietor was born1 the father was     
perplexed how to provide for him4  ,the 
eldest son must inherit the manor2 what 
to do with this supernumerary8  ,he was 
advised to breed him for the ,church1   
and to settle him in the rectorship1    
which was in the gift of the family2    
which was done4  ,it is a general rule  

in that country1 that bigger incomes do 
not help anybody4 ,it is commonly       
observed1 that a sudden wealth1 like a  
prize drawn in a lottery1 or a large    
bequest to a poor family1 does not      
permanently enrich4  ,they have served  
no apprenticeship to wealth1 and1 with  
the rapid wealth1 come rapid claims3    
which they do not know how to deny1 and 
the treasure is quickly dissipated4  ,a 
system must be in every economy1 or the 
best single expedients are of no avail4 
,a farm is a good thing1 when it begins 
and ends with itself1 and does not need 
a salary1 or a shop1 to eke it out4     
,thus1 the cattle are a main link in the
 chain-ring4 ,if the non-conformist or  
aesthetic farmer leaves out the cattle1 
and does not also leave out the want    
which the cattle must supply1 he must   
fill the gap by begging or stealing4    
,when men now alive were born1 the farm 
yielded everything that was consumed on 
it4  ,the farm yielded no money1 and the
 farmer got on without4  ,if he fell    

sick1 his neighbors came in to his aid3 
each gave a day's work2 or a half day2  
or lent his yoke of oxen1 or his horse1 
and kept his work even3 hoed his        
potatoes1 mowed his hay1 reaped his rye2
 well knowing that no man could afford  
to hire labor1 without selling his land4
  ,in autumn1 a farmer could sell an ox 
or a hog1 and get a little money to pay 
taxes withal4 ,now1 the farmer buys     
almost all he consumes1--tin-ware1      
cloth1 sugar1 tea1 coffee1 fish1 coal1  
railroad-tickets1 and newspapers4  ,a   
master in each art is required1 because 
the practice is never with still or dead
 subjects1 but they change in your      
hands4  ,you think farm-buildings and   
broad acres a solid property3 but its   
value is flowing like water4  ,it       
requires as much watching as if you were
 decanting wine from a cask4 ,the farmer
 knows what to do with it1 stops every  
leak1 turns all the streamlets to one   
reservoir1 and decants wine3 but a      
blunderhead comes out of ,cornhill1     

tries his hand1 and it all leaks away4  
,so is it with granite streets1 or      
timber townships1 as with fruit or      
flowers4  ,nor is any investment so     
permanent1 that it can be allowed to    
remain without incessant watching1 as   
the history of each attempt to lock up  
an inheritance through two generations  
for an unborn inheritor may show4  ,when
 ,mr4 ,cockayne takes a cottage in the  
country1 and will keep his cow1 he      
thinks a cow is a creature that is fed  
on hay1 and gives a pail of milk twice a
 day4  ,but the cow that he buys gives  
milk for three months2 then her bag     
dries up4  ,what to do with a dry cow8  
who will buy her8 ,perhaps he bought    
also a yoke of oxen to do his work2 but 
they get blown and lame4  ,what to do   
with blown and lame oxen8  ,the farmer  
fats his1 after the spring-work is done1
 and kills them in the fall4 ,but how   
can ,cockayne1 who has no pastures1 and 
leaves his cottage daily in the cars1 at
 business hours1 be pothered with       

fatting and killing oxen8 ,he plants    
trees2 but there must be crops1 to keep 
the trees in ploughed land4 ,what shall 
be the crops8  ,he will have nothing to 
do with trees1 but will have grass4     
,after a year or two1 the grass must be 
turned up and ploughed3 now what crops8 
,credulous ,cockayne6  #c4 ,help comes  
in the custom of the country1 and the   
rule of ,impera parendo4  ,the rule is  
not to dictate1 nor to insist on        
carrying out each of your schemes by    
ignorant wilfulness1 but to learn       
practically the secret spoken from all  
nature1 that things themselves refuse to
 be mismanaged1 and will show to the    
watchful their own law4  ,nobody need   
stir hand or foot4  ,the custom of the  
country will do it all4  ,i know not how
 to build or to plant2 neither how to   
buy wood1 nor what to do with the       
house-lot1 the field1 or the wood-lot1  
when bought4  ,never fear3 it is all    
settled how it shall be1 long           
beforehand1 in the custom of the        

country1 whether to sand1 or whether to 
clay it1 when to plough1 and how to     
dress1 whether to grass1 or to corn2 and
 you cannot help or hinder it4  ,nature 
has her own best mode of doing each     
thing1 and she has somewhere told it    
plainly1 if we will keep our eyes and   
ears open4 ,if not1 she will not be slow
 in undeceiving us1 when we prefer our  
own way to hers4  ,how often we must    
remember the art of the surgeon1 which1 
in replacing the broken bone1 contents  
itself with releasing the parts from    
false position2 they fly into place by  
the action of the muscles4 ,on this art 
of nature all our arts rely4  ,of the   
two eminent engineers in the recent     
construction of railways in ,england1   
,mr4 ,brunel went straight from terminus
 to terminus1 through mountains1 over   
streams1 crossing highways1 cutting     
ducal estates in two1 and shooting      
through this man's cellar1 and that     
man's attic window1 and so arriving at  
his end1 at great pleasure to geometers1

 but with cost to his company4  ,mr4    
,stephenson1 on the contrary1 believing 
that the river knows the way1 followed  
his valley1 as implicitly as our        
,western ,railroad follows the          
,westfield ,river1 and turned out to be 
the safest and cheapest engineer4  ,we  
say the cows laid out ,boston4  ,well1  
there are worse surveyors4  ,every      
pedestrian in our pastures has frequent 
occasion to thank the cows for cutting  
the best path through the thicket1 and  
over the hills3 and travellers and      
,indians know the value of a            
buffalo-trail1 which is sure to be the  
easiest possible pass through the ridge4
  ,when a citizen1 fresh from           
,dock-square1 or ,milk-street1 comes out
 and buys land in the country1 his first
 thought is to a fine outlook from his  
windows3 his library must command a     
western view3 a sunset every day1       
bathing the shoulder of ,blue ,hills1   
,wachusett1 and the peaks of ,monadnoc  
and ,uncanoonuc4  ,what1 thirty acres1  

and all this magnificence for fifteen   
hundred dollars6  ,it would be cheap at 
fifty thousand4  ,he proceeds at once1  
his eyes dim with tears of joy1 to fix  
the spot for his corner-stone4  ,but the
 man who is to level the ground1 thinks 
it will take many hundred loads of      
gravel to fill the hollow to the road4  
,the stonemason who should build the    
well thinks he shall have to dig forty  
feet3 the baker doubts he shall never   
like to drive up to the door3 the       
practical neighbor cavils at the        
position of the barn2 and the citizen   
comes to know that his predecessor the  
farmer built the house in the right spot
 for the sun and wind1 the spring1 and  
water-drainage1 and the convenience to  
the pasture1 the garden1 the field1 and 
the road4  ,so ,dock-square yields the  
point1 and things have their own way4   
,use has made the farmer wise1 and the  
foolish citizen learns to take his      
counsel4  ,from step to step he comes at
 last to surrender at discretion4 ,the  

farmer affects to take his orders2 but  
the citizen says1 ,you may ask me as    
often as you will1 and in what ingenious
 forms1 for an opinion concerning the   
mode of building my wall1 or sinking my 
well1 or laying out my acre1 but the    
ball will rebound to you4  ,these are   
matters on which ,i neither know1 nor   
need to know anything4  ,these are      
questions which you and not ,i shall    
answer4  ,not less1 within doors1 a     
system settles itself paramount and     
tyrannical over master and mistress1    
servant and child1 cousin and           
acquaintance4 ',tis in vain that genius 
or virtue or energy of character strive 
and cry against it4  ,this is fate4     
,and 'tis very well that the poor       
husband reads in a book of a new way of 
living1 and resolves to adopt it at     
home3 let him go home and try it1 if he 
dare4  #d4 ,another point of economy is 
to look for seed of the same kind as you
 sow3 and not to hope to buy one kind   
with another kind4  ,friendship buys    

friendship2 justice1 justice2 military  
merit1 military success4  ,good         
husbandry finds wife1 children1 and     
household4  ,the good merchant large    
gains1 ships1 stocks1 and money4  ,the  
good poet fame1 and literary credit2 but
 not either1 the ether4 ,yet there is   
commonly a confusion of expectations on 
these points4  ,hotspur lives for the   
moment2 praises himself for it2 and     
despises ,furlong1 that he does not4    
,hotspur1 of course1 is poor2 and       
,furlong a good provider4  ,the odd     
circumstance is1 that ,hotspur thinks it
 a superiority in himself1 this         
improvidence1 which ought to be rewarded
 with ,furlong's lands4  ,i have not at 
all completed my design4  ,but we must  
not leave the topic1 without casting one
 glance into the interior recesses4  ,it
 is a doctrine of philosophy1 that man  
is a being of degrees2 that there is    
nothing in the world1 which is not      
repeated in his body2 his body being a  
sort of miniature or summary of the     

world3 then that there is nothing in his
 body1 which is not repeated as in a    
celestial sphere in his mind3 then1     
there is nothing in his brain1 which is 
not repeated in a higher sphere1 in his 
moral system4  #e4 ,now these things are
 so in ,nature4  ,all things ascend1 and
 the royal rule of economy is1 that it  
should ascend also1 or1 whatever we do  
must always have a higher aim4  ,thus it
 is a maxim1 that money is another kind 
of blood4  ,pecunia alter sanguis3 or1  
the estate of a man is only a larger    
kind of body1 and admits of regimen     
analogous to his bodily circulations4   
,so there is no maxim of the merchant1  
e4g41 ,best use of money is to pay      
debts2 ,every business by itself2 ,best 
time is present time2 ,the right        
investment is in tools of your trade2 or
 the like1 which does not admit of an   
extended sense4  ,the counting-room     
maxims liberally expounded are laws of  
the ,universe4  ,the merchant's economy 
is a coarse symbol of the soul's        

economy4  ,it is1 to spend for power1   
and not for pleasure4  ,it is to invest 
income2 that is to say1 to take up      
particulars into generals2 days into    
integral eras1--literary1 emotive1      
practical1 of its life1 and still to    
ascend in its investment4 ,the merchant 
has but one rule1 absorb and invest3 he 
is to be capitalist3 the scraps and     
filings must be gathered back into the  
crucible2 the gas and smoke must be     
burned1 and earnings must not go to     
increase expense1 but to capital again4 
,well1 the man must be capitalist4      
,will he spend his income1 or will he   
invest8  ,his body and every organ is   
under the same law4  ,his body is a jar1
 in which the liquor of life is stored4 
,will he spend for pleasure8  ,the way  
to ruin is short and facile4  ,will he  
not spend1 but hoard for power8  ,it    
passes through the sacred fermentations1
 by that law of ,nature whereby         
everything climbs to higher platforms1  
and bodily vigor becomes mental and     

moral vigor4  ,the bread he eats is     
first strength and animal spirits3 it   
becomes1 in higher laboratories1 imagery
 and thought2 and in still higher       
results1 courage and endurance4  ,this  
is the right compound interest2 this is 
capital doubled1 quadrupled1 centupled2 
man raised to his highest power4  ,the  
true thrift is always to spend on the   
higher plane2 to invest and invest1 with
 keener avarice1 that he may spend in   
spiritual creation1 and not in          
augmenting animal existence4  ,nor is   
the man enriched1 in repeating the old  
experiments of animal sensation1 nor    
unless through new powers and ascending 
pleasures1 he knows himself by the      
actual experience of higher good1 to be 
already on the way to the highest4      
,,iv4                                   
,,culture       ,can rules or tutors    
educate     ,the semigod whom we await8 
,he must be musical1     ,tremulous1    
impressional1     ,alive to gentle      
influence     ,of landscape and of sky1 

,and tender to the spirit-touch     ,of 
man's or maiden's eye3     ,but1 to his 
native centre fast1     ,shall into     
,future fuse the ,past1     ,and the    
world's flowing fates in his own mould  
recast4                                 
,,culture4   ,the word of ambition at   
the present day is ,culture4  ,whilst   
all the world is in pursuit of power1   
and of wealth as a means of power1      
culture corrects the theory of success4 
,a man is the prisoner of his power4  ,a
 topical memory makes him an almanac2 a 
talent for debate1 a disputant2 skill to
 get money makes him a miser1 that is1 a
 beggar4  ,culture reduces these        
inflammations by invoking the aid of    
other powers against the dominant       
talent1 and by appealing to the rank of 
powers4  ,it watches success4  ,for     
performance1 ,nature has no mercy1 and  
sacrifices the performer to get it done2
 makes a dropsy or a tympany of him4    
,if she wants a thumb1 she makes one at 
the cost of arms and legs1 and any      

excess of power in one part is usually  
paid for at once by some defect in a    
contiguous part4  ,our efficiency       
depends so much on our concentration1   
that ,nature usually in the instances   
where a marked man is sent into the     
world1 overloads him with bias1         
sacrificing his symmetry to his working 
power4  ,it is said1 no man can write   
but one book2 and if a man have a       
defect1 it is apt to leave its          
impression on all his performances4  ,if
 she creates a policeman like ,fouche1  
he is made up of suspicions and of plots
 to circumvent them4  ,the air1 said    
,fouche1 is full of poniards4  ,the     
physician ,sanctorius spent his life in 
a pair of scales1 weighing his food4    
,lord ,coke valued ,chaucer highly1     
because the ,canon ,yeman's ,tale       
illustrates the statute ,hen4 ,v4 ,chap4
 #d1 against alchemy4  ,i saw a man who 
believed the principal mischiefs in the 
,english state were derived from the    
devotion to musical concerts4  ,a       

freemason1 not long since1 set out to   
explain to this country1 that the       
principal cause of the success of       
,general ,washington1 was1 the aid he   
derived from the freemasons4  ,but worse
 than the harping on one string1 ,nature
 has secured individualism1 by giving   
the private person a high conceit of his
 weight in the system4 ,the pest of     
society is egotists4  ,there are dull   
and bright1 sacred and profane1 coarse  
and fine egotists4 ',tis a disease that1
 like influenza1 falls on all           
constitutions4  ,in the distemper known 
to physicians as chorea1 the patient    
sometimes turns round1 and continues to 
spin slowly on one spot4  ,is egotism a 
metaphysical varioloid of this malady8  
,the man runs round a ring formed by his
 own talent1 falls into an admiration of
 it1 and loses relation to the world4   
,it is a tendency in all minds4  ,one of
 its annoying forms1 is a craving for   
sympathy4  ,the sufferers parade their  
miseries1 tear the lint from their      

bruises1 reveal their indictable crimes1
 that you may pity them4 ,they like     
sickness1 because physical pain will    
extort some show of interest from the   
bystanders1 as we have seen children1   
who1 finding themselves of no account   
when grown people come in1 will cough   
till they choke1 to draw attention4     
,this distemper is the scourge of       
talent1--of artists1 inventors1 and     
philosophers4  ,eminent spiritualists   
shall have an incapacity of putting     
their act or word aloof from them1 and  
seeing it bravely for the nothing it is4
  ,beware of the man who says1 ,i am on 
the eve of a revelation4 ,it is speedily
 punished1 inasmuch as this habit       
invites men to humor it1 and by treating
 the patient tenderly1 to shut him up in
 a narrower selfism1 and exclude him    
from the great world of ,god's cheerful 
fallible men and women4  ,let us rather 
be insulted1 whilst we are insultable4  
,religious literature has eminent       
examples1 and if we run over our private

 list of poets1 critics1                
philanthropists1 and philosophers1 we   
shall find them infected with this      
dropsy and elephantiasis1 which we ought
 to have tapped4  ,this goitre of       
egotism is so frequent among notable    
persons1 that we must infer some strong 
necessity in nature which it subserves2 
such as we see in the sexual attraction4
  ,the preservation of the species was a
 point of such necessity1 that ,nature  
has secured it at all hazards by        
immensely overloading the passion1 at   
the risk of perpetual crime and order4  
,so egotism has its root in the cardinal
 necessity by which each individual     
persists to be what he is4  ,this       
individuality is not only not           
inconsistent with culture1 but is the   
basis of it4  ,every valuable nature is 
there in its own right1 and the student 
we speak to must have a motherwit       
invincible by his culture1 which uses   
all books1 arts1 facilities1 and        
elegancies of intercourse1 but is never 

subdued and lost in them4  ,he only is a
 well-made man who has a good           
determination4  ,and the end of culture 
is not to destroy this1 ,god forbid6 but
 to train away all impediment and       
mixture1 and leave nothing but pure     
power4  ,our student must have a style  
and determination1 and be a master in   
his own specialty4 ,but1 having this1 he
 must put it behind him4  ,he must have 
a catholicity1 a power to see with a    
free and disengaged look every object4  
,yet is this private interest and self  
so overcharged1 that1 if a man seeks a  
companion who can look at objects for   
their own sake1 and without affection or
 self-reference1 he will find the fewest
 who will give him that satisfaction2   
whilst most men are afflicted with a    
coldness1 an incuriosity1 as soon as any
 object does not connect with their     
self-love4  ,though they talk of the    
object before them1 they are thinking of
 themselves1 and their vanity is laying 
little traps for your admiration4  ,but 

after a man has discovered that there   
are limits to the interest which his    
private history has for mankind1 he     
still converses with his family1 or a   
few companions1--perhaps with half a    
dozen personalities that are famous in  
his neighborhood4  ,in ,boston1 the     
question of life is the names of some   
eight or ten men4  ,have you seen ,mr4  
,allston1 ,doctor ,channing1 ,mr4       
,adams1 ,mr4 ,webster1 ,mr4 ,greenough8 
,have you heard ,everett1 ,garrison1    
,father ,taylor1 ,theodore ,parker8     
,have you talked with ,messieurs        
,turbinewheel1 ,summitlevel1 and        
,lacofrupees8  ,then you may as well    
die4  ,in ,new ,york1 the question is of
 some other eight1 or ten1 or twenty4   
,have you seen a few lawyers1 merchants1
 and brokers1--two or three scholars1   
two or three capitalists1 two or three  
editors of newspapers8  ,new ,york is a 
sucked orange4  ,all conversation is at 
an end1 when we have discharged         
ourselves of a dozen personalities1     

domestic or imported1 which make up our 
,american existence4 ,nor do we expect  
anybody to be other than a faint copy of
 these heroes4  ,life is very narrow4   
,bring any club or company of           
intelligent men together again after ten
 years1 and if the presence of some     
penetrating and calming genius could    
dispose them to frankness1 what a       
confession of insanities would come up6 
,the causes to which we have sacrificed1
 ,tariff or ,democracy1 ,whigism or     
,abolition1 ,temperance or ,socialism1  
would show like roots of bitterness and 
dragons of wrath3 and our talents are as
 mischievous as if each had been seized 
upon by some bird of prey1 which had    
whisked him away from fortune1 from     
truth1 from the dear society of the     
poets1 some zeal1 some bias1 and only   
when he was1 now gray and nerveless1 was
 it relaxing its claws1 and he awaking  
to sober perceptions4  ,culture is the  
suggestion from certain best thoughts1  
that a man has a range of affinities1   

through which he can modulate the       
violence of any master-tones that have a
 droning preponderance in his scale1 and
 succor him against himself4  ,culture  
redresses his balance1 puts him among   
his equals and superiors1 revives the   
delicious sense of sympathy1 and warns  
him of the dangers of solitude and      
repulsion4  ',tis not a compliment but a
 disparagement to consult a man only on 
horses1 or on steam1 or on theatres1 or 
on eating1 or on books1 and1 whenever he
 appears1 considerately to turn the     
conversation to the bantling he is known
 to fondle4  ,in the ,norse heaven of   
our forefathers1 ,thor's house had five 
hundred and forty floors2 and man's     
house has five hundred and forty floors4
  ,his excellence is facility of        
adaptation and of transition through    
many related points1 to wide contrasts  
and extremes4  ,culture kills his       
exaggeration1 his conceit of his village
 or his city4  ,we must leave our pets  
at home1 when we go into the street1 and

 meet men on broad grounds of good      
meaning and good sense4 ,no performance 
is worth loss of geniality4  ',tis a    
cruel price we pay for certain fancy    
goods called fine arts and philosophy4  
,in the ,norse legend1 ,allfadir did not
 get a drink of ,mimir's spring1 7the   
fountain of wisdom17 until he left his  
eye in pledge4  ,and here is a pedant   
that cannot unfold his wrinkles1 nor    
conceal his wrath at interruption by the
 best1 if their conversation do not fit 
his impertinency1--here is he to afflict
 us with his personalities4  ',tis      
incident to scholars1 that each of them 
fancies he is pointedly odious in his   
community4 ,draw him out of this limbo  
of irritability4 ,cleanse with healthy  
blood his parchment skin4 ,you restore  
to him his eyes which he left in pledge 
at ,mimir's spring4  ,if you are the    
victim of your doing1 who cares what you
 do8  ,we can spare your opera1 your    
gazetteer1 your chemic analysis1 your   
history1 your syllogisms4  ,your man of 

genius pays dear for his distinction4   
,his head runs up into a spire1 and     
instead of a healthy man1 merry and     
wise1 he is some mad dominie4  ,nature  
is reckless of the individual4  ,when   
she has points to carry1 she carries    
them4  ,to wade in marshes and          
sea-margins is the destiny of certain   
birds1 and they are so accurately made  
for this1 that they are imprisoned in   
those places4 ,each animal out of its   
habitat would starve4  ,to the          
physician1 each man1 each woman1 is an  
amplification of one organ4  ,a soldier1
 a locksmith1 a bank-clerk1 and a dancer
 could not exchange functions4  ,and    
thus we are victims of adaptation4  ,the
 antidotes against this organic egotism1
 are1 the range and variety of          
attractions1 as gained by acquaintance  
with the world1 with men of merit1 with 
classes of society1 with travel1 with   
eminent persons1 and with the high      
resources of philosophy1 art1 and       
religion3 books1 travel1 society1       

solitude4  ,the hardiest skeptic who has
 seen a horse broken1 a pointer trained1
 or1 who has visited a menagerie1 or the
 exhibition of the ,industrious ,fleas1 
will not deny the validity of education4
  ,a boy1 says ,plato1 is the most      
vicious of all wild beasts2 and1 in the 
same spirit1 the old ,english poet      
,gascoigne says1 a boy is better unborn 
than untaught4 ,the city breeds one kind
 of speech and manners2 the back-country
 a different style2 the sea1 another2   
the army1 a fourth4  ,we know that an   
army which can be confided in1 may be   
formed by discipline2 that1 by          
systematic discipline all men may be    
made heroes3 ,marshal ,lannes said to a 
,french officer1 ,know1 ,colonel1 that  
none but a poltroon will boast that he  
never was afraid4  ,a great part of     
courage is the courage of having done   
the thing before4  ,and1 in all human   
action1 those faculties will be strong  
which are used4  ,robert ,owen said1    
,give me a tiger1 and ,i will educate   

him4  ',tis inhuman to want faith in the
 power of education1 since to meliorate1
 is the law of nature2 and men are      
valued precisely as they exert onward or
 meliorating force4  ,on the other hand1
 poltroonery is the acknowledging an    
inferiority to be incurable4            
,incapacity of melioration is the only  
mortal distemper4  ,there are people who
 can never understand a trope1 or any   
second or expanded sense given to your  
words1 or any humor2 but remain         
literalists1 after hearing the music1   
and poetry1 and rhetoric1 and wit1 of   
seventy or eighty years4  ,they are past
 the help of surgeon or clergy4  ,but   
even these can understand pitchforks and
 the cry of fire6 and ,i have noticed in
 some of this class a marked dislike of 
earthquakes4  ,let us make our education
 brave and preventive4 ,politics is an  
after-work1 a poor patching4  ,we are   
always a little late4  ,the evil is     
done1 the law is passed1 and we begin   
the up-hill agitation for repeal of that

 of which we ought to have prevented the
 enacting4  ,we shall one day learn to  
supersede politics by education4  ,what 
we call our root-and-branch reforms of  
slavery1 war1 gambling1 intemperance1 is
 only medicating the symptoms4  ,we must
 begin higher up1 namely1 in ,education4
  ,our arts and tools give to him who   
can handle them much the same advantage 
over the novice1 as if you extended his 
life1 ten1 fifty1 or a hundred years4   
,and ,i think it the part of good sense 
to provide every fine soul with such    
culture1 that it shall not1 at thirty or
 forty years1 have to say1 ,this which  
,i might do is made hopeless through my 
want of weapons4  ,but it is conceded   
that much of our training fails of      
effect2 that all success is hazardous   
and rare2 that a large part of our cost 
and pains is thrown away4  ,nature takes
 the matter into her own hands1 and1    
though we must not omit any jot of our  
system1 we can seldom be sure that it   
has availed much1 or1 that as much good 

would not have accrued from a different 
system4  ,books1 as containing the      
finest records of human wit1 must always
 enter into our notion of culture4 ,the 
best heads that ever existed1 ,pericles1
 ,plato1 ,julius ,caesar1 ,shakspeare1  
,goethe1 ,milton1 were well-read1       
universally educated men1 and quite too 
wise to undervalue letters4 ,their      
opinion has weight1 because they had    
means of knowing the opposite opinion4  
,we look that a great man should be a   
good reader1 or1 in proportion to the   
spontaneous power should be the         
assimilating power4 ,good criticism is  
very rare1 and always precious4 ,i am   
always happy to meet persons who        
perceive the transcendent superiority of
 ,shakspeare over all other writers4  ,i
 like people who like ,plato4 ,because  
this love does not consist with         
self-conceit4  ,but books are good only 
as far as a boy is ready for them4  ,he 
sometimes gets ready very slowly4 ,you  
send your child to the schoolmaster1 but

 'tis the schoolboys who educate him4   
,you send him to the ,latin class1 but  
much of his tuition comes1 on his way to
 school1 from the shop-windows4  ,you   
like the strict rules and the long      
terms2 and he finds his best leading in 
a by-way of his own1 and refuses any    
companions but of his choosing4  ,he    
hates the grammar and ,gradus1 and loves
 guns1 fishing-rods1 horses1 and boats4 
,well1 the boy is right2 and you are not
 fit to direct his bringing up1 if your 
theory leaves out his gymnastic         
training4 ,archery1 cricket1 gun and    
fishing-rod1 horse and boat1 are all    
educators1 liberalizers2 and so are     
dancing1 dress1 and the street-talk2    
and1--provided only the boy has         
resources1 and is of a noble and        
ingenuous strain1--these will not serve 
him less than the books4  ,he learns    
chess1 whist1 dancing1 and theatricals4 
,the father observes that another boy   
has learned algebra and geometry in the 
same time4  ,but the first boy has      

acquired much more than these poor games
 along with them4  ,he is infatuated for
 weeks with whist and chess2 but        
presently will find out1 as you did1    
that when he rises from the game too    
long played1 he is vacant and forlorn1  
and despises himself4 ,thenceforward it 
takes place with other things1 and has  
its due weight in his experience4       
,these minor skills and accomplishments1
 for example1 dancing1 are tickets of   
admission to the dress-circle of        
mankind1 and the being master of them   
enables the youth to judge intelligently
 of much1 on which1 otherwise1 he would 
give a pedantic squint4  ,landor said1  
,i have suffered more from my bad       
dancing1 than from all the misfortunes  
and miseries of my life put together4   
,provided always the boy is teachable1  
7for we are not proposing to make a     
statue out of punk17 football1 cricket1 
archery1 swimming1 skating1 climbing1   
fencing1 riding1 are lessons in the art 
of power1 which it is his main business 

to learn2--riding1 specially1 of which  
,lord ,herbert of ,cherbury said1 a good
 rider on a good horse is as much above 
himself and others as the world can make
 him4  ,besides1 the gun1 fishing-rod1  
boat1 and horse1 constitute1 among all  
who use them1 secret freemasonries4     
,they are as if they belonged to one    
club4  ,there is also a negative value  
in these arts4 ,their chief use to the  
youth1 is1 not amusement1 but to be     
known for what they are1 and not to     
remain to him occasions of heart-burn4  
,we are full of superstitions4 ,each    
class fixes its eyes on the advantages  
it has not2 the refined1 on rude        
strength2 the democrat1 on birth and    
breeding4  ,one of the benefits of a    
college education is1 to show the boy   
its little avail4  ,i knew a leading man
 in a leading city1 who1 having set his 
heart on an education at the university1
 and missed it1 could never quite feel  
himself the equal of his own brothers   
who had gone thither4  ,his easy        

superiority to multitudes of            
professional men could never quite      
countervail to him this imaginary       
defect4  ,balls1 riding1 wine-parties1  
and billiards1 pass to a poor boy for   
something fine and romantic1 which they 
are not2 and a free admission to them on
 an equal footing1 if it were possible1 
only once or twice1 would be worth ten  
times its cost1 by undeceiving him4  ,i 
am not much an advocate for travelling1 
and ,i observe that men run away to     
other countries1 because they are not   
good in their own1 and run back to their
 own1 because they pass for nothing in  
the new places4  ,for the most part1    
only the light characters travel4  ,who 
are you that have no task to keep you at
 home8  ,i have been quoted as saying   
captious things about travel2 but ,i    
mean to do justice4  ,i think1 there is 
a restlessness in our people1 which     
argues want of character4  ,all educated
 ,americans1 first or last1 go to       
,europe2--perhaps1 because it is their  

mental home1 as the invalid habits of   
this country might suggest4 ,an eminent 
teacher of girls said1 the idea of a    
girl's education1 is1 whatever qualifies
 them for going to ,europe4  ,can we    
never extract this tape-worm of ,europe 
from the brain of our countrymen8  ,one 
sees very well what their fate must be4 
,he that does not fill a place at home1 
cannot abroad4  ,he only goes there to  
hide his insignificance in a larger     
crowd4  ,you do not think you will find 
anything there which you have not seen  
at home8  ,the stuff of all countries is
 just the same4  ,do you suppose1 there 
is any country where they do not scald  
milkpans1 and swaddle the infants1 and  
burn the brushwood1 and broil the fish8 
,what is true anywhere is true          
everywhere4  ,and let him go where he   
will1 he can only find so much beauty or
 worth as he carries4  ,of course1 for  
some men1 travel may be useful4         
,naturalists1 discoverers1 and sailors  
are born4  ,some men are made for       

couriers1 exchangers1 envoys1           
missionaries1 bearers of despatches1 as 
others are for farmers and working-men4 
,and if the man is of a light and social
 turn1 and ,nature has aimed to make a  
legged and winged creature1 framed for  
locomotion1 we must follow her hint1 and
 furnish him with that breeding which   
gives currency1 as sedulously as with   
that which gives worth4  ,but let us not
 be pedantic1 but allow to travel its   
full effect4 ,the boy grown up on the   
farm1 which he has never left1 is said  
in the country to have had no chance1   
and boys and men of that condition look 
upon work on a railroad1 or drudgery in 
a city1 as opportunity4 ,poor country   
boys of ,vermont and ,connecticut       
formerly owed what knowledge they had1  
to their peddling trips to the ,southern
 ,states4  ,california and the ,pacific 
,coast is now the university of this    
class1 as ,virginia was in old times4   
',to have some chance' is their word4   
,and the phrase 'to know the world1' or 

to travel1 is synonymous with all men's 
ideas of advantage and superiority4  ,no
 doubt1 to a man of sense1 travel offers
 advantages4 ,as many languages as he   
has1 as many friends1 as many arts and  
trades1 so many times is he a man4 ,a   
foreign country is a point of           
comparison1 wherefrom to judge his own4 
,one use of travel1 is1 to recommend the
 books and works of home2 we go to      
,europe to be ,americanized2 and        
another1 to find men4  ,for1 as ,nature 
has put fruits apart in latitudes1 a new
 fruit in every degree1 so knowledge and
 fine moral quality she lodges in       
distant men4 ,and thus1 of the six or   
seven teachers whom each man wants among
 his contemporaries1 it often happens1  
that one or two of them live on the     
other side of the world4  ,moreover1    
there is in every constitution a certain
 solstice1 when the stars stand still in
 our inward firmament1 and when there is
 required some foreign force1 some      
diversion or alterative to prevent      

stagnation4 ,and1 as a medical remedy1  
travel seems one of the best4  ,just as 
a man witnessing the admirable effect of
 ether to lull pain1 and meditating on  
the contingencies of wounds1 cancers1   
lockjaws1 rejoices in ,dr4 ,jackson's   
benign discovery1 so a man who looks at 
,paris1 at ,naples1 or at ,london1 says1
 ',if ,i should be driven from my own   
home1 here1 at least1 my thoughts can be
 consoled by the most prodigal amusement
 and occupation which the human race in 
ages could contrive and accumulate4'    
,akin to the benefit of foreign travel1 
the aesthetic value of railroads is to  
unite the advantages of town and country
 life1 neither of which we can spare4 ,a
 man should live in or near a large     
town1 because1 let his own genius be    
what it may1 it will repel quite as much
 of agreeable and valuable talent as it 
draws1 and1 in a city1 the total        
attraction of all the citizens is sure  
to conquer1 first or last1 every        
repulsion1 and drag the most improbable 

hermit within its walls some day in the 
year4 ,in town1 he can find the         
swimming-school1 the gymnasium1 the     
dancing-master1 the shooting-gallery1   
opera1 theatre1 and panorama2 the       
chemist's shop1 the museum of natural   
history2 the gallery of fine arts2 the  
national orators1 in their turn2 foreign
 travellers1 the libraries1 and his     
club4  ,in the country1 he can find     
solitude and reading1 manly labor1 cheap
 living1 and his old shoes2 moors for   
game1 hills for geology1 and groves for 
devotion4  ,aubrey writes1 ,i have heard
 ,thomas ,hobbes say1 that1 in the ,earl
 of ,devon's house1 in ,derbyshire1     
there was a good library and books      
enough for him1 and his lordship stored 
the library with what books he thought  
fit to be bought4  ,but the want of good
 conversation was a very great          
inconvenience1 and1 though he conceived 
he could order his thinking as well as  
another1 yet he found a great defect4   
,in the country1 in long time1 for want 

of good conversation1 one's             
understanding and invention contract a  
moss on them1 like an old paling in an  
orchard4  ,cities give us collision4    
',tis said1 ,london and ,new ,york take 
the nonsense out of a man4  ,a great    
part of our education is sympathetic and
 social4  ,boys and girls who have been 
brought up with well-informed and       
superior people1 show in their manners  
an inestimable grace4  ,fuller says1    
that ,william1 ,earl of ,nassau1 won a  
subject from the ,king of ,spain1 every 
time he put off his hat4  ,you cannot   
have one well-bred man1 without a whole 
society of such4  ,they keep each other 
up to any high point4  ,especially      
women2--it requires a great many        
cultivated women1--saloons of bright1   
elegant1 reading women1 accustomed to   
ease and refinement1 to spectacles1     
pictures1 sculpture1 poetry1 and to     
elegant society1 in order that you      
should have one ,madame de ,stael4  ,the
 head of a commercial house1 or a       

leading lawyer or politician is brought 
into daily contact with troops of men   
from all parts of the country1 and those
 too the driving-wheels1 the business   
men of each section1 and one can hardly 
suggest for an apprehensive man a more  
searching culture4 ,besides1 we must    
remember the high social possibilities  
of a million of men4  ,the best bribe   
which ,london offers to-day to the      
imagination1 is1 that1 in such a vast   
variety of people and conditions1 one   
can believe there is room for persons of
 romantic character to exist1 and that  
the poet1 the mystic1 and the hero may  
hope to confront their counterparts4  ,i
 wish cities could teach their best     
lesson1--of quiet manners4  ,it is the  
foible especially of ,american          
youth1--pretension4  ,the mark of the   
man of the world is absence of          
pretension4  ,he does not make a speech2
 he takes a low business-tone1 avoids   
all brag1 is nobody1 dresses plainly1   
promises not at all1 performs much1     

speaks in monosyllables1 hugs his fact4 
,he calls his employment by its lowest  
name1 and so takes from evil tongues    
their sharpest weapon4  ,his            
conversation clings to the weather and  
the news1 yet he allows himself to be   
surprised into thought1 and the         
unlocking of his learning and           
philosophy4  ,how the imagination is    
piqued by anecdotes of some great man   
passing incognito1 as a king in gray    
clothes1--of ,napoleon affecting a plain
 suit at his glittering levee2 of       
,burns1 or ,scott1 or ,beethoven1 or    
,wellington1 or ,goethe1 or any         
container of transcendent power1 passing
 for nobody2 of ,epaminondas1 who never 
says anything1 but will listen          
eternally2 of ,goethe1 who preferred    
trifling subjects and common expressions
 in intercourse with strangers1 worse   
rather than better clothes1 and to      
appear a little more capricious than he 
was4  ,there are advantages in the old  
hat and box-coat4  ,i have heard1 that1 

throughout this country1 a certain      
respect is paid to good broadcloth2 but 
dress makes a little restraint3 men will
 not commit themselves4  ,but the       
box-coat is like wine2 it unlocks the   
tongue1 and men say what they think4    
,an old poet says1        ,go far and go
 sparing1     ,for you'll find it       
certain1     ,the poorer and the baser  
you appear1     ,the more you'll look   
through still4#b    #b ,beaumont and    
,fletcher3 ,the ,tamer ,tamed4  ,not    
much otherwise ,milnes writes1 in the   
,lay of the ,humble1      ,to me men are
 for what they are1     ,they wear no   
masks with me4   ',tis odd that our     
people should have--not water on the    
brain1--but a little gas there4  ,a     
shrewd foreigner said of the ,americans1
 that1 whatever they say has a little   
the air of a speech4  ,yet one of the   
traits down in the books as             
distinguishing the ,anglo-,saxon1 is1 a 
trick of self-disparagement4  ,to be    
sure1 in old1 dense countries1 among a  

million of good coats1 a fine coat comes
 to be no distinction1 and you find     
humorists4  ,in an ,english party1 a man
 with no marked manners or features1    
with a face like red dough1 unexpectedly
 discloses wit1 learning1 a wide range  
of topics1 and personal familiarity with
 good men in all parts of the world1    
until you think you have fallen upon    
some illustrious personage4  ,can it be 
that the ,american forest has refreshed 
some weeds of old ,pictish barbarism    
just ready to die out1--the love of the 
scarlet feather1 of beads1 and tinsel8  
,the ,italians are fond of red clothes1 
peacock plumes1 and embroidery2 and ,i  
remember one rainy morning in the city  
of ,palermo1 the street was in a blaze  
with scarlet umbrellas4  ,the ,english  
have a plain taste4  ,the equipages of  
the grandees are plain4  ,a gorgeous    
livery indicates new and awkward city   
wealth4 ,mr4 ,pitt1 like ,mr4 ,pym1     
thought the title of ,mister good       
against any king in ,europe4  ,they have

 piqued themselves on governing the     
whole world in the poor1 plain1 dark    
,committee-room which the ,house of     
,commons sat in1 before the fire4       
,whilst we want cities as the centres   
where the best things are found1 cities 
degrade us by magnifying trifles4  ,the 
countryman finds the town a chophouse1 a
 barber's shop4  ,he has lost the lines 
of grandeur of the horizon1 hills and   
plains1 and with them1 sobriety and     
elevation4  ,he has come among a supple1
 glib-tongued tribe1 who live for show1 
servile to public opinion4  ,life is    
dragged down to a fracas of pitiful     
cares and disasters4  ,you say the gods 
ought to respect a life whose objects   
are their own2 but in cities they have  
betrayed you to a cloud of insignificant
 annoyances3      ,mirmidons1 race      
feconde1     ,mirmidons1     ,enfin nous
 commandons2     ,jupiter livre le monde
     ,aux mirmidons1 aux mirmidons4#c   
',tis heavy odds     ,against the gods1 
,when they will match with myrmidons4   

,we spawning1 spawning myrmidons1       
,our turn to-day6 we take command1      
,jove gives the globe into the hand     
,of myrmidons1 of myrmidons4     #c     
,beranger4  ,what is odious but noise1  
and people who scream and bewail8 people
 whose vane points always east1 who live
 to dine1 who send for the doctor1 who  
coddle themselves1 who toast their feet 
on the register1 who intrigue to secure 
a padded chair1 and a corner out of the 
draught4  ,suffer them once to begin the
 enumeration of their infirmities1 and  
the sun will go down on the unfinished  
tale4  ,let these triflers put us out of
 conceit with petty comforts4  ,to a man
 at work1 the frost is but a color3 the 
rain1 the wind1 he forgot them when he  
came in4  ,let us learn to live         
coarsely1 dress plainly1 and lie hard4  
,the least habit of dominion over the   
palate has certain good effects not     
easily estimated4  ,neither will we be  
driven into a quiddling abstemiousness4 
',tis a superstition to insist on a     

special diet4  ,all is made at last of  
the same chemical atoms4  ,a man in     
pursuit of greatness feels no little    
wants4  ,how can you mind diet1 bed1    
dress1 or salutes or compliments1 or the
 figure you make in company1 or wealth1 
or even the bringing things to pass1    
when you think how paltry are the       
machinery and the workers8  ,wordsworth 
was praised to me1 in ,westmoreland1 for
 having afforded to his country         
neighbors an example of a modest        
household where comfort and culture were
 secured1 without display4 ,and a tender
 boy who wears his rusty cap and        
outgrown coat1 that he may secure the   
coveted place in college1 and the right 
in the library1 is educated to some     
purpose4  ,there is a great deal of     
self-denial and manliness in poor and   
middle-class houses1 in town and        
country1 that has not got into          
literature1 and never will1 but that    
keeps the earth sweet2 that saves on    
superfluities1 and spends on essentials2

 that goes rusty1 and educates the boy2 
that sells the horse1 but builds the    
school2 works early and late1 takes two 
looms in the factory1 three looms1 six  
looms1 but pays off the mortgage on the 
paternal farm1 and then goes back       
cheerfully to work again4  ,we can ill  
spare the commanding social benefits of 
cities2 they must be used2 yet          
cautiously1 and haughtily1--and will    
yield their best values to him who best 
can do without them4  ,keep the town for
 occasions1 but the habits should be    
formed to retirement4  ,solitude1 the   
safeguard of mediocrity1 is to genius   
the stern friend1 the cold1 obscure     
shelter where moult the wings which will
 bear it farther than suns and stars4   
,he who should inspire and lead his race
 must be defended from travelling with  
the souls of other men1 from living1    
breathing1 reading1 and writing in the  
daily1 time-worn yoke of their opinions4
  ,in the morning1--solitude2 said      
,pythagoras2 that ,nature may speak to  

the imagination1 as she does never in   
company1 and that her favorite may make 
acquaintance with those divine strengths
 which disclose themselves to serious   
and abstracted thought4  ',tis very     
certain that ,plato1 ,plotinus1         
,archimedes1 ,hermes1 ,newton1 ,milton1 
,wordsworth1 did not live in a crowd1   
but descended into it from time to time 
as benefactors3 and the wise instructor 
will press this point of securing to the
 young soul in the disposition of time  
and the arrangements of living1 periods 
and habits of solitude4  ,the high      
advantage of university-life is often   
the mere mechanical one1 ,i may call it1
 of a separate chamber and fire1--which 
parents will allow the boy without      
hesitation at ,cambridge1 but do not    
think needful at home4  ,we say         
solitude1 to mark the character of the  
tone of thought2 but if it can be shared
 between two or more than two1 it is    
happier1 and not less noble4 ,we four1  
wrote ,neander to his sacred friends1   

will enjoy at ,halle the inward         
blessedness of a civitas ,dei1 whose    
foundations are forever friendship4     
,the more ,i know you1 the more ,i      
dissatisfy and must dissatisfy all my   
wonted companions4 ,their very presence 
stupefies me4 ,the common understanding 
withdraws itself from the one centre of 
all existence4  ,solitude takes off the 
pressure of present importunities that  
more catholic and humane relations may  
appear4  ,the saint and poet seek       
privacy to ends the most public and     
universal3 and it is the secret of      
culture1 to interest the man more in his
 public1 than in his private quality4   
,here is a new poem1 which elicits a    
good many comments in the journals1 and 
in conversation4  ,from these it is     
easy1 at last1 to eliminate the verdict 
which readers passed upon it2 and that  
is1 in the main1 unfavorable4 ,the poet1
 as a craftsman1 is only interested in  
the praise accorded to him1 and not in  
the censure1 though it be just4  ,and   

the poor little poet hearkens only to   
that1 and rejects the censure1 as       
proving incapacity in the critic4  ,but 
the poet cultivated becomes a           
stockholder in both companies1--say ,mr4
 ,curfew1--in the ,curfew stock1 and in 
the humanity stock2 and1 in the last1   
exults as much in the demonstration of  
the unsoundness of ,curfew1 as his      
interest in the former gives him        
pleasure in the currency of ,curfew4    
,for1 the depreciation of his ,curfew   
stock only shows the immense values of  
the humanity stock4  ,as soon as he     
sides with his critic against himself1  
with joy1 he is a cultivated man4  ,we  
must have an intellectual quality in all
 property and in all action1 or they are
 nought4  ,i must have children1 ,i must
 have events1 ,i must have a social     
state and history1 or my thinking and   
speaking want body or basis4  ,but to   
give these accessories any value1 ,i    
must know them as contingent and rather 
showy possessions1 which pass for more  

to the people than to me4  ,we see this 
abstraction in scholars1 as a matter of 
course3 but what a charm it adds when   
observed in practical men4 ,bonaparte1  
like ,caesar1 was intellectual1 and     
could look at every object for itself1  
without affection4  ,though an egotist a
 l'outrance1 he could criticize a play1 
a building1 a character1 on universal   
grounds1 and give a just opinion4  ,a   
man known to us only as a celebrity in  
politics or in trade1 gains largely in  
our esteem if we discover that he has   
some intellectual taste or skill2 as    
when we learn of ,lord ,fairfax1 the    
,long ,parliament's general1 his passion
 for antiquarian studies2 or of the     
,french regicide ,carnot1 his sublime   
genius in mathematics2 or of a living   
banker1 his success in poetry2 or of a  
partisan journalist1 his devotion to    
ornithology4  ,so1 if in travelling in  
the dreary wildernesses of ,arkansas or 
,texas1 we should observe on the next   
seat a man reading ,horace1 or ,martial1

 or ,calderon1 we should wish to hug    
him4 ,in callings that require roughest 
energy1 soldiers1 sea-captains1 and     
civil engineers sometimes betray a fine 
insight1 if only through a certain      
gentleness when off duty2 a good-natured
 admission that there are illusions1 and
 who shall say that he is not their     
sport8 ,we only vary the phrase1 not the
 doctrine1 when we say1 that culture    
opens the sense of beauty4 ,a man is a  
beggar who only lives to the useful1    
and1 however he may serve as a pin or   
rivet in the social machine1 cannot be  
said to have arrived at self-possession4
  ,i suffer1 every day1 from the want of
 perception of beauty in people4  ,they 
do not know the charm with which all    
moments and objects can be embellished1 
the charm of manners1 of self-command1  
of benevolence4  ,repose and            
cheerfulness are the badge of the       
gentleman1--repose in energy4  ,the     
,greek battle-pieces are calm2 the      
heroes1 in whatever violent actions     

engaged1 retain a serene aspect2 as we  
say of ,niagara1 that it falls without  
speed4  ,a cheerful1 intelligent face is
 the end of culture1 and success enough4
 ,for it indicates the purpose of       
,nature and wisdom attained4  ,when our 
higher faculties are in activity1 we are
 domesticated1 and awkwardness and      
discomfort give place to natural and    
agreeable movements4  ,it is noticed1   
that the consideration of the great     
periods and spaces of astronomy induces 
a dignity of mind1 and an indifference  
to death4  ,the influence of fine       
scenery1 the presence of mountains1     
appeases our irritations and elevates   
our friendships4  ,even a high dome1 and
 the expansive interior of a cathedral1 
have a sensible effect on manners4  ,i  
have heard that stiff people lose       
something of their awkwardness under    
high ceilings1 and in spacious halls4 ,i
 think1 sculpture and painting have an  
effect to teach us manners1 and abolish 
hurry4  ,but1 over all1 culture must    

reinforce from higher influx the        
empirical skills of eloquence1 or of    
politics1 or of trade1 and the useful   
arts4 ,there is a certain loftiness of  
thought and power to marshal and adjust 
particulars1 which can only come from an
 insight of their whole connection4     
,the orator who has once seen things in 
their divine order1 will never quite    
lose sight of this1 and will come to    
affairs as from a higher ground1 and1   
though he will say nothing of           
philosophy1 he will have a certain      
mastery in dealing with them1 and an    
incapableness of being dazzled or       
frighted1 which will distinguish his    
handling from that of attorneys and     
factors4  ,a man who stands on a good   
footing with the heads of parties at    
,washington1 reads the rumors of the    
newspapers1 and the guesses of          
provincial politicians1 with a key to   
the right and wrong in each statement1  
and sees well enough where all this will
 end4 ,archimedes will look through your

 ,connecticut machine1 at a glance1 and 
judge of its fitness4 ,and much more1 a 
wise man who knows not only what ,plato1
 but what ,saint ,john can show him1 can
 easily raise the affair he deals with1 
to a certain majesty4  ,plato says1     
,pericles owed this elevation to the    
lessons of ,anaxagoras4  ,burke         
descended from a higher sphere when he  
would influence human affairs4          
,franklin1 ,adams1 ,jefferson1          
,washington1 stood on a fine humanity1  
before which the brawls of modern       
senates are but pot-house politics4     
,but there are higher secrets of        
culture1 which are not for the          
apprentices1 but for proficients4 ,these
 are lessons only for the brave4 ,we    
must know our friends under ugly masks4 
,the calamities are our friends4  ,ben  
,jonson specifies in his address to the 
,muse3--      ,get him the time's long  
grudge1 the court's ill-will1     ,and1 
reconciled1 keep him suspected still1   
,make him lose all his friends1 and1    

what is worse1     ,almost all ways to  
any better course2     ,with me thou    
leav'st a better ,muse than thee1       
,and which thou brought'st me1 blessed  
,poverty4  ,we wish to learn philosophy 
by rote1 and play at heroism4  ,but the 
wiser ,god says1 ,take the shame1 the   
poverty1 and the penal solitude1 that   
belong to truth-speaking4  ,try the     
rough water as well as the smooth4      
,rough water can teach lessons worth    
knowing4  ,when the state is unquiet1   
personal qualities are more than ever   
decisive4  ,fear not a revolution which 
will constrain you to live five years in
 one4  ,don't be so tender at making an 
enemy now and then4  ,be willing to go  
to ,coventry sometimes1 and let the     
populace bestow on you their coldest    
contempts4 ,the finished man of the     
world must eat of every apple once4  ,he
 must hold his hatreds also at arm's    
length1 and not remember spite4  ,he has
 neither friends nor enemies1 but values
 men only as channels of power4  ,he who

 aims high1 must dread an easy home and 
popular manners4  ,heaven sometimes     
hedges a rare character about with      
ungainliness and odium1 as the burr that
 protects the fruit4  ,if there is any  
great and good thing in store for you1  
it will not come at the first or the    
second call1 nor in the shape of        
fashion1 ease1 and city drawing-rooms4  
,popularity is for dolls4  ,steep and   
craggy1 said ,porphyry1 is the path of  
the gods4  ,open your ,marcus           
,antoninus4  ,in the opinion of the     
ancients1 he was the great man who      
scorned to shine1 and who contested the 
frowns of fortune4  ,they preferred the 
noble vessel too late for the tide1     
contending with winds and waves1        
dismantled and unrigged1 to her         
companion borne into harbor with colors 
flying and guns firing4  ,there is none 
of the social goods that may not be     
purchased too dear1 and mere amiableness
 must not take rank with high aims and  
self-subsistency4  ,bettine replies to  

,goethe's mother1 who chides her        
disregard of dress1--,if ,i cannot do as
 ,i have a mind1 in our poor ,frankfort1
 ,i shall not carry things far4  ,and   
the youth must rate at its true mark the
 inconceivable levity of local opinion4 
,the longer we live1 the more we must   
endure the elementary existence of men  
and women2 and every brave heart must   
treat society as a child1 and never     
allow it to dictate4  ,all that class of
 the severe and restrictive virtues1    
said ,burke1 are almost too costly for  
humanity4  ,who wishes to be severe8    
,who wishes to resist the eminent and   
polite1 in behalf of the poor1 and low1 
and impolite8 and who that dares do it1 
can keep his temper sweet1 his frolic   
spirits8  ,the high virtues are not     
debonair1 but have their redress in     
being illustrious at last4 ,what forests
 of laurel we bring1 and the tears of   
mankind1 to those who stood firm against
 the opinion of their contemporaries6   
,the measure of a master is his success 

in bringing all men round to his opinion
 twenty years later4  ,let me say here1 
that culture cannot begin too early4    
,in talking with scholars1 ,i observe   
that they lost on ruder companions those
 years of boyhood which alone could give
 imaginative literature a religious and 
infinite quality in their esteem4  ,i   
find1 too1 that the chance for          
appreciation is much increased by being 
the son of an appreciator1 and that     
these boys who now grow up are caught   
not only years too late1 but two or     
three births too late1 to make the best 
scholars of4  ,and ,i think it a        
presentable motive to a scholar1 that1  
as1 in an old community1 a well-born    
proprietor is usually found1 after the  
first heats of youth1 to be a careful   
husband1 and to feel a habitual desire  
that the estate shall suffer no harm by 
his administration1 but shall be        
delivered down to the next heir in as   
good condition as he received it2--so1 a
 considerate man will reckon himself a  

subject of that secular melioration by  
which mankind is mollified1 cured1 and  
refined1 and will shun every expenditure
 of his forces on pleasure or gain1     
which will jeopardize this social and   
secular accumulation4  ,the fossil      
strata show us that ,nature began with  
rudimental forms1 and rose to the more  
complex1 as fast as the earth was fit   
for their dwelling-place2 and that the  
lower perish1 as the higher appear4     
,very few of our race can be said to be 
yet finished men4 ,we still carry       
sticking to us some remains of the      
preceding inferior quadruped            
organization4  ,we call these millions  
men2 but they are not yet men4          
,half-engaged in the soil1 pawing to get
 free1 man needs all the music that can 
be brought to disengage him4  ,if ,love1
 red ,love1 with tears and joy2 if ,want
 with his scourge2 if ,war with his     
cannonade2 if ,christianity with its    
charity2 if ,trade with its money2 if   
,art with its portfolios2 if ,science   

with her telegraphs through the deeps of
 space and time2 can set his dull nerves
 throbbing1 and by loud taps on the     
tough chrysalis1 can break its walls1   
and let the new creature emerge erect   
and free1--make way1 and sing paean6    
,the age of the quadruped is to go      
out1--the age of the brain and of the   
heart is to come in4  ,the time will    
come when the evil forms we have known  
can no more be organized4 ,man's culture
 can spare nothing1 wants all the       
material4  ,he is to convert all        
impediments into instruments1 all       
enemies into power4 ,the formidable     
mischief will only make the more useful 
slave4 ,and if one shall read the future
 of the race hinted in the organic      
effort of ,nature to mount and          
meliorate1 and the corresponding impulse
 to the ,better in the human being1 we  
shall dare affirm that there is nothing 
he will not overcome and convert1 until 
at last culture shall absorb the chaos  
and gehenna4 ,he will convert the       

,furies into ,muses1 and the hells into 
benefit4                                
,v4                                     
,,behavior4       ,grace1 ,beauty1 and  
,caprice     ,build this golden portal2 
,graceful women1 chosen men     ,dazzle 
every mortal3     ,their sweet and lofty
 countenance     ,his enchanting food2  
,he need not go to them1 their forms    
,beset his solitude4     ,he looketh    
seldom in their face1     ,his eyes     
explore the ground1     ,the green grass
 is a looking-glass     ,whereon their  
traits are found4     ,little he says to
 them1     ,so dances his heart in his  
breast1     ,their tranquil mien        
bereaveth him     ,of wit1 of words1 of 
rest4     ,too weak to win1 too fond to 
shun     ,the tyrants of his doom1      
,the much deceived ,endymion     ,slips 
behind a tomb4                          
,,behavior4   ,the soul which animates  
,nature is not less significantly       
published in the figure1 movement1 and  
gesture of animated bodies1 than in its 

last vehicle of articulate speech4      
,this silent and subtile language is    
,manners2 not what1 but how4  ,life     
expresses4  ,a statue has no tongue1 and
 needs none4  ,good tableaux do not need
 declamation4 ,nature tells every secret
 once4  ,yes1 but in man she tells it   
all the time1 by form1 attitude1        
gesture1 mien1 face1 and parts of the   
face1 and by the whole action of the    
machine4  ,the visible carriage or      
action of the individual1 as resulting  
from his organization and his will      
combined1 we call manners4 ,what are    
they but thought entering the hands and 
feet1 controlling the movements of the  
body1 the speech and behavior8  ,there  
is always a best way of doing           
everything1 if it be to boil an egg4    
,manners are the happy ways of doing    
things2 each once a stroke of genius or 
of love1--now repeated and hardened into
 usage4 ,they form at last a rich       
varnish1 with which the routine of life 
is washed1 and its details adorned4 ,if 

they are superficial1 so are the        
dew-drops which give such a depth to the
 morning meadows4 ,manners are very     
communicable3 men catch them from each  
other4  ,consuelo1 in the romance1      
boasts of the lessons she had given the 
nobles in manners1 on the stage2 and1 in
 real life1 ,talma taught ,napoleon the 
arts of behavior4  ,genius invents fine 
manners1 which the baron and the        
baroness copy very fast1 and1 by the    
advantage of a palace1 better the       
instruction4  ,they stereotype the      
lesson they have learned into a mode4   
,the power of manners is incessant1--an 
element as unconcealable as fire4 ,the  
nobility cannot in any country be       
disguised1 and no more in a republic or 
a democracy1 than in a kingdom4  ,no man
 can resist their influence4  ,there are
 certain manners which are learned in   
good society1 of that force1 that1 if a 
person have them1 he or she must be     
considered1 and is everywhere welcome1  
though without beauty1 or wealth1 or    

genius4  ,give a boy address and        
accomplishments1 and you give him the   
mastery of palaces and fortunes where he
 goes4 ,he has not the trouble of       
earning or owning them2 they solicit him
 to enter and possess4  ,we send girls  
of a timid1 retreating disposition to   
the boarding-school1 to the             
riding-school1 to the ballroom1 or      
wheresoever they can come into          
acquaintance and nearness of leading    
persons of their own sex2 where they    
might learn address1 and see it near at 
hand4 ,the power of a woman of fashion  
to lead1 and also to daunt and repel1   
derives from their belief that she knows
 resources and behaviors not known to   
them2 but when these have mastered her  
secret1 they learn to confront her1 and 
recover their self-possession4  ,every  
day bears witness to their gentle rule4 
,people who would obtrude1 now do not   
obtrude4 ,the mediocre circle learns to 
demand that which belongs to a high     
state of nature or of culture4 ,your    

manners are always under examination1   
and by committees little suspected1--a  
police in citizens' clothes1--but are   
awarding or denying you very high prizes
 when you least think of it4  ,we talk  
much of utilities1--but 'tis our manners
 that associate us4  ,in hours of       
business1 we go to him who knows1 or    
has1 or does this or that which we want1
 and we do not let our taste or feeling 
stand in the way4 ,but this activity    
over1 we return to the indolent state1  
and wish for those we can be at ease    
with3 those who will go where we go1    
whose manners do not offend us1 whose   
social tone chimes with ours4  ,when we 
reflect on their persuasive and cheering
 force2 how they recommend1 prepare1 and
 draw people together2 how1 in all      
clubs1 manners make the members2 how    
manners make the fortune of the         
ambitious youth2 that1 for the most     
part1 his manners marry him1 and1 for   
the most part1 he marries manners2 when 
we think what keys they are1 and to what

 secrets2 what high lessons and         
inspiring tokens of character they      
convey2 and what divination is required 
in us1 for the reading of this fine     
telegraph1 we see what range the subject
 has1 and what relations to convenience1
 power1 and beauty4  ,their first       
service is very low1--when they are the 
minor morals3 but 'tis the beginning of 
civility1--to make us1 ,i mean1         
endurable to each other4 ,we prize them 
for their rough-plastic1 abstergent     
force2 to get people out of the         
quadruped state2 to get them washed1    
clothed1 and set up on end2 to slough   
their animal husks and habits2 compel   
them to be clean2 overawe their spite   
and meanness1 teach them to stifle the  
base1 and choose the generous           
expression1 and make them know how much 
happier the generous behaviors are4     
,bad behavior the laws cannot reach4    
,society is infested with rude1 cynical1
 restless1 and frivolous persons who    
prey upon the rest1 and whom1 a public  

opinion concentrated into good manners1 
forms accepted by the sense of all1 can 
reach3--the contradictors and railers at
 public and private tables1 who are like
 terriers1 who conceive it the duty of a
 dog of honor to growl at any passer-by1
 and do the honors of the house by      
barking him out of sight3--,i have seen 
men who neigh like a horse when you     
contradict them1 or say something which 
they do not understand3--then the       
overbold1 who make their own invitation 
to your hearth2 the persevering talker1 
who gives you his society in large1     
saturating doses2 the pitiers of        
themselves1--a perilous class2 the      
frivolous ,asmodeus1 who relies on you  
to find him in ropes of sand to twist2  
the monotones2 in short1 every stripe of
 absurdity2--these are social           
inflictions which the magistrate cannot 
cure or defend you from1 and which must 
be intrusted to the restraining force of
 custom1 and proverbs1 and familiar     
rules of behavior impressed on young    

people in their school-days4  ,in the   
hotels on the banks of the ,mississippi1
 they print1 or used to print1 among the
 rules of the house1 that no gentleman  
can be permitted to come to the public  
table without his coat2 and in the same 
country1 in the pews of the churches1   
little placards plead with the          
worshipper against the fury of          
expectoration4  ,charles ,dickens       
self-sacrificingly undertook the        
reformation of our ,american manners in 
unspeakable particulars4  ,i think the  
lesson was not quite lost2 that it held 
bad manners up1 so that the churls could
 see the deformity4 ,unhappily1 the book
 had its own deformities4  ,it ought not
 to need to print in a reading-room a   
caution to strangers not to speak loud2 
nor to persons who look over fine       
engravings1 that they should be handled 
like cobwebs and butterflies' wings2 nor
 to persons who look at marble statues1 
that they shall not smite them with     
canes4  ,but1 even in the perfect       

civilization of this city1 such cautions
 are not quite needless in the          
,athenaeum and ,city ,library4  ,manners
 are factitious1 and grow out of        
circumstance as well as out of          
character4  ,if you look at the pictures
 of patricians and of peasants1 of      
different periods and countries1 you    
will see how well they match the same   
classes in our towns4  ,the modern      
aristocrat not only is well drawn in    
,titian's ,venetian doges1 and in ,roman
 coins and statues1 but also in the     
pictures which ,commodore ,perry brought
 home of dignitaries in ,japan4 ,broad  
lands and great interests not only      
arrive to such heads as can manage them1
 but form manners of power4  ,a keen    
eye1 too1 will see nice gradations of   
rank1 or see in the manners the degree  
of homage the party is wont to receive4 
,a prince who is accustomed every day to
 be courted and deferred to by the      
highest grandees1 acquires a            
corresponding expectation1 and a        

becoming mode of receiving and replying 
to this homage4  ,there are always      
exceptional people and modes4 ,english  
grandees affect to be farmers4          
,claverhouse is a fop1 and1 under the   
finish of dress1 and levity of behavior1
 hides the terror of his war4  ,but     
,nature and ,destiny are honest1 and    
never fail to leave their mark1 to hang 
out a sign for each and for every       
quality4  ,it is much to conquer one's  
face1 and perhaps the ambitious youth   
thinks he has got the whole secret when 
he has learned1 that disengaged manners 
are commanding4  ,don't be deceived by a
 facile exterior4  ,tender men sometimes
 have strong wills4 ,we had1 in         
,massachusetts1 an old statesman1 who   
had sat all his life in courts and in   
chairs of state1 without overcoming an  
extreme irritability of face1 voice1 and
 bearing3 when he spoke1 his voice would
 not serve him2 it cracked1 it broke1 it
 wheezed1 it piped2--little cared he2 he
 knew that it had got to pipe1 or       

wheeze1 or screech his argument and his 
indignation4  ,when he sat down1 after  
speaking1 he seemed in a sort of fit1   
and held on to his chair with both      
hands3 but underneath all this          
irritability1 was a puissant will1 firm1
 and advancing1 and a memory in which   
lay in order and method like geologic   
strata every fact of his history1 and   
under the control of his will4  ,manners
 are partly factitious1 but1 mainly1    
there must be capacity for culture in   
the blood4  ,else all culture is vain4  
,the obstinate prejudice in favor of    
blood1 which lies at the base of the    
feudal and monarchical fabrics of the   
old world1 has some reason in common    
experience4  ,every man1--mathematician1
 artist1 soldier1 or merchant1--looks   
with confidence for some traits and     
talents in his own child1 which he would
 not dare to presume in the child of a  
stranger4 ,the ,orientalists are very   
orthodox on this point4  ,take a        
thorn-bush1 said the emir ,abdel-,kader1

 and sprinkle it for a whole year with  
water2--it will yield nothing but       
thorns4 ,take a date-tree1 leave it     
without culture1 and it will always     
produce dates4  ,nobility is the        
date-tree1 and the ,arab populace is a  
bush of thorns4  ,a main fact in the    
history of manners is the wonderful     
expressiveness of the human body4  ,if  
it were made of glass1 or of air1 and   
the thoughts were written on steel      
tablets within1 it could not publish    
more truly its meaning than now4  ,wise 
men read very sharply all your private  
history in your look and gait and       
behavior4  ,the whole economy of nature 
is bent on expression4  ,the tell-tale  
body is all tongues4  ,men are like     
,geneva watches with crystal faces which
 expose the whole movement4  ,they carry
 the liquor of life flowing up and down 
in these beautiful bottles1 and         
announcing to the curious how it is with
 them4 ,the face and eyes reveal what   
the spirit is doing1 how old it is1 what

 aims it has4  ,the eyes indicate the   
antiquity of the soul1 or1 through how  
many forms it has already ascended4  ,it
 almost violates the proprieties1 if we 
say above the breath here1 what the     
confessing eyes do not hesitate to utter
 to every street passenger4  ,man cannot
 fix his eye on the sun1 and so far     
seems imperfect4  ,in ,siberia1 a late  
traveller found men who could see the   
satellites of ,jupiter with their       
unarmed eye4  ,in some respects the     
animals excel us4 ,the birds have a     
longer sight1 beside the advantage by   
their wings of a higher observatory4 ,a 
cow can bid her calf by secret signal1  
probably of the eye1 to run away1 or to 
lie down and hide itself4  ,the jockeys 
say of certain horses1 that they look   
over the whole ground4  ,the outdoor    
life1 and hunting1 and labor1 give equal
 vigor to the human eye4  ,a farmer     
looks out at you as strong as the horse2
 his eye-beam is like the stroke of a   
staff4  ,an eye can threaten like a     

loaded and levelled gun1 or can insult  
like hissing or kicking2 or1 in its     
altered mood1 by beams of kindness1 it  
can make the heart dance with joy4  ,the
 eye obeys exactly the action of the    
mind4 ,when a thought strikes us1 the   
eyes fix1 and remain gazing at a        
distance2 in enumerating the names of   
persons or of countries1 as ,france1    
,germany1 ,spain1 ,turkey1 the eyes wink
 at each new name4  ,there is no nicety 
of learning sought by the mind1 which   
the eyes do not vie in acquiring4 ,an   
artist1 said ,michel ,angelo1 must have 
his measuring tools not in the hand1 but
 in the eye2 and there is no end to the 
catalogue of its performances1 whether  
in indolent vision1 7that of health and 
beauty17 or in strained vision1 7that of
 art and labor47  ,eyes are bold as     
lions1--roving1 running1 leaping1 here  
and there1 far and near4  ,they speak   
all languages4  ,they wait for no       
introduction2 they are no ,englishmen2  
ask no leave of age1 or rank2 they      

respect neither poverty nor riches1     
neither learning nor power1 nor virtue1 
nor sex1 but intrude1 and come again1   
and go through and through you1 in a    
moment of time4  ,what inundation of    
life and thought is discharged from one 
soul into another1 through them6  ,the  
glance is natural magic4  ,the          
mysterious communication established    
across a house between two entire       
strangers1 moves all the springs of     
wonder4  ,the communication by the      
glance is in the greatest part not      
subject to the control of the will4 ,it 
is the bodily symbol of identity of     
nature4  ,we look into the eyes to know 
if this other form is another self1 and 
the eyes will not lie1 but make a       
faithful confession what inhabitant is  
there4  ,the revelations are sometimes  
terrific4  ,the confession of a low1    
usurping devil is there made1 and the   
observer shall seem to feel the stirring
 of owls1 and bats1 and horned hoofs1   
where he looked for innocence and       

simplicity4  ',tis remarkable1 too1 that
 the spirit that appears at the windows 
of the house does at once invest himself
 in a new form of his own1 to the mind  
of the beholder4  ,the eyes of men      
converse as much as their tongues1 with 
the advantage1 that the ocular dialect  
needs no dictionary1 but is understood  
all the world over4  ,when the eyes say 
one thing1 and the tongue another1 a    
practised man relies on the language of 
the first4  ,if the man is off his      
centre1 the eyes show it4  ,you can read
 in the eyes of your companion1 whether 
your argument hits him1 though his      
tongue will not confess it4  ,there is a
 look by which a man shows he is going  
to say a good thing1 and a look when he 
has said it4  ,vain and forgotten are   
all the fine offers and offices of      
hospitality1 if there is no holiday in  
the eye4 ,how many furtive inclinations 
avowed by the eye1 though dissembled by 
the lips6  ,one comes away from a       
company1 in which1 it may easily happen1

 he has said nothing1 and no important  
remark has been addressed to him1 and   
yet1 if in sympathy with the society1 he
 shall not have a sense of this fact1   
such a stream of life has been flowing  
into him1 and out from him1 through the 
eyes4  ,there are eyes1 to be sure1 that
 give no more admission into the man    
than blueberries4  ,others are liquid   
and deep1--wells that a man might fall  
into2--others are aggressive and        
devouring1 seem to call out the police1 
take all too much notice1 and require   
crowded ,broadways1 and the security of 
millions1 to protect individuals against
 them4  ,the military eye ,i meet1 now  
darkly sparkling under clerical1 now    
under rustic brows4  ',tis the city of  
,lacedaemon2 'tis a stack of bayonets4  
,there are asking eyes1 asserting eyes1 
prowling eyes2 and eyes full of         
fate1--some of good1 and some of        
sinister omen4 ,the alleged power to    
charm down insanity1 or ferocity in     
beasts1 is a power behind the eye4  ,it 

must be a victory achieved in the will1 
before it can be signified in the eye4  
',tis very certain that each man carries
 in his eye the exact indication of his 
rank in the immense scale of men1 and we
 are always learning to read it4  ,a    
complete man should need no auxiliaries 
to his personal presence4 ,whoever      
looked on him would consent to his will1
 being certified that his aims were     
generous and universal4 ,the reason why 
men do not obey us1 is because they see 
the mud at the bottom of our eye4  ,if  
the organ of sight is such a vehicle of 
power1 the other features have their    
own4  ,a man finds room in the few      
square inches of the face for the traits
 of all his ancestors2 for the          
expression of all his history1 and his  
wants4  ,the sculptor1 and ,winckelmann1
 and ,lavater1 will tell you how        
significant a feature is the nose2 how  
its forms express strength or weakness  
of will1 and good or bad temper4  ,the  
nose of ,julius ,caesar1 of ,dante1 and 

of ,pitt1 suggest the terrors of the    
beak4  ,what refinement1 and what       
limitations1 the teeth betray6 ,beware  
you don't laugh1 said the wise mother1  
for then you show all your faults4      
,balzac left in manuscript a chapter1   
which he called ,theorie de la demarche 
in which he says3 ,the look1 the voice1 
the respiration1 and the attitude or    
walk1 are identical4  ,but1 as it has   
not been given to man1 the power to     
stand guard1 at once1 over these four   
different simultaneous expressions of   
his thought1 watch that one which speaks
 out the truth1 and you will know the   
whole man4  ,palaces interest us mainly 
in the exhibition of manners1 which1 in 
the idle and expensive society dwelling 
in them1 are raised to a high art4 ,the 
maxim of courts is1 that manner is      
power4  ,a calm and resolute bearing1 a 
polished speech1 an embellishment of    
trifles1 and the art of hiding all      
uncomfortable feeling1 are essential to 
the courtier3 and ,saint ,simon1 and    

,cardinal de ,retz1 and ,roederer1 and  
an encyclopaedia of ,memoires1 will     
instruct you1 if you wish1 in those     
potent secrets4 ,thus1 it is a point of 
pride with kings1 to remember faces and 
names4 ,it is reported of one prince1   
that his head had the air of leaning    
downwards1 in order not to humble the   
crowd4  ,there are people who come in   
ever like a child with a piece of good  
news4  ,it was said of the late ,lord   
,holland1 that he always came down to   
breakfast with the air of a man who had 
just met with some signal good-fortune4 
,in ,notre ,dame1 the grandee took his  
place on the dais1 with the look of one 
who is thinking of something else4  ,but
 we must not peep and eavesdrop at      
palace-doors4  ,fine manners need the   
support of fine manners in others4  ,a  
scholar may be a well-bred man1 or he   
may not4  ,the enthusiast is introduced 
to polished scholars in society1 and is 
chilled and silenced by finding himself 
not in their element4  ,they all have   

somewhat which he has not1 and1 it      
seems1 ought to have4  ,but if he finds 
the scholar apart from his companions1  
it is then the enthusiast's turn1 and   
the scholar has no defence1 but must    
deal on his terms4  ,now they must fight
 the battle out on their private        
strengths4  ,what is the talent of that 
character so common1--the successful man
 of the world1--in all marts1 senates1  
and drawing-rooms8  ,manners3 manners of
 power2 sense to see his advantage1 and 
manners up to it4  ,see him approach his
 man4  ,he knows that troops behave as  
they are handled at first2--that is his 
cheap secret2 just what happens to every
 two persons who meet on any            
affair1--one instantly perceives that he
 has the key of the situation1 that his 
will comprehends the other's will1 as   
the cat does the mouse2 and he has only 
to use courtesy1 and furnish            
good-natured reasons to his victim to   
cover up the chain1 lest he be shamed   
into resistance4  ,the theatre in which 

this science of manners has a formal    
importance is not with us a court1 but  
dress-circles1 wherein1 after the close 
of the day's business1 men and women    
meet at leisure1 for mutual             
entertainment1 in ornamented            
drawing-rooms4 ,of course1 it has every 
variety of attraction and merit2 but1 to
 earnest persons1 to youths or maidens  
who have great objects at heart1 we     
cannot extol it highly4  ,a             
well-dressed1 talkative company1 where  
each is bent to amuse the other4--yet   
the high-born ,turk who came hither     
fancied that every woman seemed to be   
suffering for a chair2 that all the     
talkers were brained and exhausted by   
the deoxygenated air3 it spoiled the    
best persons3 it put all on stilts4     
,yet here are the secret biographies    
written and read4  ,the aspect of that  
man is repulsive3 ,i do not wish to deal
 with him4  ,the other is irritable1    
shy1 and on his guard4  ,the youth looks
 humble and manly3 ,i choose him4  ,look

 on this woman4  ,there is not beauty1  
nor brilliant sayings1 nor distinguished
 power to serve you2 but all see her    
gladly2 her whole air and impression are
 healthful4  ,here come the             
sentimentalists1 and the invalids4      
,here is ,elise1 who caught cold in     
coming into the world1 and has always   
increased it since4  ,here are          
creep-mouse manners2 and thievish       
manners4  ,look at ,northcote1 said     
,fuseli2 he looks like a rat that has   
seen a cat4  ,in the shallow company1   
easily excited1 easily tired1 here is   
the columnar ,bernard3 the ,alleghanies 
do not express more repose than his     
behavior4  ,here are the sweet following
 eyes of ,cecile3 it seemed always that 
she demanded the heart4  ,nothing can be
 more excellent in kind than the        
,corinthian grace of ,gertrude's        
manners1 and yet ,blanche1 who has no   
manners1 has better manners than she2   
for the movements of ,blanche are the   
sallies of a spirit which is sufficient 

for the moment1 and she can afford to   
express every thought by instant action4
  ,manners have been somewhat cynically 
defined to be a contrivance of wise men 
to keep fools at a distance4  ,fashion  
is shrewd to detect those who do not    
belong to her train1 and seldom wastes  
her attentions4  ,society is very swift 
in its instincts1 and1 if you do not    
belong to it1 resists and sneers at you2
 or quietly drops you4  ,the first      
weapon enrages the party attacked2 the  
second is still more effective1 but is  
not to be resisted1 as the date of the  
transaction is not easily found4        
,people grow up and grow old under this 
infliction1 and never suspect the truth1
 ascribing the solitude which acts on   
them very injuriously1 to any cause but 
the right one4  ,the basis of good      
manners is self-reliance4  ,necessity is
 the law of all who are not             
self-possessed4 ,those who are not      
self-possessed1 obtrude1 and pain us4   
,some men appear to feel that they      

belong to a ,pariah caste4  ,they fear  
to offend1 they bend and apologize1 and 
walk through life with a timid step4 ,as
 we sometimes dream that we are in a    
well-dressed company without any coat1  
so ,godfrey acts ever as if he suffered 
from some mortifying circumstance4  ,the
 hero should find himself at home1      
wherever he is2 should impart comfort by
 his own security and good-nature to all
 beholders4  ,the hero is suffered to be
 himself4  ,a person of strong mind     
comes to perceive that for him an       
immunity is secured so long as he       
renders to society that service which is
 native and proper to him1--an immunity 
from all the observances1 yea1 and      
duties1 which society so tyrannically   
imposes on the rank and file of its     
members4  ,euripides1 says ,aspasia1 has
 not the fine manners of ,sophocles2    
but1--she adds good-humoredly1 the      
movers and masters of our souls have    
surely a right to throw out their limbs 
as carelessly as they please1 on the    

world that belongs to them1 and before  
the creatures they have animated4#d     
#d ,landor3 ,pericles and ,aspasia4     
,manners require time1 as nothing is    
more vulgar than haste4  ,friendship    
should be surrounded with ceremonies and
 respects1 and not crushed into corners4
  ,friendship requires more time than   
poor busy men can usually command4      
,here comes to me ,roland1 with a       
delicacy of sentiment leading and       
inwrapping him like a divine cloud or   
holy ghost4  ',tis a great destitution  
to both that this should not be         
entertained with large leisures1 but    
contrariwise should be balked by        
importunate affairs4  ,but through this 
lustrous varnish1 the reality is ever   
shining4  ',tis hard to keep the what   
from breaking through this pretty       
painting of the how4 ,the core will come
 to the surface4  ,strong will and keen 
perception overpower old manners1 and   
create new2 and the thought of the      
present moment has a greater value than 

all the past4  ,in persons of character1
 we do not remark manners1 because of   
their instantaneousness4 ,we are        
surprised by the thing done1 out of all 
power to watch the way of it4  ,yet     
nothing is more charming than to        
recognize the great style which runs    
through the actions of such4  ,people   
masquerade before us in their fortunes1 
titles1 offices1 and connections1 as    
academic or civil presidents1 or        
senators1 or professors1 or great       
lawyers1 and impose on the frivolous1   
and a good deal on each other1 by these 
fames4  ,at least1 it is a point of     
prudent good manners to treat these     
reputations tenderly1 as if they were   
merited4 ,but the sad realist knows     
these fellows at a glance1 and they know
 him2 as when in ,paris the chief of the
 police enters a ballroom1 so many      
diamonded pretenders shrink and make    
themselves as inconspicuous as they can1
 or give him a supplicating look as they
 pass4  ,i had received1 said a sibyl1  

,i had received at birth the fatal gift 
of penetration3--and these ,cassandras  
are always born4  ,manners impress as   
they indicate real power4  ,a man who is
 sure of his point1 carries a broad and 
contented expression1 which everybody   
reads4 ,and you cannot rightly train one
 to an air and manner1 except by making 
him the kind of man of whom that manner 
is the natural expression4 ,nature      
forever puts a premium on reality4      
,what is done for effect1 is seen to be 
done for effect2 what is done for love1 
is felt to be done for love4  ,a man    
inspires affection and honor1 because he
 was not lying in wait for these4  ,the 
things of a man for which we visit him1 
were done in the dark and the cold4  ,a 
little integrity is better than any     
career4  ,so deep are the sources of    
this surface-action1 that even the size 
of your companion seems to vary with his
 freedom of thought4  ,not only is he   
larger1 when at ease1 and his thoughts  
generous1 but everything around him     

becomes variable with expression4  ,no  
carpenter's rule1 no rod and chain1 will
 measure the dimensions of any house or 
house-lot3 go into the house3 if the    
proprietor is constrained and deferring1
 'tis of no importance how large his    
house1 how beautiful his grounds1--you  
quickly come to the end of all3 but if  
the man is self-possessed1 happy1 and at
 home1 his house is deep-founded1       
indefinitely large and interesting1 the 
roof and dome buoyant as the sky4       
,under the humblest roof1 the commonest 
person in plain clothes sits there      
massive1 cheerful1 yet formidable like  
the ,egyptian colossi4  ,neither        
,aristotle1 nor ,leibnitz1 nor ,junius1 
nor ,champollion has set down the       
grammar-rules of this dialect1 older    
than ,sanscrit2 but they who cannot yet 
read ,english1 can read this4  ,men take
 each other's measure1 when they meet   
for the first time1--and every time they
 meet4 ,how do they get this rapid      
knowledge1 even before they speak1 of   

each other's power and dispositions8    
,one would say1 that the persuasion of  
their speech is not in what they        
say1--or1 that men do not convince by   
their argument1--but by their           
personality1 by who they are1 and what  
they said and did heretofore4 ,a man    
already strong is listened to1 and      
everything he says is applauded4        
,another opposes him with sound         
argument1 but the argument is scouted1  
until by and by it gets into the mind of
 some weighty person2 then it begins to 
tell on the community4  ,self-reliance  
is the basis of behavior1 as it is the  
guaranty that the powers are not        
squandered in too much demonstration4   
,in this country1 where school education
 is universal1 we have a superficial    
culture1 and a profusion of reading and 
writing and expression4  ,we parade our 
nobilities in poems and orations1       
instead of working them up into         
happiness4 ,there is a whisper out of   
the ages to him who can understand      

it1--'whatever is known to thyself      
alone1 has always very great value4'    
,there is some reason to believe1 that1 
when a man does not write his poetry1 it
 escapes by other vents through him1    
instead of the one vent of writing2     
clings to his form and manners1 whilst  
poets have often nothing poetical about 
them except their verses4  ,jacobi said1
 that when a man has fully expressed his
 thought1 he has somewhat less          
possession of it4  ,one would say1 the  
rule is1--,what a man is irresistibly   
urged to say1 helps him and us4  ,in    
explaining his thought to others1 he    
explains it to himself3 but when he     
opens it for show1 it corrupts him4     
,society is the stage on which manners  
are shown2 novels are their literature4 
,novels are the journal or record of    
manners2 and the new importance of these
 books derives from the fact1 that the  
novelist begins to penetrate the        
surface1 and treat this part of life    
more worthily4  ,the novels used to be  

all alike1 and had a quite vulgar tone4 
,the novels used to lead us on to a     
foolish interest in the fortunes of the 
boy and girl they described4 ,the boy   
was to be raised from a humble to a high
 position4  ,he was in want of a wife   
and a castle1 and the object of the     
story was to supply him with one or     
both4  ,we watched sympathetically1 step
 by step1 his climbing1 until1 at last1 
the point is gained1 the wedding day is 
fixed1 and we follow the gala procession
 home to the castle1 when the doors are 
slammed in our face1 and the poor reader
 is left outside in the cold1 not       
enriched by so much as an idea1 or a    
virtuous impulse4  ,but the victories of
 character are instant1 and victories   
for all4  ,its greatness enlarges all4  
,we are fortified by every heroic       
anecdote4  ,the novels are as useful as 
,bibles1 if they teach you the secret1  
that the best of life is conversation1  
and the greatest success is confidence1 
or perfect understanding between sincere

 people4  ',tis a ,french definition of 
friendship1 rien que s'entendre1 good   
understanding4 ,the highest compact we  
can make with our fellow1 is1--',let    
there be truth between us two for       
evermore4'  ,that is the charm in all   
good novels1 as it is the charm in all  
good histories1 that the heroes mutually
 understand1 from the first1 and deal   
loyally1 and with a profound trust in   
each other4 ,it is sublime to feel and  
say of another1 ,i need never meet1 or  
speak1 or write to him3 we need not     
reinforce ourselves1 or send tokens of  
remembrance3 ,i rely on him as on       
myself3 if he did thus or thus1 ,i know 
it was right4  ,in all the superior     
people ,i have met1 ,i notice           
directness1 truth spoken more truly1 as 
if everything of obstruction1 of        
malformation1 had been trained away4    
,what have they to conceal8  ,what have 
they to exhibit8 ,between simple and    
noble persons1 there is always a quick  
intelligence3 they recognize at sight1  

and meet on a better ground than the    
talents and skills they may chance to   
possess1 namely1 on sincerity and       
uprightness4  ,for1 it is not what      
talents or genius a man has1 but how he 
is to his talents1 that constitutes     
friendship and character4  ,the man that
 stands by himself1 the universe stands 
by him also4  ,it is related of the monk
 ,basle1 that1 being excommunicated by  
the ,pope1 he was1 at his death1 sent in
 charge of an angel to find a fit place 
of suffering in hell2 but1 such was the 
eloquence and good-humor of the monk1   
that1 wherever he went he was received  
gladly1 and civilly treated1 even by the
 most uncivil angels3 and1 when he came 
to discourse with them1 instead of      
contradicting or forcing him1 they took 
his part1 and adopted his manners3 and  
even good angels came from far1 to see  
him1 and take up their abode with him4  
,the angel that was sent to find a place
 of torment for him1 attempted to remove
 him to a worse pit1 but with no better 

success2 for such was the contented     
spirit of the monk1 that he found       
something to praise in every place and  
company1 though in hell1 and made a kind
 of heaven of it4  ,at last the         
escorting angel returned with his       
prisoner to them that sent him1 saying1 
that no phlegethon could be found that  
would burn him2 for that1 in whatever   
condition1 ,basle remained incorrigibly 
,basle4  ,the legend says1 his sentence 
was remitted1 and he was allowed to go  
into heaven1 and was canonized as a     
saint4  ,there is a stroke of           
magnanimity in the correspondence of    
,bonaparte with his brother ,joseph1    
when the latter was ,king of ,spain1 and
 complained that he missed in           
,napoleon's letters the affectionate    
tone which had marked their childish    
correspondence4 ,i am sorry1 replies    
,napoleon1 you think you shall find your
 brother again only in the ,elysian     
,fields4 ,it is natural1 that at forty1 
he should not feel towards you as he did

 at twelve4  ,but his feelings towards  
you have greater truth and strength4    
,his friendship has the features of his 
mind4  ,how much we forgive to those who
 yield us the rare spectacle of heroic  
manners6  ,we will pardon them the want 
of books1 of arts1 and even of the      
gentler virtues4  ,how tenaciously we   
remember them6  ,here is a lesson which 
,i brought along with me in boyhood from
 the ,latin ,school1 and which ranks    
with the best of ,roman anecdotes4      
,marcus ,scaurus was accused by ,quintus
 ,varius ,hispanus1 that he had excited 
the allies to take arms against the     
,republic4  ,but he1 full of firmness   
and gravity1 defended himself in this   
manner3 ,quintus ,varius ,hispanus      
alleges that ,marcus ,scaurus1          
,president of the ,senate1 excited the  
allies to arms3 ,marcus ,scaurus1       
,president of the ,senate1 denies it4   
,there is no witness4  ,which do you    
believe1 ,romans8  ,utri creditis1      
,quirites8 ,when he had said these      

words1 he was absolved by the assembly  
of the people4  ,i have seen manners    
that make a similar impression with     
personal beauty2 that give the like     
exhilaration1 and refine us like that2  
and1 in memorable experiences1 they are 
suddenly better than beauty1 and make   
that superfluous and ugly4  ,but they   
must be marked by fine perception1 the  
acquaintance with real beauty4  ,they   
must always show self-control3 you shall
 not be facile1 apologetic1 or leaky1   
but king over your word2 and every      
gesture and action shall indicate power 
at rest4  ,then they must be inspired by
 the good heart4  ,there is no          
beautifier of complexion1 or form1 or   
behavior1 like the wish to scatter joy  
and not pain around us4  ',tis good to  
give a stranger a meal1 or a night's    
lodging4  ',tis better to be hospitable 
to his good meaning and thought1 and    
give courage to a companion4  ,we must  
be as courteous to a man as we are to a 
picture1 which we are willing to give   

the advantage of a good light4  ,special
 precepts are not to be thought of3 the 
talent of well-doing contains them all4 
,every hour will show a duty as         
paramount as that of my whim just now2  
and yet ,i will write it1--that there is
 one topic peremptorily forbidden to all
 well-bred1 to all rational mortals1    
namely1 their distempers4  ,if you have 
not slept1 or if you have slept1 or if  
you have headache1 or sciatica1 or      
leprosy1 or thunder-stroke1 ,i beseech  
you1 by all angels1 to hold your peace1 
and not pollute the morning1 to which   
all the housemates bring serene and     
pleasant thoughts1 by corruption and    
groans4  ,come out of the azure4 ,love  
the day4  ,do not leave the sky out of  
your landscape4  ,the oldest and the    
most deserving person should come very  
modestly into any newly awaked company1 
respecting the divine communications1   
out of which all must be presumed to    
have newly come4 ,an old man who added  
an elevating culture to a large         

experience of life1 said to me1 ,when   
you come into the room1 ,i think ,i will
 study how to make humanity beautiful to
 you4  ,as respects the delicate        
question of culture1 ,i do not think    
that any other than negative rules can  
be laid down4  ,for positive rules1 for 
suggestion1 ,nature alone inspires it4  
,who dare assume to guide a youth1 a    
maid1 to perfect manners8--the golden   
mean is so delicate1 difficult1--say    
frankly1 unattainable4  ,what finest    
hands would not be clumsy to sketch the 
genial precepts of the young girl's     
demeanor8  ,the chances seem infinite   
against success2 and yet success is     
continually attained4 ,there must not be
 secondariness1 and 'tis a thousand to  
one that her air and manner will at once
 betray that she is not primary1 but    
that there is some other one or many of 
her class1 to whom she habitually       
postpones herself4  ,but ,nature lifts  
her easily1 and without knowing it1 over
 these impossibilities1 and we are      

continually surprised with graces and   
felicities not only unteachable1 but    
undescribable4                          
,,vi4                                   
,,worship4       ,this is he1 who1      
felled by foes1     ,sprung harmless up1
 refreshed by blows     ,he to captivity
 was sold1     ,but him no prison-bars  
would hold3     ,though they sealed him 
in a rock1     ,mountain chains he can  
unlock3     ,thrown to lions for their  
meat1     ,the crouching lion kissed his
 feet3     ,bound to the stake1 no      
flames appalled1     ,but arched o'er   
him an honoring vault4     ,this is he  
men miscall ,fate1     ,threading dark  
ways1 arriving late1     ,but ever      
coming in time to crown     ,the truth1 
and hurl wrongdoers down4     ,he is the
 oldest1 and best known1     ,more near 
than aught thou call'st thy own1        
,yet1 greeted in another's eyes1        
,disconcerts with glad surprise4        
,this is ,jove1 who1 deaf to prayers1   
,floods with blessings unawares4        

,draw1 if thou canst1 the mystic line1  
,severing rightly his from thine1       
,which is human1 which divine4          
,,worship4   ,some of my friends have   
complained1 when the preceding papers   
were read1 that we discussed ,fate1     
,power1 and ,wealth1 on too low a       
platform2 gave too much line to the evil
 spirit of the times2 too many cakes to 
,cerberus2 that we ran ,cudworth's risk 
of making1 by excess of candor1 the     
argument of atheism so strong1 that he  
could not answer it4 ,i have no fears of
 being forced in my own despite to play1
 as we say1 the devil's attorney4  ,i   
have no infirmity of faith2 no belief   
that it is of much importance what ,i or
 any man may say3 ,i am sure that a     
certain truth will be said through me1  
though ,i should be dumb1 or though ,i  
should try to say the reverse4  ,nor do 
,i fear skepticism for any good soul4   
,a just thinker will allow full swing to
 his skepticism4  ,i dip my pen in the  
blackest ink1 because ,i am not afraid  

of falling into my inkpot4 ,i have no   
sympathy with a poor man ,i knew1 who1  
when suicides abounded1 told me he dared
 not look at his razor4  ,we are of     
different opinions at different hours1  
but we always may be said to be at heart
 on the side of truth4  ,i see not why  
we should give ourselves such sanctified
 airs4  ,if the ,divine ,providence has 
hid from men neither disease1 nor       
deformity1 nor corrupt society1 but has 
stated itself out in passions1 in war1  
in trade1 in the love of power and      
pleasure1 in hunger and need1 in        
tyrannies1 literatures1 and arts1--let  
us not be so nice that we cannot write  
these facts down coarsely as they stand1
 or doubt but there is a                
counter-statement as ponderous1 which we
 can arrive at1 and which1 being put1   
will make all square4  ,the solar system
 has no anxiety about its reputation1   
and the credit of truth and honesty is  
as safe2 nor have ,i any fear that a    
skeptical bias can be given by leaning  

hard on the sides of fate1 of practical 
power1 or of trade1 which the doctrine  
of ,faith cannot down-weigh4  ,the      
strength of that principle is not       
measured in ounces and pounds3 it       
tyrannizes at the centre of ,nature4 ,we
 may well give skepticism as much line  
as we can4  ,the spirit will return1 and
 fill us4  ,it drives the drivers4  ,it 
counterbalances any accumulations of    
power4      ,heaven kindly gave our     
blood a moral flow4  ,we are born loyal4
  ,the whole creation is made of hooks  
and eyes1 of bitumen1 of                
sticking-plaster1 and whether your      
community is made in ,jerusalem or in   
,california1 of saints or of wreckers1  
it coheres in a perfect ball4  ,men as  
naturally make a state1 or a church1 as 
caterpillars a web4  ,if they were more 
refined1 it would be less formal1 it    
would be nervous1 like that of the      
,shakers1 who1 from long habit of       
thinking and feeling together1 it is    
said1 are affected in the same way1 at  

the same time1 to work and to play1 and 
as they go with perfect sympathy to     
their tasks in the field or shop1 so are
 they inclined for a ride or a journey  
at the same instant1 and the horses come
 up with the family carriage unbespoken 
to the door4  ,we are born believing4   
,a man bears beliefs1 as a tree bears   
apples4  ,a self-poise belongs to every 
particle2 and a rectitude to every mind1
 and is the ,nemesis and protector of   
every society4  ,i and my neighbors have
 been bred in the notion1 that1 unless  
we came soon to some good               
church1--,calvinism1 or ,behmenism1 or  
,romanism1 or ,mormonism1--there would  
be a universal thaw and dissolution4 ,no
 ,isaiah or ,jeremy has arrived4        
,nothing can exceed the anarchy that has
 followed in our skies4 ,the stern old  
faiths have all pulverized4  ',tis a    
whole population of gentlemen and ladies
 out in search of religions4  ',tis as  
flat anarchy in our ecclesiastic realms1
 as that which existed in               

,massachusetts1 in the ,revolution1 or  
which prevails now on the slope of the  
,rocky ,mountains or ,pike's ,peak4     
,yet we make shift to live4  ,men are   
loyal4 ,nature has self-poise in all her
 works2 certain proportions in which    
oxygen and azote combine1 and1 not less 
a harmony in faculties1 a fitness in the
 spring and the regulator4  ,the decline
 of the influence of ,calvin1 or        
,fenelon1 or ,wesley1 or ,channing1 need
 give us no uneasiness4  ,the builder of
 heaven has not so ill constructed his  
creature as that the religion1 that is1 
the public nature1 should fall out3 the 
public and the private element1 like    
north and south1 like inside and        
outside1 like centrifugal and           
centripetal1 adhere to every soul1 and  
cannot be subdued1 except the soul is   
dissipated4  ,god builds his temple in  
the heart on the ruins of churches and  
religions4  ,in the last chapters1 we   
treated some particulars of the question
 of culture4  ,but the whole state of   

man is a state of culture2 and its      
flowering and completion may be         
described as ,religion1 or ,worship4    
,there is always some religion1 some    
hope and fear extended into the         
invisible1--from the blind boding which 
nails a horseshoe to the mast or the    
threshold1 up to the song of the ,elders
 in the ,apocalypse4  ,but the religion 
cannot rise above the state of the      
votary4  ,heaven always bears some      
proportion to earth4  ,the god of the   
cannibals will be a cannibal1 of the    
crusaders a crusader1 and of the        
merchants a merchant4  ,in all ages1    
souls out of time1 extraordinary1       
prophetic1 are born1 who are rather     
related to the system of the world1 than
 to their particular age and locality4  
,these announce absolute truths1 which1 
with whatever reverence received1 are   
speedily dragged down into a savage     
interpretation4  ,the interior tribes of
 our ,indians1 and some of the ,pacific 
islanders1 flog their gods1 when things 

take an unfavorable turn4  ,the ,greek  
poets did not hesitate to let loose     
their petulant wit on their deities     
also4  ,laomedon1 in his anger at       
,neptune and ,apollo1 who had built     
,troy for him1 and demanded their price1
 does not hesitate to menace them that  
he will cut their ears off4#e  ,among   
our ,norse forefathers1 ,king ,olaf's   
mode of converting ,eyvind to           
,christianity was to put a pan of       
glowing coals on his belly1 which burst 
asunder4  ,wilt thou now1 ,eyvind1      
believe in ,christ8 asks ,olaf1 in      
excellent faith4 ,another argument was  
an adder put into the mouth of the      
reluctant disciple ,rand1 who refused to
 believe4    #e ,iliad1 ,book xxi4 #a4  
#dee4  ,christianity1 in the romantic   
ages1 signified ,european culture1--the 
grafted or meliorated tree in a crab    
forest4  ,and to marry a pagan wife or  
husband1 was to marry ,beast1 and       
voluntarily to take a step backwards    
towards the baboon4      ,hengist had   

verament     ,a daughter both fair and  
gent1     ,but she was heathen          
,sarazine1     ,and ,vortigern for love 
fine     ,her took to fere and to wife1 
,and was cursed in all his life2        
,for he let ,christian wed heathen1     
,and mixed our blood as flesh and       
mathen4#f    #f ,moths or worms  ,what  
,gothic mixtures the ,christian creed   
drew from the pagan sources1 ,richard of
 ,devizes's chronicle of ,richard ,i4's 
crusade1 in the twelfth century1 may    
show4  ,king ,richard taunts ,god with  
forsaking him3 ,o fie6 ,o how unwilling 
should ,i be to forsake thee1 in so     
forlorn and dreadful a position1 were ,i
 thy lord and advocate1 as thou art     
mine4  ,in sooth1 my standards will in  
future be despised1 not through my      
fault1 but through thine3 in sooth1 not 
through any cowardice of my warfare1 art
 thou thyself1 my king and my ,god      
conquered1 this day1 and not ,richard   
thy vassal4  ,the religion of the early 
,english poets is anomalous1 so devout  

and so blasphemous1 in the same breath4 
,such is ,chaucer's extraordinary       
confusion of heaven and earth in the    
picture of ,dido4        ,she was so    
fair1     ,so young1 so lusty1 with her 
eyen glad1     ,that if that ,god that  
heaven and earthe made     ,would have a
 love for beauty and goodness1     ,and 
womanhede1 truth1 and seemliness1       
,whom should he loven but this lady     
sweet8     ,there n' is no woman to him 
half so meet4   ,with these grossnesses1
 we complacently compare our own taste  
and decorum4  ,we think and speak with  
more temperance and gradation1--but is  
not indifferentism as bad as            
superstition8  ,we live in a transition 
period1 when the old faiths which       
comforted nations1 and not only so1 but 
made nations1 seem to have spent their  
force4 ,i do not find the religions of  
men at this moment very creditable to   
them1 but either childish and           
insignificant1 or unmanly and           
effeminating4  ,the fatal trait is the  

divorce between religion and morality4  
,here are know-nothing religions1 or    
churches that proscribe intellect2      
scortatory religions2 slave-holding and 
slave-trading religions2 and1 even in   
the decent populations1 idolatries      
wherein the whiteness of the ritual     
covers scarlet indulgence4  ,the lover  
of the old religion complains that our  
contemporaries1 scholars as well as     
merchants1 succumb to a great           
despair1--have corrupted into a timorous
 conservatism1 and believe in nothing4  
,in our large cities1 the population is 
godless1 materialized1--no bond1 no     
fellow-feeling1 no enthusiasm4  ,these  
are not men1 but hungers1 thirsts1      
fevers1 and appetites walking4  ,how is 
it people manage to live on1--so aimless
 as they are8  ,after their peppercorn  
aims are gained1 it seems as if the lime
 in their bones alone held them         
together1 and not any worthy purpose4   
,there is no faith in the intellectual1 
none in the moral universe4  ,there is  

faith in chemistry1 in meat1 and wine1  
in wealth1 in machinery1 in the         
steam-engine1 galvanic battery1         
turbine-wheels1 sewing machines1 and in 
public opinion1 but not in divine       
causes4  ,a silent revolution has loosed
 the tension of the old religious sects1
 and1 in place of the gravity and       
permanence of those societies of        
opinion1 they run into freak and        
extravagance4 ,in creeds never was such 
levity2 witness the heathenisms in      
,christianity1 the periodic revivals1   
the ,millennium mathematics1 the peacock
 ritualism1 the retrogression to        
,popery1 the maundering of ,mormons1 the
 squalor of ,mesmerism1 the deliration  
of rappings1 the rat and mouse          
revelation1 thumps in table-drawers1 and
 black art4  ,the architecture1 the     
music1 the prayer1 partake of the       
madness3 the arts sink into shift and   
make-believe4  ,not knowing what to do1 
we ape our ancestors2 the churches      
stagger backward to the mummeries of the

 dark ages4  ,by the irresistible       
maturing of the general mind1 the       
,christian traditions have lost their   
hold4 ,the dogma of the mystic offices  
of ,christ being dropped1 and he        
standing on his genius as a moral       
teacher1 'tis impossible to maintain the
 old emphasis of his personality2 and it
 recedes1 as all persons must1 before   
the sublimity of the moral laws4 ,from  
this change1 and in the momentary       
absence of any religious genius that    
could offset the immense material       
activity1 there is a feeling that       
religion is gone4  ,when ,paul ,leroux  
offered his article ,dieu to the        
conductor of a leading ,french journal1 
he replied1 ,la question de ,dieu manque
 d'actualite4  ,in ,italy1 ,mr4         
,gladstone said of the late ,king of    
,naples1 it has been a proverb1 that he 
has erected the negation of ,god into a 
system of government4  ,in this country1
 the like stupefaction was in the air1  
and the phrase higher law became a      

political jibe4  ,what proof of         
infidelity1 like the toleration and     
propagandism of slavery8  ,what1 like   
the direction of education8  ,what1 like
 the facility of conversion8 ,what1 like
 the externality of churches that once  
sucked the roots of right and wrong1 and
 now have perished away till they are a 
speck of whitewash on the wall8  ,what  
proof of skepticism like the base rate  
at which the highest mental and moral   
gifts are held8  ,let a man attain the  
highest and broadest culture that any   
,american has possessed1 then let him   
die by sea-storm1 railroad collision1 or
 other accident1 and all ,america will  
acquiesce that the best thing has       
happened to him2 that1 after the        
education has gone far1 such is the     
expensiveness of ,america1 that the best
 use to put a fine person to1 is1 to    
drown him to save his board4  ,another  
scar of this skepticism is the distrust 
in human virtue4  ,it is believed by    
well-dressed proprietors that there is  

no more virtue than they possess2 that  
the solid portion of society exist for  
the arts of comfort3 that life is an    
affair to put somewhat between the upper
 and lower mandibles4 ,how prompt the   
suggestion of a low motive6 ,certain    
patriots in ,england devoted themselves 
for years to creating a public opinion  
that should break down the corn-laws and
 establish free trade4 ',well1' says the
 man in the street1 ',cobden got a      
stipend out of it4' ,kossuth fled hither
 across the ocean to try if he could    
rouse the ,new ,world to a sympathy with
 ,european liberty4  ',aye1' says ,new  
,york1 'he made a handsome thing of it1 
enough to make him comfortable for      
life4'  ,see what allowance vice finds  
in the respectable and well-conditioned 
class4  ,if a pickpocket intrude into   
the society of gentlemen1 they exert    
what moral force they have1 and he finds
 himself uncomfortable1 and glad to get 
away4  ,but if an adventurer go through 
all the forms1 procure himself to be    

elected to a post of trust1 as of       
senator1 or president1--though by the   
same arts as we detest in the           
house-thief1--the same gentlemen who    
agree to discountenance the private     
rogue1 will be forward to show          
civilities and marks of respect to the  
public one3 and no amount of evidence of
 his crimes will prevent them giving him
 ovations1 complimentary dinners1       
opening their own houses to him1 and    
priding themselves on his acquaintance4 
,we were not deceived by the professions
 of the private adventurer1--the louder 
he talked of his honor1 the faster we   
counted our spoons2 but we appeal to the
 sanctified preamble of the messages and
 proclamations of the public sinner1 as 
the proof of sincerity4  ,it must be    
that they who pay this homage have said 
to themselves1 ,on the whole1 we don't  
know about this that you call honesty2 a
 bird in the hand is better4  ,even     
well-disposed1 good sort of people are  
touched with the same infidelity1 and   

for brave1 straightforward action1 use  
half-measures and compromises4          
,forgetful that a little measure is a   
great error1 forgetful that a wise      
mechanic uses a sharp tool1 they go on  
choosing the dead men of routine4  ,but 
the official men can in nowise help you 
in any question of to-day1 they deriving
 entirely from the old dead things4     
,only those can help in counsel or      
conduct who did not make a party pledge 
to defend this or that1 but who were    
appointed by ,god ,almighty1 before they
 came into the world1 to stand for this 
which they uphold4  ,it has been charged
 that a want of sincerity in the leading
 men is a vice general throughout       
,american society4  ,but the multitude  
of the sick shall not make us deny the  
existence of health4  ,in spite of our  
imbecility and terrors1 and universal   
decay of religion1 c4 c41 the moral     
sense reappears to-day with the same    
morning newness that has been from of   
old the fountain of beauty and strength4

 ,you say1 there is no religion now4    
',tis like saying in rainy weather1     
there is no sun1 when at that moment we 
are witnessing one of his superlative   
effects4 ,the religion of the cultivated
 class now1 to be sure1 consists in an  
avoidance of acts and engagements which 
it was once their religion to assume4   
,but this avoidance will yield          
spontaneous forms in their due hour4    
,there is a principle which is the basis
 of things1 which all speech aims to    
say1 and all action to evolve1 a simple1
 quiet1 undescribed1 undescribable      
presence1 dwelling very peacefully in   
us1 our rightful lord3 we are not to do1
 but to let do2 not to work1 but to be  
worked upon2 and to this homage there is
 a consent of all thoughtful and just   
men in all ages and conditions4  ,to    
this sentiment belong vast and sudden   
enlargements of power4 ',tis remarkable 
that our faith in ecstasy consists with 
total inexperience of it4  ,it is the   
order of the world to educate with      

accuracy the senses and the             
understanding2 and the enginery at work 
to draw out these powers in priority1 no
 doubt1 has its office4 ,but we are     
never without a hint that these powers  
are mediate and servile1 and that we are
 one day to deal with real              
being1--essences with essences4 ,even   
the fury of material activity has some  
results friendly to moral health4  ,the 
energetic action of the times develops  
individualism1 and the religious appear 
isolated4  ,i esteem this a step in the 
right direction4  ,heaven deals with us 
on no representative system4  ,souls are
 not saved in bundles4  ,the ,spirit    
saith to the man1 ',how is it with thee8
 thee personally8 is it well8 is it     
ill8'  ,for a great nature1 it is a     
happiness to escape a religious         
training1--religion of character is so  
apt to be invaded4 ,religion must always
 be a crab fruit3 it cannot be grafted  
and keep its wild beauty4 ,i have seen1 
said a traveller who had known the      

extremes of society1 ,i have seen human 
nature in all its forms1 it is          
everywhere the same1 but the wilder it  
is1 the more virtuous4  ,we say1 the old
 forms of religion decay1 and that a    
skepticism devastates the community4  ,i
 do not think it can be cured or stayed 
by any modification of theologic creeds1
 much less by theologic discipline4 ,the
 cure for false theology is motherwit4  
,forget your books and traditions1 and  
obey your moral perceptions at this     
hour4  ,that which is signified by the  
words moral and spiritual1 is a lasting 
essence1 and1 with whatever illusions we
 have loaded them1 will certainly bring 
back the words1 age after age1 to their 
ancient meaning4 ,i know no words that  
mean so much4  ,in our definitions1 we  
grope after the spiritual by describing 
it as invisible4  ,the true meaning of  
spiritual is real2 that law which       
executes itself1 which works without    
means1 and which cannot be conceived as 
not existing4  ,men talk of mere        

morality1--which is much as if one      
should say1 'poor ,god1 with nobody to  
help him4'  ,i find the omnipresence and
 the almightiness in the reaction of    
every atom in ,nature4  ,i can best     
indicate by examples those reactions by 
which every part of ,nature replies to  
the purpose of the actor1--beneficently 
to the good1 penally to the bad4  ,let  
us replace sentimentalism by realism1   
and dare to uncover those simple and    
terrible laws which1 be they seen or    
unseen1 pervade and govern4  ,every man 
takes care that his neighbor shall not  
cheat him4  ,but a day comes when he    
begins to care that he do not cheat his 
neighbor4  ,then all goes well4  ,he has
 changed his market-cart into a chariot 
of the sun4  ,what a day dawns1 when we 
have taken to heart the doctrine of     
faith6 to prefer1 as a better           
investment1 being to doing2 being to    
seeming2 logic to rhythm and to display2
 the year to the day2 the life to the   
year2 character to performance2--and    

have come to know1 that justice will be 
done us2 and1 if our genius is slow1 the
 term will be long4  ',tis certain that 
worship stands in some commanding       
relation to the health of man1 and to   
his highest powers1 so as to be1 in some
 manner1 the source of intellect4  ,all 
the great ages have been ages of belief4
 ,i mean1 when there was any            
extraordinary power of performance1 when
 great national movements began1 when   
arts appeared1 when heroes existed1 when
 poems were made1 the human soul was in 
earnest1 and had fixed its thoughts on  
spiritual verities1 with as strict a    
grasp as that of the hands on the sword1
 or the pencil1 or the trowel4  ,it is  
true that genius takes its rise out of  
the mountains of rectitude2 that all    
beauty and power which men covet1 are   
somehow born out of that ,alpine        
district2 that any extraordinary degree 
of beauty in man or woman involves a    
moral charm4  ,thus1 ,i think1 we very  
slowly admit in another man a higher    

degree of moral sentiment than our      
own1--a finer conscience1 more          
impressionable1 or1 which marks minuter 
degrees2 an ear to hear acuter notes of 
right and wrong1 than we can4  ,i think 
we listen suspiciously and very slowly  
to any evidence to that point4  ,but1   
once satisfied of such superiority1 we  
set no limit to our expectation of his  
genius4  ,for such persons are nearer to
 the secret of ,god than others2 are    
bathed by sweeter waters2 they hear     
notices1 they see visions1 where others 
are vacant4  ,we believe that holiness  
confers a certain insight1 because not  
by our private1 but by our public force1
 can we share and know the nature of    
things4  ,there is an intimate          
interdependence of intellect and morals4
  ,given the equality of two            
intellects1--which will form the most   
reliable judgments1 the good1 or the bad
 hearted8  ,the heart has its arguments1
 with which the understanding is not    
acquainted4  ,for the heart is at once  

aware of the state of health or disease1
 which is the controlling state1 that   
is1 of sanity or of insanity1 prior1 of 
course1 to all question of the ingenuity
 of arguments1 the amount of facts1 or  
the elegance of rhetoric4  ,so intimate 
is this alliance of mind and heart1 that
 talent uniformly sinks with character4 
,the bias of errors of principle carries
 away men into perilous courses1 as soon
 as their will does not control their   
passion or talent4  ,hence the          
extraordinary blunders1 and final wrong 
head1 into which men spoiled by ambition
 usually fall4  ,hence the remedy for   
all blunders1 the cure of blindness1 the
 cure of crime1 is love4  ,as much love1
 so much mind1 said the ,latin proverb4 
,the superiority that has no superior2  
the redeemer and instructor of souls1 as
 it is their primal essence1 is love4   
,the moral must be the measure of       
health4  ,if your eye is on the eternal1
 your intellect will grow1 and your     
opinions and actions will have a beauty 

which no learning or combined advantages
 of other men can rival4 ,the moment of 
your loss of faith1 and acceptance of   
the lucrative standard1 will be marked  
in the pause1 or solstice of genius1 the
 sequent retrogression1 and the         
inevitable loss of attraction to other  
minds4  ,the vulgar are sensible of the 
change in you1 and of your descent1     
though they clap you on the back1 and   
congratulate you on your increased      
common sense4  ,our recent culture has  
been in natural science4 ,we have       
learned the manners of the sun and of   
the moon1 of the rivers and the rains1  
of the mineral and elemental kingdoms1  
of plants and animals4 ,man has learned 
to weigh the sun1 and its weight neither
 loses nor gains4  ,the path of a star1 
the moment of an eclipse1 can be        
determined to the fraction of a second4 
,well1 to him the book of ,history1 the 
book of love1 the lures of passion1 and 
the commandments of duty are opened3 and
 the next lesson taught1 is1 the        

continuation of the inflexible law of   
matter into the subtile kingdom of will1
 and of thought2 that1 if1 in sidereal  
ages1 gravity and projection keep their 
craft1 and the ball never loses its way 
in its wild path through space1--a      
secreter gravitation1 a secreter        
projection1 rule not less tyrannically  
in human history1 and keep the balance  
of power from age to age unbroken4      
,for1 though the new element of freedom 
and an individual has been admitted1 yet
 the primordial atoms are prefigured and
 predetermined to moral issues1 are in  
search of justice1 and ultimate right is
 done4 ,religion or worship is the      
attitude of those who see this unity1   
intimacy1 and sincerity2 who see that1  
against all appearances1 the nature of  
things works for truth and right        
forever4  ',tis a short sight to limit  
our faith in laws to those of gravity1  
of chemistry1 of botany1 and so forth4  
,those laws do not stop where our eyes  
lose them1 but push the same geometry   

and chemistry up into the invisible     
plane of social and rational life1 so   
that1 look where we will1 in a boy's    
game1 or in the strifes of races1 a     
perfect reaction1 a perpetual judgment  
keeps watch and ward4  ,and this appears
 in a class of facts which concerns all 
men1 within and above their creeds4     
,shallow men believe in luck1 believe in
 circumstances3 ,it was somebody's name1
 or he happened to be there at the time1
 or1 it was so then1 and another day it 
would have been otherwise4  ,strong men 
believe in cause and effect4  ,the man  
was born to do it1 and his father was   
born to be the father of him and of this
 deed1 and1 by looking narrowly1 you    
shall see there was no luck in the      
matter1 but it was all a problem in     
arithmetic1 or an experiment in         
chemistry4  ,the curve of the flight of 
the moth is preordained1 and all things 
go by number1 rule1 and weight4         
,skepticism is unbelief in cause and    
effect4  ,a man does not see1 that1 as  

he eats1 so he thinks3 as he deals1 so  
he is1 and so he appears2 he does not   
see1 that his son is the son of his     
thoughts and of his actions2 that       
fortunes are not exceptions but fruits2 
that relation and connection are not    
somewhere and sometimes1 but everywhere 
and always2 no miscellany1 no exemption1
 no anomaly1--but method1 and an even   
web2 and what comes out1 that was put   
in4  ,as we are1 so we do2 and as we do1
 so is it done to us2 we are the        
builders of our fortunes2 cant and lying
 and the attempt to secure a good which 
does not belong to us1 are1 once for    
all1 balked and vain4  ,but1 in the     
human mind1 this tie of fate is made    
alive4  ,the law is the basis of the    
human mind4  ,in us1 it is inspiration2 
out there in ,nature1 we see its fatal  
strength4  ,we call it the moral        
sentiment4  ,we owe to the ,hindoo      
,scriptures a definition of ,law1 which 
compares well with any in our ,western  
books4  ,law it is1 which is without    

name1 or color1 or hands1 or feet2 which
 is smallest of the least1 and largest  
of the large2 all1 and knowing all      
things2 which hears without ears1 sees  
without eyes1 moves without feet1 and   
seizes without hands4  ,if any reader   
tax me with using vague and traditional 
phrases1 let me suggest to him1 by a few
 examples1 what kind of a trust this is1
 and how real4 ,let me show him that the
 dice are loaded2 that the colors are   
fast1 because they are the native colors
 of the fleece2 that the globe is a     
battery1 because every atom is a magnet2
 and that the police and sincerity of   
the ,universe are secured by ,god's     
delegating his divinity to every        
particle2 that there is no room for     
hypocrisy1 no margin for choice4  ,the  
countryman leaving his native village1  
for the first time1 and going abroad1   
finds all his habits broken up4  ,in a  
new nation and language1 his sect1 as   
,quaker1 or ,lutheran1 is lost4  ,what6 
it is not then necessary to the order   

and existence of society8  ,he misses   
this1 and the commanding eye of his     
neighborhood1 which held him to decorum4
 ,this is the peril of ,new ,york1 of   
,new ,orleans1 of ,london1 of ,paris1 to
 young men4  ,but after a little        
experience1 he makes the discovery that 
there are no large cities1--none large  
enough to hide in2 that the censors of  
action are as numerous and as near in   
,paris1 as in ,littleton or ,portland2  
that the gossip is as prompt and        
vengeful4  ,there is no concealment1    
and1 for each offence1 a several        
vengeance2 that1 reaction1 or nothing   
for nothing1 or1 things are as broad as 
they are long1 is not a rule for        
,littleton or ,portland1 but for the    
,universe4  ,we cannot spare the        
coarsest muniment of virtue4  ,we are   
disgusted by gossip2 yet it is of       
importance to keep the angels in their  
proprieties4 ,the smallest fly will draw
 blood1 and gossip is a weapon          
impossible to exclude from the          

privatest1 highest1 selectest4  ,nature 
created a police of many ranks4  ,god   
has delegated himself to a million      
deputies4  ,from these low external     
penalties1 the scale ascends4  ,next    
come the resentments1 the fears1 which  
injustice calls out2 then1 the false    
relations in which the offender is put  
to other men2 and the reaction of his   
fault on himself1 in the solitude and   
devastation of his mind4  ,you cannot   
hide any secret4  ,if the artist succor 
his flagging spirits by opium or wine1  
his work will characterize itself as the
 effect of opium or wine4 ,if you make a
 picture or a statue1 it sets the       
beholder in that state of mind you had1 
when you made it4  ,if you spend for    
show1 on building1 or gardening1 or on  
pictures1 or on equipages1 it will so   
appear4  ,we are all physiognomists and 
penetrators of character1 and things    
themselves are detective4 ,if you follow
 the suburban fashion in building a     
sumptuous-looking house for a little    

money1 it will appear to all eyes as a  
cheap dear house4  ,there is no privacy 
that cannot be penetrated4  ,no secret  
can be kept in the civilized world4     
,society is a masked ball1 where every  
one hides his real character1 and       
reveals it by hiding4  ,if a man wish to
 conceal anything he carries1 those whom
 he meets know that he conceals         
somewhat1 and usually know what he      
conceals4 ,is it otherwise if there be  
some belief or some purpose he would    
bury in his breast8 ',tis as hard to    
hide as fire4  ,he is a strong man who  
can hold down his opinion4  ,a man      
cannot utter two or three sentences1    
without disclosing to intelligent ears  
precisely where he stands in life and   
thought1 namely1 whether in the kingdom 
of the senses and the understanding1 or1
 in that of ideas and imagination1 in   
the realm of intuitions and duty4       
,people seem not to see that their      
opinion of the world is also a          
confession of character4 ,we can only   

see what we are1 and if we misbehave we 
suspect others4  ,the fame of           
,shakspeare or of ,voltaire1 of ,thomas 
a ,kempis1 or of ,bonaparte1            
characterizes those who give it4  ,as   
gas-light is found to be the best       
nocturnal police1 so the universe       
protects itself by pitiless publicity4  
,each must be armed--not necessarily    
with musket and pike4  ,happy1 if1      
seeing these1 he can feel that he has   
better muskets and pikes in his energy  
and constancy4  ,to every creature is   
his own weapon1 however skilfully       
concealed from himself1 a good while4   
,his work is sword and shield4 ,let him 
accuse none1 let him injure none4  ,the 
way to mend the bad world1 is to create 
the right world4  ,here is a low        
political economy plotting to cut the   
throat of foreign competition1 and      
establish our own2--excluding others by 
force1 or making war on them2 or1 by    
cunning tariffs1 giving preference to   
worse wares of ours4  ,but the real and 

lasting victories are those of peace1   
and not of war4 ,the way to conquer the 
foreign artisan1 is1 not to kill him1   
but to beat his work4 ,and the ,crystal 
,palaces and ,world ,fairs1 with their  
committees and prizes on all kinds of   
industry1 are the result of this        
feeling4  ,the ,american workman who    
strikes ten blows with his hammer1      
whilst the foreign workman only strikes 
one1 is as really vanquishing that      
foreigner1 as if the blows were aimed at
 and told on his person4  ,i look on    
that man as happy1 who1 when there is   
question of success1 looks into his work
 for a reply1 not into the market1 not  
into opinion1 not into patronage4  ,in  
every variety of human employment1 in   
the mechanical and in the fine arts1 in 
navigation1 in farming1 in legislating1 
there are among the numbers who do their
 task perfunctorily1 as we say1 or just 
to pass1 and as badly as they           
dare1--there are the working-men1 on    
whom the burden of the business         

falls1--those who love work1 and love to
 see it rightly done1 who finish their  
task for its own sake2 and the state and
 the world is happy1 that has the most  
of such finishers4  ,the world will     
always do justice at last to such       
finishers3 it cannot otherwise4 ,he who 
has acquired the ability1 may wait      
securely the occasion of making it felt 
and appreciated1 and know that it will  
not loiter4  ,men talk as if victory    
were something fortunate4  ,work is     
victory4 ,wherever work is done1 victory
 is obtained4  ,there is no chance1 and 
no blanks4  ,you want but one verdict3  
if you have your own1 you are secure of 
the rest4  ,and yet1 if witnesses are   
wanted1 witnesses are near4  ,there was 
never a man born so wise or good1 but   
one or more companions came into the    
world with him1 who delight in his      
faculty1 and report it4  ,i cannot see  
without awe1 that no man thinks alone1  
and no man acts alone1 but the divine   
assessors who came up with him into     

life1--now under one disguise1 now under
 another1--like a police in citizens'   
clothes1 walk with him1 step for step1  
through all the kingdom of time4  ,this 
reaction1 this sincerity is the property
 of all things4  ,to make our word or   
act sublime1 we must make it real4  ,it 
is our system that counts1 not the      
single word or unsupported action4  ,use
 what language you will1 you can never  
say anything but what you are4  ,what ,i
 am1 and what ,i think1 is conveyed to  
you1 in spite of my efforts to hold it  
back4  ,what ,i am has been secretly    
conveyed from me to another1 whilst ,i  
was vainly making up my mind to tell him
 it4  ,he has heard from me what ,i     
never spoke4  ,as men get on in life1   
they acquire a love for sincerity1 and  
somewhat less solicitude to be lulled or
 amused4  ,in the progress of the       
character1 there is an increasing faith 
in the moral sentiment1 and a decreasing
 faith in propositions4  ,young people  
admire talents1 and particular          

excellences4  ,as we grow older1 we     
value total powers and effects1 as the  
spirit1 or quality of the man4  ,we have
 another sight1 and a new standard2 an  
insight which disregards what is done   
for the eye1 and pierces to the doer2 an
 ear which hears not what men say1 but  
hears what they do not say4  ,there was 
a wise1 devout man who is called1 in the
 ,catholic ,church1 ,st4 ,philip ,neri1 
of whom many anecdotes touching his     
discernment and benevolence are told at 
,naples and ,rome4  ,among the nuns in a
 convent not far from ,rome1 one had    
appeared1 who laid claim to certain rare
 gifts of inspiration and prophecy1 and 
the abbess advised the ,holy ,father1 at
 ,rome1 of the wonderful powers shown by
 her novice4  ,the ,pope did not well   
know what to make of these new claims1  
and ,philip coming in from a journey1   
one day1 he consulted him4 ,philip      
undertook to visit the nun1 and         
ascertain her character4  ,he threw     
himself on his mule1 all travel-soiled  

as he was1 and hastened through the mud 
and mire to the distant convent4  ,he   
told the abbess the wishes of his       
,holiness1 and begged her to summon the 
nun without delay4  ,the nun was sent   
for1 and1 as soon as she came into the  
apartment1 ,philip stretched out his leg
 all bespattered with mud1 and desired  
her to draw off his boots4 ,the young   
nun1 who had become the object of much  
attention and respect1 drew back with   
anger1 and refused the office3 ,philip  
ran out of doors1 mounted his mule1 and 
returned instantly to the ,pope2 ,give  
yourself no uneasiness1 ,holy ,father1  
any longer3 here is no miracle1 for here
 is no humility4  ,we need not much mind
 what people please to say1 but what    
they must say2 what their natures say1  
though their busy1 artful1 ,yankee      
understandings try to hold back1 and    
choke that word1 and to articulate      
something different4  ,if we will sit   
quietly1--what they ought to say is     
said1 with their will1 or against their 

will4  ,we do not care for you1 let us  
pretend what we will3--we are always    
looking through you to the dim dictator 
behind you4  ,whilst your habit or whim 
chatters1 we civilly and impatiently    
wait until that wise superior shall     
speak again4  ,even children are not    
deceived by the false reasons which     
their parents give in answer to their   
questions1 whether touching natural     
facts1 or religion1 or persons4  ,when  
the parent1 instead of thinking how it  
really is1 puts them off with a         
traditional or a hypocritical answer1   
the children perceive that it is        
traditional or hypocritical4  ,to a     
sound constitution the defect of another
 is at once manifest3 and the marks of  
it are only concealed from us by our own
 dislocation4 ,an anatomical observer   
remarks1 that the sympathies of the     
chest1 abdomen1 and pelvis1 tell at last
 on the face1 and on all its features4  
,not only does our beauty waste1 but it 
leaves word how it went to waste4       

,physiognomy and phrenology are not new 
sciences1 but declarations of the soul  
that it is aware of certain new sources 
of information4  ,and now sciences of   
broader scope are starting up behind    
these4  ,and so for ourselves1 it is    
really of little importance what        
blunders in statement we make1 so only  
we make no wilful departures from the   
truth4  ,how a man's truth comes to     
mind1 long after we have forgotten all  
his words6 ,how it comes to us in silent
 hours1 that truth is our only armor in 
all passages of life and death6  ,wit is
 cheap1 and anger is cheap2 but if you  
cannot argue or explain yourself to the 
other party1 cleave to the truth against
 me1 against thee1 and you gain a       
station from which you cannot be        
dislodged4  ,the other party will forget
 the words that you spoke1 but the part 
you took continues to plead for you4    
,why should ,i hasten to solve every    
riddle which life offers me8  ,i am well
 assured that the ,questioner1 who      

brings me so many problems1 will bring  
the answers also in due time4  ,very    
rich1 very potent1 very cheerful ,giver 
that he is1 he shall have it all his own
 way1 for me4 ,why should ,i give up my 
thought1 because ,i cannot answer an    
objection to it8  ,consider only1       
whether it remains in my life the same  
it was4  ,that only which we have       
within1 can we see without4  ,if we meet
 no gods1 it is because we harbor none4 
,if there is grandeur in you1 you will  
find grandeur in porters and sweeps4    
,he only is rightly immortal1 to whom   
all things are immortal4  ,i have read  
somewhere1 that none is accomplished1 so
 long as any are incomplete2 that the   
happiness of one cannot consist with the
 misery of any other4  ,the ,buddhists  
say1 ,no seed will die3 every seed will 
grow4  ,where is the service which can  
escape its remuneration8  ,what is      
vulgar1 and the essence of all          
vulgarity1 but the avarice of reward8   
',tis the difference of artisan and     

artist1 of talent and genius1 of sinner 
and saint4  ,the man whose eyes are     
nailed not on the nature of his act1 but
 on the wages1 whether it be money1 or  
office1 or fame1--is almost equally low4
 ,he is great1 whose eyes are opened to 
see that the reward of actions cannot be
 escaped1 because he is transformed into
 his action1 and taketh its nature1     
which bears its own fruit1 like every   
other tree4  ,a great man cannot be     
hindered of the effect of his act1      
because it is immediate4  ,the genius of
 life is friendly to the noble1 and in  
the dark brings them friends from far4  
,fear ,god1 and where you go1 men shall 
think they walk in hallowed cathedrals4 
,and so ,i look on those sentiments     
which make the glory of the human being1
 love1 humility1 faith1 as being also   
the intimacy of ,divinity in the atoms2 
and1 that1 as soon as the man is right1 
assurances and previsions emanate from  
the interior of his body and his mind2  
as1 when flowers reach their ripeness1  

incense exhales from them1 and1 as a    
beautiful atmosphere is generated from  
the planet by the averaged emanations   
from all its rocks and soils4  ,thus man
 is made equal to every event4  ,he can 
face danger for the right4  ,a poor1    
tender1 painful body1 he can run into   
flame or bullets or pestilence1 with    
duty for his guide4  ,he feels the      
insurance of a just employment4  ,i am  
not afraid of accident1 as long as ,i am
 in my place4  ,it is strange that      
superior persons should not feel that   
they have some better resistance against
 cholera1 than avoiding green peas and  
salads4  ,life is hardly                
respectable1--is it8 if it has no       
generous1 guaranteeing task1 no duties  
or affections1 that constitute a        
necessity of existing4  ,every man's    
task is his life-preserver4  ,the       
conviction that his work is dear to ,god
 and cannot be spared1 defends him4     
,the lightning-rod that disarms the     
cloud of its threat is his body in its  

duty4  ,a high aim reacts on the means1 
on the days1 on the organs of the body4 
,a high aim is curative1 as well as     
arnica4 ,napoleon1 says ,goethe1 visited
 those sick of the plague1 in order to  
prove that the man who could vanquish   
fear1 could vanquish the plague also2   
and he was right4  ',tis incredible what
 force the will has in such cases3 it   
penetrates the body1 and puts it in a   
state of activity1 which repels all     
hurtful influences2 whilst fear invites 
them4  ,it is related of ,william of    
,orange1 that1 whilst he was besieging a
 town on the continent1 a gentleman sent
 to him on public business came to his  
camp1 and1 learning that the ,king was  
before the walls1 he ventured to go     
where he was4  ,he found him directing  
the operation of his gunners1 and1      
having explained his errand1 and        
received his answer1 the ,king said1 ,do
 you not know1 sir1 that every moment   
you spend here is at the risk of your   
life8  ,i run no more risk1 replied the 

gentleman1 than your ,majesty4  ,yes1   
said the ,king1 but my duty brings me   
here1 and yours does not4  ,in a few    
minutes1 a cannon-ball fell on the spot1
 and the gentleman was killed4  ,thus   
can the faithful student reverse all the
 warnings of his early instinct1 under  
the guidance of a deeper instinct4  ,he 
learns to welcome misfortune1 learns    
that adversity is the prosperity of the 
great4  ,he learns the greatness of     
humility4 ,he shall work in the dark1   
work against failure1 pain1 and         
ill-will4  ,if he is insulted1 he can be
 insulted2 all his affair is not to     
insult4  ,hafiz writes1      ,at the    
last day1 men shall wear     ,on their  
heads the dust1     ,as ensign and as   
ornament     ,of their lowly trust4     
,the moral equalizes all2 enriches1     
empowers all4 ,it is the coin which buys
 all1 and which all find in their       
pocket4  ,under the whip of the driver1 
the slave shall feel his equality with  
saints and heroes4 ,in the greatest     

destitution and calamity1 it surprises  
man with a feeling of elasticity which  
makes nothing of loss4  ,i recall some  
traits of a remarkable person whose life
 and discourse betrayed many            
inspirations of this sentiment4         
,benedict was always great in the       
present time4  ,he had hoarded nothing  
from the past1 neither in his cabinets1 
neither in his memory4  ,he had no      
designs on the future1 neither for what 
he should do to men1 nor for what men   
should do for him4  ,he said1 ',i am    
never beaten until ,i know that ,i am   
beaten4  ,i meet powerful brutal people 
to whom ,i have no skill to reply4      
,they think they have defeated me4  ,it 
is so published in society1 in the      
journals2 ,i am defeated in this        
fashion1 in all men's sight1 perhaps on 
a dozen different lines4  ,my ledger may
 show that ,i am in debt1 cannot yet    
make my ends meet1 and vanquish the     
enemy so4  ,my race may not be          
prospering3 we are sick1 ugly1 obscure1 

unpopular4  ,my children may be worsted4
 ,i seem to fail in my friends and      
clients1 too4  ,that is to say1 in all  
the encounters that have yet chanced1 ,i
 have not been weaponed for that        
particular occasion1 and have been      
historically beaten2 and yet1 ,i know1  
all the time1 that ,i have never been   
beaten2 have never yet fought1 shall    
certainly fight1 when my hour comes1 and
 shall beat4'  ,a man1 says the ,vishnu 
,sarma1 who having well compared his own
 strength or weakness with that of      
others1 after all doth not know the     
difference1 is easily overcome by his   
enemies4  ',i spent1' he said1 'ten     
months in the country4 ,thick-starred   
,orion was my only companion4 ,wherever 
a squirrel or a bee can go with         
security1 ,i can go4  ,i ate whatever   
was set before me2 ,i touched ivy and   
dogwood4 ,when ,i went abroad1 ,i kept  
company with every man on the road1 for 
,i knew that my evil and my good did not
 come from these1 but from the ,spirit1 

whose servant ,i was4 ,for ,i could not 
stoop to be a circumstance1 as they did1
 who put their life into their fortune  
and their company4  ,i would not degrade
 myself by casting about in my memory   
for a thought1 nor by waiting for one4  
,if the thought come1 ,i would give it  
entertainment4  ,it should1 as it ought1
 go into my hands and feet2 but if it   
come not spontaneously1 it comes not    
rightly at all4  ,if it can spare me1 ,i
 am sure ,i can spare it4  ,it shall be 
the same with my friends4  ,i will never
 woo the loveliest4  ,i will not ask any
 friendship or favor4  ,when ,i come to 
my own1 we shall both know it4  ,nothing
 will be to be asked or to be granted4' 
,benedict went out to seek his friend1  
and met him on the way2 but he expressed
 no surprise at any coincidences4  ,on  
the other hand1 if he called at the door
 of his friend1 and he was not at home1 
he did not go again2 concluding that he 
had misinterpreted the intimations4  ,he
 had the whim not to make an apology to 

the same individual whom he had wronged4
  ,for this1 he said1 was a piece of    
personal vanity2 but he would correct   
his conduct in that respect in which he 
had faulted1 to the next person he      
should meet4  ,thus1 he said1 universal 
justice was satisfied4  ,mira came to   
ask what she should do with the poor    
,genesee woman who had hired herself to 
work for her1 at a shilling a day1 and1 
now sickening1 was like to be bedridden 
on her hands4  ,should she keep her1 or 
should she dismiss her8  ,but ,benedict 
said1 ',why ask8  ,one thing will clear 
itself as the thing to be done1 and not 
another1 when the hour comes4 ,is it a  
question1 whether to put her into the   
street8  ,just as much whether to thrust
 the little ,jenny on your arm into the 
street4  ,the milk and meal you give the
 beggar1 will fatten ,jenny4  ,thrust   
the woman out1 and you thrust your babe 
out of doors1 whether it so seem to you 
or not4'  ,in the ,shakers1 so called1  
,i find one piece of belief1 in the     

doctrine which they faithfully hold1    
that encourages them to open their doors
 to every wayfaring man who proposes to 
come among them2 for1 they say1 the     
,spirit will presently manifest to the  
man himself1 and to the society1 what   
manner of person he is1 and whether he  
belongs among them4 ,they do not receive
 him1 they do not reject him4 ,and not  
in vain have they worn their clay coat1 
and drudged in their fields1 and        
shuffled in their ,bruin dance1 from    
year to year1 if they have truly learned
 thus much wisdom4  ,honor him whose    
life is perpetual victory2 him1 who1 by 
sympathy with the invisible and real1   
finds support in labor1 instead of      
praise2 who does not shine1 and would   
rather not4  ,with eyes open1 he makes  
the choice of virtue1 which outrages the
 virtuous2 of religion1 which churches  
stop their discords to burn and         
exterminate2 for the highest virtue is  
always against the law4  ,miracle comes 
to the miraculous1 not to the           

arithmetician4  ,talent and success     
interest me but moderately4  ,the great 
class1 they who affect our imagination1 
the men who could not make their hands  
meet around their objects1 the rapt1 the
 lost1 the fools of ideas1--they suggest
 what they cannot execute4  ,they speak 
to the ages1 and are heard from afar4   
,the ,spirit does not love cripples and 
malformations4  ,if there ever was a    
good man1 be certain1 there was another1
 and will be more4  ,and so in relation 
to that future hour1 that spectre       
clothed with beauty at our curtain by   
night1 at our table by day1--the        
apprehension1 the assurance of a coming 
change4  ,the race of mankind have      
always offered at least this implied    
thanks for the gift of                  
existence1--namely1 the terror of its   
being taken away2 the insatiable        
curiosity and appetite for its          
continuation4  ,the whole revelation    
that is vouchsafed us1 is1 the gentle   
trust1 which1 in our experience we find1

 will cover also with flowers the slopes
 of this chasm4  ,of immortality1 the   
soul1 when well employed1 is incurious4 
,it is so well1 that it is sure it will 
be well4  ,it asks no questions of the  
,supreme ,power4 ,the son of ,antiochus 
asked his father1 when he would join    
battle8  ,dost thou fear1 replied the   
,king1 that thou only in all the army   
wilt not hear the trumpet8  ',tis a     
higher thing to confide1 that1 if it is 
best we should live1 we shall           
live1--'tis higher to have this         
conviction1 than to have the lease of   
indefinite centuries and millenniums and
 aeons4  ,higher than the question of   
our duration is the question of our     
deserving4  ,immortality will come to   
such as are fit for it1 and he who would
 be a great soul in future1 must be a   
great soul now4 ,it is a doctrine too   
great to rest on any legend1 that is1 on
 any man's experience but our own4  ,it 
must be proved1 if at all1 from our own 
activity and designs1 which imply an    

interminable future for their play4     
,what is called religion effeminates and
 demoralizes4 ,such as you are1 the gods
 themselves could not help you4  ,men   
are too often unfit to live1 from their 
obvious inequality to their own         
necessities1 or1 they suffer from       
politics1 or bad neighbors1 or from     
sickness1 and they would gladly know    
that they were to be dismissed from the 
duties of life4  ,but the wise instinct 
asks1 ',how will death help them8'      
,these are not dismissed when they die4 
,you shall not wish for death out of    
pusillanimity4  ,the weight of the      
,universe is pressed down on the        
shoulders of each moral agent to hold   
him to his task4  ,the only path of     
escape known in all the worlds of ,god  
is performance4  ,you must do your work1
 before you shall be released4  ,and as 
far as it is a question of fact         
respecting the government of the        
,universe1 ,marcus ,antoninus summed the
 whole in a word1 ,it is pleasant to    

die1 if there be gods2 and sad to live1 
if there be none4  ,and so ,i think that
 the last lesson of life1 the choral    
song which rises from all elements and  
all angels1 is1 a voluntary obedience1 a
 necessitated freedom4  ,man is made of 
the same atoms as the world is1 he      
shares the same impressions1            
predispositions1 and destiny4  ,when his
 mind is illuminated1 when his heart is 
kind1 he throws himself joyfully into   
the sublime order1 and does1 with       
knowledge1 what the stones do by        
structure4  ,the religion which is to   
guide and fulfil the present and coming 
ages1 whatever else it be1 must be      
intellectual4  ,the scientific mind must
 have a faith which is science4  ,there 
are two things1 said ,mahomet1 which ,i 
abhor1 the learned in his infidelities1 
and the fool in his devotions4  ,our    
times are impatient of both1 and        
specially of the last4 ,let us have     
nothing now which is not its own        
evidence4  ,there is surely enough for  

the heart and imagination in the        
religion itself4  ,let us not be        
pestered with assertions and            
half-truths1 with emotions and snuffle4 
,there will be a new church founded on  
moral science1 at first cold and naked1 
a babe in a manger again1 the algebra   
and mathematics of ethical law1 the     
church of men to come1 without shawms1  
or psaltery1 or sackbut2 but it will    
have heaven and earth for its beams and 
rafters2 science for symbol and         
illustration2 it will fast enough gather
 beauty1 music1 picture1 poetry4  ,was  
never stoicism so stern and exigent as  
this shall be4  ,it shall send man home 
to his central solitude1 shame these    
social1 supplicating manners1 and make  
him know that much of the time he must  
have himself to his friend4  ,he shall  
expect no cooeperation1 he shall walk   
with no companion4  ,the nameless       
,thought1 the nameless ,power1 the      
superpersonal ,heart1--he shall repose  
alone on that4  ,he needs only his own  

verdict4  ,no good fame can help1 no bad
 fame can hurt him4  ,the ,laws are his 
consolers1 the good ,laws themselves are
 alive1 they know if he have kept them1 
they animate him with the leading of    
great duty1 and an endless horizon4     
,honor and fortune exist to him who     
always recognizes the neighborhood of   
the great1 always feels himself in the  
presence of high causes4                
,,vii4                                  
,,considerations ,,by ,,the ,,way4      
,hear what ,british ,merlin sung1       
,of keenest eye and truest tongue4      
,say not1 the chiefs who first arrive   
,usurp the seats for which all strive2  
,the forefathers this land who found    
,failed to plant the vantage-ground2    
,ever from one who comes to-morrow      
,men wait their good and truth to       
borrow4     ,but wilt thou measure all  
thy road1     ,see thou lift the        
lightest load4     ,who has little1 to  
him who has less1 can spare1     ,and   
thou1 ,cyndyllan's son6 beware          

,ponderous gold and stuffs to bear1     
,to falter ere thou thy task fulfil1--  
,only the light-armed climb the hill4   
,the richest of all lords is ,use1      
,and ruddy ,health the loftiest ,muse4  
,live in the sunshine1 swim the sea1    
,drink the wild air's salubrity3        
,where the star ,canope shines in ,may1 
,shepherds are thankful1 and nations    
gay4     ,the music that can deepest    
reach1     ,and cure all ill1 is cordial
 speech3     ,mask thy wisdom with      
delight1     ,toy with the bow1 yet hit 
the white4     ,of all wit's uses1 the  
main one     ,is to live well with who  
has none4     ,cleave to thine acre2 the
 round year     ,will fetch all fruits  
and virtues here3     ,fool and foe may 
harmless roam1     ,loved and lovers    
bide at home1     ,a day for toil1 an   
hour for sport1     ,but for a friend is
 life too short4                        
,,considerations ,,by ,,the ,,way4      
,although this garrulity of advising is 
born with us1 ,i confess that life is   

rather a subject of wonder1 than of     
didactics4  ,so much fate1 so much      
irresistible dictation from temperament 
and unknown inspiration enters into it1 
that we doubt we can say anything out of
 our own experience whereby to help each
 other4  ,all the professions are timid 
and expectant agencies4  ,the priest is 
glad if his prayers or his sermon meet  
the condition of any soul2 if of two1 if
 of ten1 'tis a signal success4  ,but he
 walked to the church without any       
assurance that he knew the distemper1 or
 could heal it4  ,the physician         
prescribes hesitatingly out of his few  
resources1 the same tonic or sedative to
 this new and peculiar constitution1    
which he has applied with various       
success to a hundred men before4  ,if   
the patient mends1 he is glad and       
surprised4 ,the lawyer advises the      
client1 and tells his story to the jury1
 and leaves it with them1 and is as gay 
and as much relieved as the client1 if  
it turns out that he has a verdict4     

,the judge weighs the arguments1 and    
puts a brave face on the matter1 and1   
since there must be a decision1 decides 
as he can1 and hopes he has done        
justice1 and given satisfaction to the  
community2 but is only an advocate after
 all4  ,and so is all life a timid and  
unskilful spectator4  ,we do what we    
must1 and call it by the best names4 ,we
 like very well to be praised for our   
action1 but our conscience says1 ,not   
unto us4  ',tis little we can do for    
each other4  ,we accompany the youth    
with sympathy1 and manifold old sayings 
of the wise1 to the gate of the arena1  
but 'tis certain that not by strength of
 ours1 or of the old sayings1 but only  
on strength of his own1 unknown to us or
 to any1 he must stand or fall4  ,that  
by which a man conquers in any passage1 
is a profound secret to every other     
being in the world1 and it is only as he
 turns his back on us and on all men1   
and draws on this most private wisdom1  
that any good can come to him4 ,what we 

have1 therefore1 to say of life1 is     
rather description1 or1 if you please1  
celebration1 than available rules4  ,yet
 vigor is contagious1 and whatever makes
 us either think or feel strongly1 adds 
to our power1 and enlarges our field of 
action4  ,we have a debt to every great 
heart1 to every fine genius2 to those   
who have put life and fortune on the    
cast of an act of justice2 to those who 
have added new sciences2 to those who   
have refined life by elegant pursuits4  
',tis the fine souls who serve us1 and  
not what is called fine society4 ,fine  
society is only a self-protection       
against the vulgarities of the street   
and the tavern4  ,fine society1 in the  
common acceptation1 has neither ideas   
nor aims4  ,it renders the service of a 
perfumery1 or a laundry1 not of a farm  
or factory4  ',tis an exclusion and a   
precinct4 ,sidney ,smith said1 ,a few   
yards in ,london cement or dissolve     
friendship4  ,it is an unprincipled     
decorum2 an affair of clean linen and   

coaches1 of gloves1 cards1 and elegance 
in trifles4  ,there are other measures  
of self-respect for a man1 than the     
number of clean shirts he puts on every 
day4 ,society wishes to be amused4  ,i  
do not wish to be amused4  ,i wish that 
life should not be cheap1 but sacred4   
,i wish the days to be as centuries1    
loaded1 fragrant4  ,now we reckon them  
as bank-days1 by some debt which is to  
be paid us1 or which we are to pay1 or  
some pleasure we are to taste4  ,is all 
we have to do to draw the breath in1 and
 blow it out again8  ,porphyry's        
definition is better2 ,life is that     
which holds matter together4  ,the babe 
in arms is a channel through which the  
energies we call fate1 love1 and reason1
 visibly stream4  ,see what a cometary  
train of auxiliaries man carries with   
him1 of animals1 plants1 stones1 gases1 
and imponderable elements4 ,let us infer
 his ends from this pomp of means4      
,mirabeau said1 ,why should we feel     
ourselves to be men1 unless it be to    

succeed in everything1 everywhere4  ,you
 must say of nothing1 ,that is beneath  
me1 nor feel that anything can be out of
 your power4  ,nothing is impossible to 
the man who can will4  ,is that         
necessary8  ,that shall be3--this is the
 only law of success4  ,whoever said it1
 this is in the right key4 ,but this is 
not the tone and genius of the men in   
the street4 ,in the streets1 we grow    
cynical4  ,the men we meet are coarse   
and torpid4  ,the finest wits have their
 sediment4  ,what quantities of         
fribbles1 paupers1 invalids1 epicures1  
antiquaries1 politicians1 thieves1 and  
triflers of both sexes1 might be        
advantageously spared6  ,mankind divides
 itself into two classes1--benefactors  
and malefactors4  ,the second class is  
vast1 the first a handful4  ,a person   
seldom falls sick1 but the bystanders   
are animated with a faint hope that he  
will die3--quantities of poor lives2 of 
distressing invalids2 of cases for a    
gun4 ,franklin said1 ,mankind are very  

superficial and dastardly3 they begin   
upon a thing1 but1 meeting with a       
difficulty1 they fly from it            
discouraged3 but they have capacities1  
if they would employ them4  ,shall we   
then judge a country by the majority1 or
 by the minority8  ,by the minority1    
surely4 ',tis pedantry to estimate      
nations by the census1 or by square     
miles of land1 or other than by their   
importance to the mind of the time4     
,leave this hypocritical prating about  
the masses4 ,masses are rude1 lame1     
unmade1 pernicious in their demands and 
influence1 and need not to be flattered 
but to be schooled4  ,i wish not to     
concede anything to them1 but to tame1  
drill1 divide1 and break them up1 and   
draw individuals out of them4  ,the     
worst of charity is1 that the lives you 
are asked to preserve are not worth     
preserving4  ,masses6 the calamity is   
the masses4 ,i do not wish any mass at  
all1 but honest men only1 lovely1 sweet1
 accomplished women only1 and no        

shovel-handed1 narrow-brained1          
gin-drinking million stockingers or     
lazzaroni at all4  ,if government knew  
how1 ,i should like to see it check1 not
 multiply the population4 ,when it      
reaches its true law of action1 every   
man that is born will be hailed as      
essential4 ,away with this hurrah of    
masses1 and let us have the considerate 
vote of single men spoken on their honor
 and their conscience4  ,in old ,egypt1 
it was established law1 that the vote of
 a prophet be reckoned equal to a       
hundred hands4  ,i think it was much    
under-estimated4  ,clay and clay differ 
in dignity1 as we discover by our       
preferences every day4  ,what a vicious 
practice is this of our politicians at  
,washington pairing off6 as if one man  
who votes wrong1 going away1 could      
excuse you1 who mean to vote right1 for 
going away2 or1 as if your presence did 
not tell in more ways than in your vote4
 ,suppose the three hundred heroes at   
,thermopylae had paired off with three  

hundred ,persians3 would it have been   
all the same to ,greece1 and to history8
  ,napoleon was called by his men ,cent 
,mille4  ,add honesty to him1 and they  
might have called him ,hundred ,million4
  ,nature makes fifty poor melons for   
one that is good1 and shakes down a tree
 full of gnarled1 wormy1 unripe crabs1  
before you can find a dozen dessert     
apples2 and she scatters nations of     
naked ,indians1 and nations of clothed  
,christians1 with two or three good     
heads among them4  ,nature works very   
hard1 and only hits the white once in a 
million throws4  ,in mankind1 she is    
contented if she yields one master in a 
century4  ,the more difficulty there is 
in creating good men1 the more they are 
used when they come4  ,i once counted in
 a little neighborhood1 and found that  
every able-bodied man had1 say from     
twelve to fifteen persons dependent on  
him for material aid1--to whom he is to 
be for spoon and jug1 for backer and    
sponsor1 for nursery and hospital1 and  

many functions beside3 nor does it seem 
to make much difference whether he is   
bachelor or patriarch2 if he do not     
violently decline the duties that fall  
to him1 this amount of helpfulness will 
in one way or another be brought home to
 him4  ,this is the tax which his       
abilities pay4  ,the good men are       
employed for private centres of use1 and
 for larger influence4  ,all            
revelations1 whether of mechanical or   
intellectual or moral science1 are made 
not to communities1 but to single       
persons4 ,all the marked events of our  
day1 all the cities1 all the            
colonizations1 may be traced back to    
their origin in a private brain4  ,all  
the feats which make our civility were  
the thoughts of a few good heads4       
,meantime1 this spawning productivity is
 not noxious or needless4  ,you would   
say1 this rabble of nations might be    
spared4  ,but no1 they are all counted  
and depended on4  ,fate keeps everything
 alive so long as the smallest thread of

 public necessity holds it on to the    
tree4  ,the coxcomb and bully and thief 
class are allowed as proletaries1 every 
one of their vices being the excess or  
acridity of a virtue4  ,the mass are    
animal1 in pupilage1 and near           
chimpanzee4  ,but the units1 whereof    
this mass is composed are neuters1 every
 one of which may be grown to a         
queen-bee4  ,the rule is1 we are used as
 brute atoms1 until we think3 then1 we  
use all the rest4  ,nature turns all    
malfaisance to good4 ,nature provided   
for real needs4  ,no sane man at last   
distrusts himself4 ,his existence is a  
perfect answer to all sentimental       
cavils4  ,if he is1 he is wanted1 and   
has the precise properties that are     
required4  ,that we are here1 is proof  
we ought to be here4  ,we have as good  
right1 and the same sort of right to be 
here1 as ,cape ,cod or ,sandy ,hook have
 to be there4  ,to say then1 the        
majority are wicked1 means no malice1 no
 bad heart in the observer1 but1 simply1

 that the majority are unripe1 and have 
not yet come to themselves1 do not yet  
know their opinion4 ,that1 if they knew 
it1 is an oracle for them and for all4  
,but in the passing moment1 the         
quadruped interest is very prone to     
prevail3 and this beast-force1 whilst it
 makes the discipline of the world1 the 
school of heroes1 the glory of martyrs1 
has provoked1 in every age1 the satire  
of wits1 and the tears of good men4     
,they find the journals1 the clubs1 the 
governments1 the churches1 to be in the 
interest1 and the pay of the devil4     
,and wise men have met this obstruction 
in their times1 like ,socrates1 with his
 famous irony2 like ,bacon1 with        
life-long dissimulation2 like ,erasmus1 
with his book ,the ,praise of ,folly2   
like ,rabelais1 with his satire rending 
the nations4  ,they were the fools who  
cried against me1 you will say1 wrote   
the ,chevalier de ,boufflers to ,grimm2 
aye1 but the fools have the advantage of
 numbers1 and 'tis that which decides4  

',tis of no use for us to make war with 
them2 we shall not weaken them2 they    
will always be the masters4 ,there will 
not be a practice or an usage           
introduced1 of which they are not the   
authors4  ,in front of these sinister   
facts1 the first lesson of history is   
the good of evil4  ,good is a good      
doctor1 but ,bad is sometimes a better4 
',tis the oppressions of ,william the   
,norman1 savage forest-laws1 and        
crushing despotism1 that made possible  
the inspirations of ,magna ,charta under
 ,john4  ,edward ,i4 wanted money1      
armies1 castles1 and as much as he could
 get4  ,it was necessary to call the    
people together by shorter1 swifter     
ways1--and the ,house of ,commons arose4
  ,to obtain subsidies1 he paid in      
privileges4  ,in the twenty-fourth year 
of his reign1 he decreed1 that no tax   
should be levied without consent of     
,lords and ,commons2--which is the basis
 of the ,english ,constitution4         
,plutarch affirms that the cruel wars   

which followed the march of ,alexander1 
introduced the civility1 language1 and  
arts of ,greece into the savage ,east2  
introduced marriage2 built seventy      
cities2 and united hostile nations under
 one government4  ,the barbarians who   
broke up the ,roman empire did not      
arrive a day too soon4 ,schiller says1  
the ,thirty ,years' ,war made ,germany a
 nation4  ,rough1 selfish despots serve 
men immensely1 as ,henry ,,viii4 in the 
contest with the ,pope2 as the          
infatuations no less than the wisdom of 
,cromwell2 as the ferocity of the       
,russian czars2 as the fanaticism of the
 ,french regicides of #aghi4 ,the frost 
which kills the harvest of a year1 saves
 the harvests of a century1 by          
destroying the weevil or the locust4    
,wars1 fires1 plagues1 break up         
immovable routine1 clear the ground of  
rotten races and dens of distemper1 and 
open a fair field to new men4  ,there is
 a tendency in things to right          
themselves1 and the war or revolution or

 bankruptcy that shatters a rotten      
system1 allows things to take a new and 
natural order4 ,the sharpest evils are  
bent into that periodicity which makes  
the errors of planets1 and the fevers   
and distempers of men1 self-limiting4   
,nature is upheld by antagonism4        
,passions1 resistance1 danger1 are      
educators4 ,we acquire the strength we  
have overcome4  ,without war1 no        
soldier2 without enemies1 no hero4 ,the 
sun were insipid1 if the universe were  
not opaque4  ,and the glory of character
 is in affronting the horrors of        
depravity1 to draw thence new nobilities
 of power3 as ,art lives and thrills in 
new use and combining of contrasts1 and 
mining into the dark evermore for       
blacker pits of night4 ,what would      
painter do1 or what would poet or saint1
 but for crucifixions and hells8  ,and  
evermore in the world is this marvellous
 balance of beauty and disgust1         
magnificence and rats4  ,not ,antoninus1
 but a poor washer-woman said1 ,the more

 trouble1 the more lion2 that's my      
principle4  ,i do not think very        
respectfully of the designs or the      
doings of the people who went to        
,california1 in #ahdi4  ,it was a rush  
and a scramble of needy adventurers1    
and1 in the western country1 a general  
jail-delivery of all the rowdies of the 
rivers4  ,some of them went with honest 
purposes1 some with very bad ones1 and  
all of them with the very commonplace   
wish to find a short way to wealth4     
,but ,nature watches over all1 and turns
 this malfaisance to good4  ,california 
gets peopled and subdued1--civilized in 
this immoral way1--and1 on this fiction1
 a real prosperity is rooted and grown4 
',tis a decoy-duck2 'tis tubs thrown to 
amuse the whale3 but real ducks1 and    
whales that yield oil1 are caught4      
,and1 out of ,sabine rapes1 and out of  
robbers' forays1 real ,romes and their  
heroisms come in fulness of time4  ,in  
,america1 the geography is sublime1 but 
the men are not3 the inventions are     

excellent1 but the inventors one is     
sometimes ashamed of4 ,the agencies by  
which events so grand as the opening of 
,california1 of ,texas1 of ,oregon1 and 
the junction of the two oceans1 are     
effected1 are paltry1--coarse           
selfishness1 fraud1 and conspiracy3 and 
most of the great results of history are
 brought about by discreditable means4  
,the benefaction derived in ,illinois1  
and the great ,west1 from railroads is  
inestimable1 and vastly exceeding any   
intentional philanthropy on record4     
,what is the benefit done by a good     
,king ,alfred1 or by a ,howard1 or      
,pestalozzi1 or ,elizabeth ,fry1 or     
,florence ,nightingale1 or any lover1   
less or larger1 compared with the       
involuntary blessing wrought on nations 
by the selfish capitalists who built the
 ,illinois1 ,michigan1 and the network  
of the ,mississippi valley roads1 which 
have evoked not only all the wealth of  
the soil1 but the energy of millions of 
men4  ',tis a sentence of ancient       

wisdom1 that ,god hangs the greatest    
weights on the smallest wires4  ,what   
happens thus to nations1 befalls every  
day in private houses4  ,when the       
friends of a gentleman brought to his   
notice the follies of his sons with many
 hints of their danger1 he replied1 that
 he knew so much mischief when he was a 
boy1 and had turned out on the whole so 
successfully1 that he was not alarmed by
 the dissipation of boys2 'twas         
dangerous water1 but1 he thought1 they  
would soon touch bottom1 and then swim  
to the top4 ,this is bold practice1 and 
there are many failures to a good       
escape4  ,yet one would say1 that a good
 understanding would suffice as well as 
moral sensibility to keep one erect2 the
 gratifications of the passions are so  
quickly seen to be damaging1 and1--what 
men like least1--seriously lowering them
 in social rank4  ,then all talent sinks
 with character4  ,croyez moi1 l'erreur 
aussi a son merite1 said ,voltaire4  ,we
 see those who surmount1 by dint of some

 egotism or infatuation1 obstacles from 
which the prudent recoil4  ,the right   
partisan is a heady narrow man1 who1    
because he does not see many things1    
sees some one thing with heat and       
exaggeration1 and1 if he falls among    
other narrow men1 or on objects which   
have a brief importance1 as some trade  
or politics of the hour1 he prefers it  
to the universe1 and seems inspired1 and
 a godsend to those who wish to magnify 
the matter1 and carry a point4  ,better1
 certainly1 if we could secure the      
strength and fire which rude1 passionate
 men bring into society1 quite clear of 
their vices4  ,but who dares draw out   
the linchpin from the wagon-wheel8 ',tis
 so manifest1 that there is no moral    
deformity1 but is a good passion out of 
place2 that there is no man who is not  
indebted to his foibles2 that1 according
 to the old oracle1 the ,furies are the 
bonds of men2 that the poisons are our  
principal medicines1 which kill the     
disease1 and save the life4  ,in the    

high prophetic phrase1 ,he causes the   
wrath of man to praise him1 and twists  
and wrenches our evil to our good4      
,shakspeare wrote1--      ',tis said1   
best men are moulded of their faults2   
and great educators and lawgivers1 and  
especially generals1 and leaders of     
colonies1 mainly rely on this stuff1 and
 esteem men of irregular and passional  
force the best timber4  ,a man of sense 
and energy1 the late head of the ,farm  
,school in ,boston harbor1 said to me1  
,i want none of your good boys1--give me
 the bad ones4  ,and this is the reason1
 ,i suppose1 why1 as soon as the        
children are good1 the mothers are      
scared1 and think they are going to die4
  ,mirabeau said1 ,there are none but   
men of strong passions capable of going 
to greatness2 none but such capable of  
meriting the public gratitude4          
,passion1 though a bad regulator1 is a  
powerful spring4  ,any absorbing passion
 has the effect to deliver from the     
little coils and cares of every day3    

'tis the heat which sets our human atoms
 spinning1 overcomes the friction of    
crossing thresholds1 and first addresses
 in society1 and gives us a good start  
and speed1 easy to continue1 when once  
it is begun4  ,in short1 there is no man
 who is not at some time indebted to his
 vices1 as no plant that is not fed from
 manures4  ,we only insist that the man 
meliorate1 and that the plant grow      
upward1 and convert the base into the   
better nature4  ,the wise workman will  
not regret the poverty or the solitude  
which brought out his working talents4  
,the youth is charmed with the fine air 
and accomplishments of the children of  
fortune4  ,but all great men come out of
 the middle classes4  ',tis better for  
the head2 'tis better for the heart4    
,marcus ,antoninus says1 that ,fronto   
told him1 that the so-called high-born  
are for the most part heartless2 whilst 
nothing is so indicative of deepest     
culture as a tender consideration of the
 ignorant4  ,charles ,james ,fox said of

 ,england1 ,the history of this country 
proves1 that we are not to expect from  
men in affluent circumstances the       
vigilance1 energy1 and exertion without 
which the ,house of ,commons would lose 
its greatest force and weight4  ,human  
nature is prone to indulgence1 and the  
most meritorious public services have   
always been performed by persons in a   
condition of life removed from opulence4
  ,and yet what we ask daily1 is to be  
conventional4  ,supply1 most kind gods6 
this defect in my address1 in my form1  
in my fortunes1 which puts me a little  
out of the ring3 supply it1 and let me  
be like the rest whom ,i admire1 and on 
good terms with them4  ,but the wise    
gods say1 ,no1 we have better things for
 thee4  ,by humiliations1 by defeats1 by
 loss of sympathy1 by gulfs of          
disparity1 learn a wider truth and      
humanity than that of a fine gentleman4 
,a ,fifth-,avenue landlord1 a ,west-,end
 householder1 is not the highest style  
of man3 and1 though good hearts and     

sound minds are of no condition1 yet he 
who is to be wise for many1 must not be 
protected4  ,he must know the huts where
 poor men lie1 and the chores which poor
 men do4  ,the first-class minds1       
,a,esop1 ,socrates1 ,cervantes1         
,shakspeare1 ,franklin1 had the poor    
man's feeling and mortification4  ,a    
rich man was never insulted in his life3
 but this man must be stung4  ,a rich   
man was never in danger from cold1 or   
hunger1 or war1 or ruffians1 and you can
 see he was not1 from the moderation of 
his ideas4  ',tis a fatal disadvantage  
to be cockered1 and to eat too much     
cake4  ,what tests of manhood could he  
stand8  ,take him out of his            
protections4  ,he is a good book-keeper2
 or he is a shrewd adviser in the       
insurance office3 perhaps he could pass 
a college examination1 and take his     
degrees3 perhaps he can give wise       
counsel in a court of law4  ,now plant  
him down among farmers1 firemen1        
,indians1 and emigrants4  ,set a dog on 

him3 set a highwayman on him3 try him   
with a course of mobs3 send him to      
,kansas1 to ,pike's ,peak1 to ,oregon3  
and1 if he have true faculty1 this may  
be the element he wants1 and he will    
come out of it with broader wisdom and  
manly power4 ,a,esop1 ,saadi1           
,cervantes1 ,regnard1 have been taken by
 corsairs1 left for dead1 sold for      
slaves1 and know the realities of human 
life4  ,bad times have a scientific     
value4  ,these are occasions a good     
learner would not miss4  ,as we go      
gladly to ,faneuil ,hall1 to be played  
upon by the stormy winds and strong     
fingers of enraged patriotism1 so is a  
fanatical persecution1 civil war1       
national bankruptcy1 or revolution1 more
 rich in the central tones than languid 
years of prosperity4 ,what had been1    
ever since our memory1 solid continent1 
yawns apart1 and discloses its          
composition and genesis4  ,we learn     
geology the morning after the           
earthquake1 on ghastly diagrams of      

cloven mountains1 upheaved plains1 and  
the dry bed of the sea4  ,in our life   
and culture1 everything is worked up1   
and comes in use1--passion1 war1 revolt1
 bankruptcy1 and not less1 folly and    
blunders1 insult1 ennui1 and bad        
company4  ,nature is a rag-merchant1 who
 works up every shred and ort and end   
into new creations2 like a good chemist1
 whom ,i found1 the other day1 in his   
laboratory1 converting his old shirts   
into pure white sugar4  ,life is a      
boundless privilege1 and when you pay   
for your ticket1 and get into the car1  
you have no guess what good company you 
shall find there4  ,you buy much that is
 not rendered in the bill4  ,men achieve
 a certain greatness unawares1 when     
working to another aim4  ,if now in this
 connection of discourse1 we should     
venture on laying down the first obvious
 rules of life1 ,i will not here repeat 
the first rule of economy1 already      
propounded once and again1 that every   
man shall maintain himself1--but ,i will

 say1 get health4  ,no labor1 pains1    
temperance1 poverty1 nor exercise1 that 
can gain it1 must be grudged4 ,for      
sickness is a cannibal which eats up all
 the life and youth it can lay hold of1 
and absorbs its own sons and daughters4 
,i figure it as a pale1 wailing1        
distracted phantom1 absolutely selfish1 
heedless of what is good and great1     
attentive to its sensations1 losing its 
soul1 and afflicting other souls with   
meanness and mopings1 and with          
ministration to its voracity of trifles4
  ,dr4 ,johnson said severely1 ,every   
man is a rascal as soon as he is sick4  
,drop the cant1 and treat it sanely4    
,in dealing with the drunken1 we do not 
affect to be drunk4 ,we must treat the  
sick with the same firmness1 giving     
them1 of course1 every aid1--but        
withholding ourselves4  ,i once asked a 
clergyman in a retired town1 who were   
his companions8 what men of ability he  
saw8 he replied1 that he spent his time 
with the sick and the dying4  ,i said1  

he seemed to me to need quite other     
company1 and all the more that he had   
this3 for if people were sick and dying 
to any purpose1 we would leave all and  
go to them1 but1 as far as ,i had       
observed1 they were as frivolous as the 
rest1 and sometimes much more frivolous4
  ,let us engage our companions not to  
spare us4  ,i knew a wise woman who said
 to her friends1 ,when ,i am old1 rule  
me4  ,and the best part of health is    
fine disposition4  ,it is more essential
 than talent1 even in the works of      
talent4  ,nothing will supply the want  
of sunshine to peaches1 and1 to make    
knowledge valuable1 you must have the   
cheerfulness of wisdom4  ,whenever you  
are sincerely pleased1 you are          
nourished4  ,the joy of the spirit      
indicates its strength4  ,all healthy   
things are sweet-tempered4  ,genius     
works in sport1 and goodness smiles to  
the last2 and1 for the reason1 that     
whoever sees the law which distributes  
things1 does not despond1 but is        

animated to great desires and endeavors4
  ,he who desponds betrays that he has  
not seen it4  ',tis a ,dutch proverb1   
that paint costs nothing1 such are its  
preserving qualities in damp climates4  
,well1 sunshine costs less1 yet is finer
 pigment4  ,and so of cheerfulness1 or a
 good temper1 the more it is spent1 the 
more of it remains4  ,the latent heat of
 an ounce of wood or stone is           
inexhaustible4  ,you may rub the same   
chip of pine to the point of kindling1 a
 hundred times2 and the power of        
happiness of any soul is not to be      
computed or drained4  ,it is observed   
that a depression of spirits develops   
the germs of a plague in individuals and
 nations4  ,it is an old commendation of
 right behavior1 ,aliis loetus1 sapiens 
sibi1 which our ,english proverb        
translates1 ,be merry and wise4  ,i know
 how easy it is to men of the world to  
look grave and sneer at your sanguine   
youth1 and its glittering dreams4  ,but 
,i find the gayest castles in the air   

that were ever piled1 far better for    
comfort and for use1 than the dungeons  
in the air that are daily dug and       
caverned out by grumbling1 discontented 
people4 ,i know those miserable fellows1
 and ,i hate them1 who see a black star 
always riding through the light and     
colored clouds in the sky overhead3     
waves of light pass over and hide it for
 a moment1 but the black star keeps fast
 in the zenith4  ,but power dwells with 
cheerfulness2 hope puts us in a working 
mood1 whilst despair is no muse1 and    
untunes the active powers4  ,a man      
should make life and ,nature happier to 
us1 or he had better never been born4   
,when the political economist reckons up
 the unproductive classes1 he should put
 at the head this class of pitiers of   
themselves1 cravers of sympathy1        
bewailing imaginary disasters4  ,an old 
,french verse runs1 in my translation3--
      ,some of your griefs you have     
cured1       ,and the sharpest you still
 have survived2     ,but what torments  

of pain you endured       ,from evils   
that never arrived6   ,there are three  
wants which never can be satisfied3 that
 of the rich1 who wants something more2 
that of the sick1 who wants something   
different2 and that of the traveller1   
who says1 ',anywhere but here4' ,the    
,turkish cadi said to ,layard1 ,after   
the fashion of thy people1 thou hast    
wandered from one place to another1     
until thou art happy and content in     
none4  ,my countrymen are not less      
infatuated with the rococo toy of       
,italy4  ,all ,america seems on the     
point of embarking for ,europe4  ,but we
 shall not always traverse seas and     
lands with light purposes1 and for      
pleasure1 as we say4  ,one day we shall 
cast out the passion for ,europe1 by the
 passion for ,america4  ,culture will   
give gravity and domestic rest to those 
who now travel only as not knowing how  
else to spend money4  ,already1 who     
provoke pity like that excellent family 
party just arriving in their            

well-appointed carriage1 as far from    
home and any honest end as ever8  ,each 
nation has asked successively1 ',what   
are they here for8' until at last the   
party are shamefaced1 and anticipate the
 question at the gates of each town4    
,genial manners are good1 and power of  
accommodation to any circumstance1 but  
the high prize of life1 the crowning    
fortune of a man is to be born with a   
bias to some pursuit1 which finds him in
 employment and happiness1--whether it  
be to make baskets1 or broadswords1 or  
canals1 or statutes1 or songs4  ,i doubt
 not this was the meaning of ,socrates1 
when he pronounced artists the only     
truly wise1 as being actually1 not      
apparently so4  ,in childhood1 we       
fancied ourselves walled in by the      
horizon1 as by a glass bell1 and doubted
 not1 by distant travel1 we should reach
 the baths of the descending sun and    
stars4  ,on experiment1 the horizon     
flies before us1 and leaves us on an    
endless common1 sheltered by no glass   

bell4  ,yet 'tis strange how tenaciously
 we cling to that bell-astronomy1 of a  
protecting domestic horizon4  ,i find   
the same illusion in the search after   
happiness1 which ,i observe1 every      
summer1 recommenced in this             
neighborhood1 soon after the pairing of 
the birds4  ,the young people do not    
like the town1 do not like the          
sea-shore1 they will go inland2 find a  
dear cottage deep in the mountains1     
secret as their hearts4  ,they set forth
 on their travels in search of a home3  
they reach ,berkshire2 they reach       
,vermont2 they look at the farms2--good 
farms1 high mountain-sides3 but where is
 the seclusion8  ,the farm is near this2
 'tis near that2 they have got far from 
,boston1 but 'tis near ,albany1 or near 
,burlington1 or near ,montreal4  ,they  
explore a farm1 but the house is small1 
old1 thin2 discontented people lived    
there1 and are gone3--there's too much  
sky1 too much out-doors2 too public4    
,the youth aches for solitude4  ,when he

 comes to the house1 he passes through  
the house4 ,that does not make the deep 
recess he sought4 ',ah6 now1 ,i         
perceive1' he says1 'it must be deep    
with persons2 friends only can give     
depth4'  ,yes1 but there is a great     
dearth1 this year1 of friends2 hard to  
find1 and hard to have when found3 they 
are just going away3 they too are in the
 whirl of the flitting world1 and have  
engagements and necessities4  ,they are 
just starting for ,wisconsin2 have      
letters from ,bremen3--see you again1   
soon4  ,slow1 slow to learn the lesson1 
that there is but one depth1 but one    
interior1 and that is--his purpose4     
,when joy or calamity or genius shall   
show him it1 then woods1 then farms1    
then city shopmen and cab-drivers1      
indifferently with prophet or friend1   
will mirror back to him its unfathomable
 heaven1 its populous solitude4  ,the   
uses of travel are occasional1 and      
short2 but the best fruit it finds1 when
 it finds it1 is conversation2 and this 

is a main function of life4  ,what a    
difference in the hospitality of minds6 
,inestimable is he to whom we can say   
what we cannot say to ourselves4        
,others are involuntarily hurtful to us1
 and bereave us of the power of thought1
 impound and imprison us4  ,as1 when    
there is sympathy1 there needs but one  
wise man in a company1 and all are      
wise1--so1 a blockhead makes a blockhead
 of his companion4  ,wonderful power to 
benumb possesses this brother4  ,when he
 comes into the office or public room1  
the society dissolves2 one after another
 slips out1 and the apartment is at his 
disposal4  ,what is incurable but a     
frivolous habit8  ,a fly is as untamable
 as a hyena4  ,yet folly in the sense of
 fun1 fooling1 or dawdling can easily be
 borne2 as ,talleyrand said1 ,i find    
nonsense singularly refreshing2 but a   
virulent1 aggressive fool taints the    
reason of a household4  ,i have seen a  
whole family of quiet1 sensible people  
unhinged and beside themselves1 victims 

of such a rogue4 ,for the steady        
wrongheadedness of one perverse person  
irritates the best3 since we must       
withstand absurdity4  ,but resistance   
only exasperates the acrid fool1 who    
believes that ,nature and gravitation   
are quite wrong1 and he only is right4  
,hence all the dozen inmates are soon   
perverted1 with whatever virtues and    
industries they have1 into              
contradictors1 accusers1 explainers1 and
 repairers of this one malefactor2 like 
a boat about to be overset1 or a        
carriage run away with1--not only the   
foolish pilot or driver1 but everybody  
on board is forced to assume strange and
 ridiculous attitudes1 to balance the   
vehicle and prevent the upsetting4  ,for
 remedy1 whilst the case is yet mild1 ,i
 recommend phlegm and truth3 let all the
 truth that is spoken or done be at the 
zero of indifferency1 or truth itself   
will be folly4 ,but1 when the case is   
seated and malignant1 the only safety is
 in amputation2 as seamen say1 you shall

 cut and run4  ,how to live with unfit  
companions8--for1 with such1 life is for
 the most part spent3 and experience    
teaches little better than our earliest 
instinct of self-defence1 namely1 not to
 engage1 not to mix yourself in any     
manner with them2 but let their madness 
spend itself unopposed2--you are you1   
and ,i am ,i4  ,conversation is an art  
in which a man has all mankind for his  
competitors1 for it is that which all   
are practising every day while they     
live4  ,our habit of thought1--take men 
as they rise1--is not satisfying2 in the
 common experience1 ,i fear1 it is poor 
and squalid4 ,the success which will    
content them1 is1 a bargain1 a lucrative
 employment1 an advantage gained over a 
competitor1 a marriage1 a patrimony1 a  
legacy1 and the like4  ,with these      
objects1 their conversation deals with  
surfaces3 politics1 trade1 personal     
defects1 exaggerated bad news1 and the  
rain4  ,this is forlorn1 and they feel  
sore and sensitive4  ,now1 if one comes 

who can illuminate this dark house with 
thoughts1 show them their native riches1
 what gifts they have1 how indispensable
 each is1 what magical powers over      
nature and men2 what access to poetry1  
religion1 and the powers which          
constitute character2 he wakes in them  
the feeling of worth1 his suggestions   
require new ways of living1 new books1  
new men1 new arts and sciences1--then we
 come out of our egg-shell existence    
into the great dome1 and see the zenith 
over and the nadir under us4  ,instead  
of the tanks and buckets of knowledge to
 which we are daily confined1 we come   
down to the shore of the sea1 and dip   
our hands in its miraculous waves4      
',tis wonderful the effect on the       
company4 ,they are not the men they     
were4  ,they have all been to           
,california1 and all have come back     
millionnaires4  ,there is no book and no
 pleasure in life comparable to it4     
,ask what is best in our experience1 and
 we shall say1 a few pieces of          

plain-dealing with wise people4  ,our   
conversation once and again has apprised
 us that we belong to better circles    
than we have yet beheld2 that a mental  
power invites us1 whose generalizations 
are more worth for joy and for effect   
than anything that is now called        
philosophy or literature4  ,in excited  
conversation1 we have glimpses of the   
,universe1 hints of power native to the 
soul1 far-darting lights and shadows of 
an ,andes landscape1 such as we can     
hardly attain in lone meditation4  ,here
 are oracles sometimes profusely given1 
to which the memory goes back in barren 
hours4  ,add the consent of will and    
temperament1 and there exists the       
covenant of friendship4  ,our chief want
 in life1 is1 somebody who shall make us
 do what we can4  ,this is the service  
of a friend4 ,with him we are easily    
great4  ,there is a sublime attraction  
in him to whatever virtue is in us4     
,how he flings wide the doors of        
existence6  ,what questions we ask of   

him6 what an understanding we have6 how 
few words are needed6  ,it is the only  
real society4  ,an ,eastern poet1 ,ali  
,ben ,abu ,taleb1 writes with sad       
truth1--      ,he who has a thousand    
friends has not a friend to spare1      
,and he who has one enemy shall meet him
 everywhere4  ,but few writers have said
 anything better to this point than     
,hafiz1 who indicates this relation as  
the test of mental health3 ,thou        
learnest no secret until thou knowest   
friendship1 since to the unsound no     
heavenly knowledge enters4  ,neither is 
life long enough for friendship4  ,that 
is a serious and majestic affair1 like a
 royal presence1 or a religion1 and not 
a postilion's dinner to be eaten on the 
run4 ,there is a pudency about          
friendship1 as about love1 and though   
fine souls never lose sight of it1 yet  
they do not name it4  ,with the first   
class of men our friendship or good     
understanding goes quite behind all     
accidents of estrangement1 of condition1

 of reputation4  ,and yet we do not     
provide for the greatest good of life4  
,we take care of our health2 we lay up  
money2 we make our roof tight1 and our  
clothing sufficient2 but who provides   
wisely that he shall not be wanting in  
the best property of all1--friends8 ,we 
know that all our training is to fit us 
for this1 and we do not take the step   
towards it4  ,how long shall we sit and 
wait for these benefactors8  ,it makes  
no difference1 in looking back five     
years1 how you have been dieted or      
dressed2 whether you have been lodged on
 the first floor or the attic2 whether  
you have had gardens and baths1 good    
cattle and horses1 have been carried in 
a neat equipage1 or in a ridiculous     
truck3 these things are forgotten so    
quickly1 and leave no effect4  ,but it  
counts much whether we have had good    
companions1 in that time2--almost as    
much as what we have been doing4  ,and  
see the overpowering importance of      
neighborhood in all association4  ,as it

 is marriage1 fit or unfit1 that makes  
our home1 so it is who lives near us of 
equal social degree1--a few people at   
convenient distance1 no matter how bad  
company1--these1 and these only1 shall  
be your life's companions3 and all those
 who are native1 congenial1 and by many 
an oath of the heart1 sacramented to    
you1 are gradually and totally lost4    
,you cannot deal systematically with    
this fine element of society1 and one   
may take a good deal of pains to bring  
people together1 and to organize clubs  
and debating societies1 and yet no      
result come of it4 ,but it is certain   
that there is a great deal of good in us
 that does not know itself1 and that a  
habit of union and competition brings   
people up and keeps them up to their    
highest point2 that life would be twice 
or ten times life1 if spent with wise   
and fruitful companions4  ,the obvious  
inference is1 a little useful           
deliberation and preconcert1 when one   
goes to buy house and land4  ,but we    

live with people on other platforms2 we 
live with dependents1 not only with the 
young whom we are to teach all we know1 
and clothe with the advantages we have  
earned1 but also with those who serve us
 directly1 and for money4  ,yet the old 
rules hold good4  ,let not the tie be   
mercenary1 though the service is        
measured by money4 ,make yourself       
necessary to somebody4  ,do not make    
life hard to any4  ,this point is       
acquiring new importance in ,american   
social life4  ,our domestic service is  
usually a foolish fracas of unreasonable
 demand on one side1 and shirking on the
 other4  ,a man of wit was asked1 in the
 train1 what was his errand in the city8
  ,he replied1 ,i have been sent to     
procure an angel to do cooking4  ,a lady
 complained to me1 that1 of her two     
maidens1 one was absent-minded1 and the 
other was absent-bodied4 ,and the evil  
increases from the ignorance and        
hostility of every ship-load of the     
immigrant population swarming into      

houses and farms4  ,few people discern  
that it rests with the master or the    
mistress what service comes from the man
 or the maid2 that this identical hussy 
was a tutelar spirit in one house1 and a
 haridan in the other4  ,all sensible   
people are selfish1 and nature is       
tugging at every contract to make the   
terms of it fair4  ,if you are proposing
 only your own1 the other party must    
deal a little hardly by you4  ,if you   
deal generously1 the other1 though      
selfish and unjust1 will make an        
exception in your favor1 and deal truly 
with you4 ,when ,i asked an iron-master 
about the slag and cinder in railroad   
iron1--,o1 he said1 there's always good 
iron to be had3 if there's cinder in the
 iron1 'tis because there was cinder in 
the pay4  ,but why multiply these       
topics1 and their illustrations1 which  
are endless8  ,life brings to each his  
task1 and1 whatever art you select1     
algebra1 planting1 architecture1 poems1 
commerce1 politics1--all are attainable1

 even to the miraculous triumphs1 on the
 same terms1 of selecting that for which
 you are apt2--begin at the beginning1  
proceed in order1 step by step4  ',tis  
as easy to twist iron anchors1 and braid
 cannons1 as to braid straw1 to boil    
granite as to boil water1 if you take   
all the steps in order4 ,wherever there 
is failure1 there is some giddiness1    
some superstition about luck1 some step 
omitted1 which ,nature never pardons4   
,the happy conditions of life may be had
 on the same terms4 ,their attraction   
for you is the pledge that they are     
within your reach4  ,our prayers are    
prophets4 ,there must be fidelity1 and  
there must be adherence4  ,how          
respectable the life that clings to its 
objects6 ,youthful aspirations are fine 
things1 your theories and plans of life 
are fair and commendable3--but will you 
stick8  ,not one1 ,i fear1 in that      
,common full of people1 or1 in a        
thousand1 but one3 and1 when you tax    
them with treachery1 and remind them of 

their high resolutions1 they have       
forgotten that they made a vow4  ,the   
individuals are fugitive1 and in the act
 of becoming something else1 and        
irresponsible4  ,the race is great1 the 
ideal fair1 but the men whiffling and   
unsure4  ,the hero is he who is         
immovably centred4  ,the main difference
 between people seems to be1 that one   
man can come under obligations on which 
you can rely1--is obligable2 and another
 is not4  ,as he has not a law within   
him1 there's nothing to tie him to4     
',tis inevitable to name particulars of 
virtue1 and of condition1 and to        
exaggerate them4  ,but all rests at last
 on that integrity which dwarfs talent1 
and can spare it4  ,sanity consists in  
not being subdued by your means4  ,fancy
 prices are paid for position1 and for  
the culture of talent1 but to the grand 
interests1 superficial success is of no 
account4 ,the man1--it is his           
attitude1--not feats1 but forces1--not  
on set days and public occasions1 but1  

at all hours1 and in repose alike as in 
energy1 still formidable1 and not to be 
disposed of4  ,the populace says1 with  
,horne ,tooke1 ,if you would be         
powerful1 pretend to be powerful4  ,i   
prefer to say1 with the old prophet1    
,seekest thou great things8 seek them   
not3--or1 what was said of a ,spanish   
prince1 ,the more you took from him1 the
 greater he looked4  ,plus on lui ote1  
plus il est grand4  ,the secret of      
culture is to learn1 that a few great   
points steadily reappear1 alike in the  
poverty of the obscurest farm1 and in   
the miscellany of metropolitan life1 and
 that these few are alone to be         
regarded1--the escape from all false    
ties2 courage to be what we are2 and    
love of what is simple and beautiful2   
independence1 and cheerful relation1    
these are the essentials1--these1 and   
the wish to serve1--to add somewhat to  
the well-being of men4                  
,,viii4                                 
,,beauty4       ,was never form and     

never face     ,so sweet to ,,seyd as   
only grace     ,which did not slumber   
like a stone     ,but hovered gleaming  
and was gone4     ,beauty chased he     
everywhere1     ,in flame1 in storm1 in 
clouds of air4     ,he smote the lake to
 feed his eye       ,with the beryl beam
 of the broken wave     ,he flung in    
pebbles well to hear       ,the moment's
 music which they gave4     ,oft pealed 
for him a lofty tone     ,from nodding  
pole and belting zone4     ,he heard a  
voice none else could hear     ,from    
centred and from errant sphere4     ,the
 quaking earth did quake in rhyme1      
,seas ebbed and flowed in epic chime4   
,in dens of passion1 and pits of wo1    
,he saw strong ,eros struggling through1
     ,to sun the dark and solve the     
curse1     ,and beam to the bounds of   
the universe4     ,while thus to love he
 gave his days     ,in loyal worship1   
scorning praise1     ,how spread their  
lures for him1 in vain1     ,thieving   
,ambition and paltering ,gain6     ,he  

thought it happier to be dead1     ,to  
die for ,beauty1 than live for bread4   
,,beauty4   ,the spiral tendency of     
vegetation infects education also4  ,our
 books approach very slowly the things  
we most wish to know4  ,what a parade we
 make of our science1 and how far off1  
and at arm's length1 it is from its     
objects6  ,our botany is all names1 not 
powers3 poets and romancers talk of     
herbs of grace and healing2 but what    
does the botanist know of the virtues of
 his weeds8  ,the geologist lays bare   
the strata1 and can tell them all on his
 fingers3 but does he know what effect  
passes into the man who builds his house
 in them8 what effect on the race that  
inhabits a granite shelf8 what on the   
inhabitants of marl and of alluvium8    
,we should go to the ornithologist with 
a new feeling1 if he could teach us what
 the social birds say1 when they sit in 
the autumn council1 talking together in 
the trees4  ,the want of sympathy makes 
his record a dull dictionary4  ,his     

result is a dead bird4  ,the bird is not
 in its ounces and inches1 but in its   
relations to ,nature2 and the skin or   
skeleton you show me1 is no more a      
heron1 than a heap of ashes or a bottle 
of gases into which his body has been   
reduced1 is ,dante or ,washington4 ,the 
naturalist is led from the road by the  
whole distance of his fancied advance4  
,the boy had juster views when he gazed 
at the shells on the beach1 or the      
flowers in the meadow1 unable to call   
them by their names1 than the man in the
 pride of his nomenclature4 ,astrology  
interested us1 for it tied man to the   
system4  ,instead of an isolated beggar1
 the farthest star felt him1 and he felt
 the star4 ,however rash and however    
falsified by pretenders and traders in  
it1 the hint was true and divine1 the   
soul's avowal of its large relations1   
and1 that climate1 century1 remote      
natures1 as well as near1 are part of   
its biography4  ,chemistry takes to     
pieces1 but it does not construct4      

,alchemy which sought to transmute one  
element into another1 to prolong life1  
to arm with power1--that was in the     
right direction4  ,all our science lacks
 a human side4 ,the tenant is more than 
the house4  ,bugs and stamens and       
spores1 on which we lavish so many      
years1 are not finalities1 and man1 when
 his powers unfold in order1 will take  
,nature along with him1 and emit light  
into all her recesses4  ,the human heart
 concerns us more than the poring into  
microscopes1 and is larger than can be  
measured by the pompous figures of the  
astronomer4  ,we are just so frivolous  
and skeptical4  ,men hold themselves    
cheap and vile3 and yet a man is a fagot
 of thunderbolts4  ,all the elements    
pour through his system3 he is the flood
 of the flood1 and fire of the fire2 he 
feels the antipodes and the pole1 as    
drops of his blood3 they are the        
extension of his personality4  ,his     
duties are measured by that instrument  
he is2 and a right and perfect man would

 be felt to the centre of the           
,copernican system4  ',tis curious that 
we only believe as deep as we live4  ,we
 do not think heroes can exert any more 
awful power than that surface-play which
 amuses us4  ,a deep man believes in    
miracles1 waits for them1 believes in   
magic1 believes that the orator will    
decompose his adversary2 believes that  
the evil eye can wither1 that the       
heart's blessing can heal2 that love can
 exalt talent2 can overcome all odds4   
,from a great heart secret magnetisms   
flow incessantly to draw great events4  
,but we prize very humble utilities1 a  
prudent husband1 a good son1 a voter1 a 
citizen1 and deprecate any romance of   
character2 and perhaps reckon only his  
money value1--his intellect1 his        
affection1 as a sort of bill of         
exchange1 easily convertible into fine  
chambers1 pictures1 music1 and wine4    
,the motive of science was the extension
 of man1 on all sides1 into ,nature1    
till his hands should touch the stars1  

his eyes see through the earth1 his ears
 understand the language of beast and   
bird1 and the sense of the wind2 and1   
through his sympathy1 heaven and earth  
should talk with him4  ,but that is not 
our science4  ,these geologies1         
chemistries1 astronomies1 seem to make  
wise1 but they leave us where they found
 us4 ,the invention is of use to the    
inventor1 of questionable help to any   
other4 ,the formulas of science are like
 the papers in your pocket-book1 of no  
value to any but the owner4 ,science in 
,england1 in ,america1 is jealous of    
theory1 hates the name of love and moral
 purpose4  ,there's a revenge for this  
inhumanity4 ,what manner of man does    
science make8  ,the boy is not          
attracted4  ,he says1 ,i do not wish to 
be such a kind of man as my professor   
is4  ,the collector has dried all the   
plants in his herbal1 but he has lost   
weight and humor4  ,he has got all      
snakes and lizards in his phials1 but   
science has done for him also1 and has  

put the man into a bottle4  ,our        
reliance on the physician is a kind of  
despair of ourselves4  ,the clergy have 
bronchitis1 which does not seem a       
certificate of spiritual health4        
,macready thought it came of the        
falsetto of their voicing4 ,an ,indian  
prince1 ,tisso1 one day riding in the   
forest1 saw a herd of elk sporting4     
,see how happy1 he said1 these browsing 
elks are6  ,why should not priests1     
lodged and fed comfortably in the       
temples1 also amuse themselves8         
,returning home1 he imparted this       
reflection to the king4  ,the king1 on  
the next day1 conferred the sovereignty 
on him1 saying1 ,prince1 administer this
 empire for seven days3 at the          
termination of that period1 ,i shall put
 thee to death4  ,at the end of the     
seventh day1 the king inquired1 ,from   
what cause hast thou become so          
emaciated8  ,he answered1 ,from the     
horror of death4  ,the monarch rejoined3
 ,live1 my child1 and be wise4 ,thou    

hast ceased to take recreation1 saying  
to thyself1 in seven days ,i shall be   
put to death4  ,these priests in the    
temple incessantly meditate on death2   
how can they enter into healthful       
diversions8  ,but the men of science or 
the doctors or the clergy are not       
victims of their pursuits1 more than    
others4  ,the miller1 the lawyer1 and   
the merchant1 dedicate themselves to    
their own details1 and do not come out  
men of more force4 ,have they           
divination1 grand aims1 hospitality of  
soul1 and the equality to any event1    
which we demand in man1 or only the     
reactions of the mill1 of the wares1 of 
the chicane8  ,no object really         
interests us but man1 and in man only   
his superiorities2 and1 though we are   
aware of a perfect law in ,nature1 it   
has fascination for us only through its 
relation to him1 or1 as it is rooted in 
the mind4  ,at the birth of             
,winckelmann1 more than a hundred years 
ago1 side by side with this arid1       

departmental1 post mortem science1 rose 
an enthusiasm in the study of ,beauty2  
and perhaps some sparks from it may yet 
light a conflagration in the other4     
,knowledge of men1 knowledge of manners1
 the power of form1 and our sensibility 
to personal influence1 never go out of  
fashion4  ,these are facts of a science 
which we study without book1 whose      
teachers and subjects are always near   
us4  ,so inveterate is our habit of     
criticism1 that much of our knowledge in
 this direction belongs to the chapter  
of pathology4  ,the crowd in the street 
oftener furnishes degradations than     
angels or redeemers3 but they all prove 
the transparency4 ,every spirit makes   
its house2 and we can give a shrewd     
guess from the house to the inhabitant4 
,but not less does ,nature furnish us   
with every sign of grace and goodness4  
,the delicious faces of children1 the   
beauty of school-girls1 the sweet       
seriousness of sixteen1 the lofty air of
 well-born1 well-bred boys1 the         

passionate histories in the looks and   
manners of youth and early manhood1 and 
the varied power in all that well-known 
company that escort us through life1--we
 know how these forms thrill1 paralyze1 
provoke1 inspire1 and enlarge us4       
,beauty is the form under which the     
intellect prefers to study the world4   
,all privilege is that of beauty2 for   
there are many beauties2 as1 of general 
nature1 of the human face and form1 of  
manners1 of brain1 or method1 moral     
beauty1 or beauty of the soul4  ,the    
ancients believed that a genius or demon
 took possession at birth of each       
mortal1 to guide him2 that these genii  
were sometimes seen as a flame of fire  
partly immersed in the bodies which they
 governed2--on an evil man1 resting on  
his head2 in a good man1 mixed with his 
substance4 ,they thought the same       
genius1 at the death of its ward1       
entered a new-born child1 and they      
pretended to guess the pilot1 by the    
sailing of the ship4 ,we recognize      

obscurely the same fact1 though we give 
it our own names4  ,we say1 that every  
man is entitled to be valued by his best
 moment4  ,we measure our friends so4   
,we know1 they have intervals of folly1 
whereof we take no heed1 but wait the   
reappearings of the genius1 which are   
sure and beautiful4  ,on the other side1
 everybody knows people who appear      
beridden1 and who1 with all degrees of  
ability1 never impress us with the air  
of free agency4  ,they know it too1 and 
peep with their eyes to see if you      
detect their sad plight4  ,we fancy1    
could we pronounce the solving word1 and
 disenchant them1 the cloud would roll  
up1 the little rider would be discovered
 and unseated1 and they would regain    
their freedom4  ,the remedy seems never 
to be far off1 since the first step into
 thought lifts this mountain of         
necessity4 ,thought is the pent air-ball
 which can rive the planet1 and the     
beauty which certain objects have for   
him1 is the friendly fire which expands 

the thought1 and acquaints the prisoner 
that liberty and power await him4  ,the 
question of ,beauty takes us out of     
surfaces1 to thinking of the foundations
 of things4  ,goethe said1 ,the         
beautiful is a manifestation of secret  
laws of ,nature1 which1 but for this    
appearance1 had been forever concealed  
from us4  ,and the working of this deep 
instinct makes all the excitement--much 
of it superficial and absurd            
enough--about works of art1 which leads 
armies of vain travellers every year to 
,italy1 ,greece1 and ,egypt4 ,every man 
values every acquisition he makes in the
 science of beauty1 above his           
possessions4 ,the most useful man in the
 most useful world1 so long as only     
commodity was served1 would remain      
unsatisfied4  ,but1 as fast as he sees  
beauty1 life acquires a very high value4
  ,i am warned by the ill fate of many  
philosophers not to attempt a definition
 of ,beauty4  ,i will rather enumerate a
 few of its qualities4 ,we ascribe      

beauty to that which is simple2 which   
has no superfluous parts2 which exactly 
answers its end2 which stands related to
 all things2 which is the mean of many  
extremes4  ,it is the most enduring     
quality1 and the most ascending quality4
  ,we say1 love is blind1 and the figure
 of ,cupid is drawn with a bandage round
 his eyes4  ,blind3--yes1 because he    
does not see what he does not like2 but 
the sharpest-sighted hunter in the      
universe is ,love1 for finding what he  
seeks1 and only that2 and the           
mythologists tell us1 that ,vulcan was  
painted lame1 and ,cupid blind1 to call 
attention to the fact1 that one was all 
limbs1 and the other1 all eyes4  ,in the
 true mythology1 ,love is an immortal   
child1 and ,beauty leads him as a guide3
 nor can we express a deeper sense than 
when we say1 ,beauty is the pilot of the
 young soul4  ,beyond their sensuous    
delight1 the forms and colors of ,nature
 have a new charm for us in our         
perception1 that not one ornament was   

added for ornament1 but is a sign of    
some better health1 or more excellent   
action4 ,elegance of form in bird or    
beast1 or in the human figure1 marks    
some excellence of structure3 or beauty 
is only an invitation from what belongs 
to us4  ',tis a law of botany1 that in  
plants1 the same virtues follow the same
 forms4  ,it is a rule of largest       
application1 true in a plant1 true in a 
loaf of bread1 that in the construction 
of any fabric or organism1 any real     
increase of fitness to its end1 is an   
increase of beauty4  ,the lesson taught 
by the study of ,greek and of ,gothic   
art1 of antique and of ,pre-,raphaelite 
painting1 was worth all the             
research1--namely1 that all beauty must 
be organic2 that outside embellishment  
is deformity4  ,it is the soundness of  
the bones that ultimates itself in a    
peach-bloom complexion3 health of       
constitution that makes the sparkle and 
the power of the eye4  ',tis the        
adjustment of the size and of the       

joining of the sockets of the skeleton1 
that gives grace of outline and the     
finer grace of movement4  ,the cat and  
the deer cannot move or sit inelegantly4
  ,the dancing-master can never teach a 
badly built man to walk well4  ,the tint
 of the flower proceeds from its root1  
and the lustres of the sea-shell begin  
with its existence4  ,hence our taste in
 building rejects paint1 and all shifts1
 and shows the original grain of the    
wood3 refuses pilasters and columns that
 support nothing1 and allows the real   
supporters of the house honestly to show
 themselves4  ,every necessary or       
organic action pleases the beholder4 ,a 
man leading a horse to water1 a farmer  
sowing seed1 the labors of haymakers in 
the field1 the carpenter building a     
ship1 the smith at his forge1 or1       
whatever useful labor1 is becoming to   
the wise eye4 ,but if it is done to be  
seen1 it is mean4  ,how beautiful are   
ships on the sea6 but ships in the      
theatre1--or ships kept for picturesque 

effect on ,virginia ,water1 by ,george  
,,iv41 and men hired to stand in fitting
 costumes at a penny an hour6--,what a  
difference in effect between a battalion
 of troops marching to action1 and one  
of our independent companies on a       
holiday6 ,in the midst of a military    
show1 and a festal procession gay with  
banners1 ,i saw a boy seize an old tin  
pan that lay rusting under a wall1 and  
poising it on the top of a stick1 he set
 it turning1 and made it describe the   
most elegant imaginable curves1 and drew
 away attention from the decorated      
procession by this startling beauty4    
,another text from the mythologists4    
,the ,greeks fabled that ,venus was born
 of the foam of the sea4  ,nothing      
interests us which is stark or bounded1 
but only what streams with life1 what is
 in act or endeavor to reach somewhat   
beyond4  ,the pleasure a palace or a    
temple gives the eye1 is1 that an order 
and method has been communicated to     
stones1 so that they speak and          

geometrize1 become tender or sublime    
with expression4 ,beauty is the moment  
of transition1 as if the form were just 
ready to flow into other forms4  ,any   
fixedness1 heaping1 or concentration on 
one feature1--a long nose1 a sharp chin1
 a hump-back1--is the reverse of the    
flowing1 and therefore deformed4        
,beautiful as is the symmetry of any    
form1 if the form can move1 we seek a   
more excellent symmetry4  ,the          
interruption of equilibrium stimulates  
the eye to desire the restoration of    
symmetry1 and to watch the steps through
 which it is attained4  ,this is the    
charm of running water1 sea-waves1 the  
flight of birds1 and the locomotion of  
animals4  ,this is the theory of        
dancing1 to recover continually in      
changes the lost equilibrium1 not by    
abrupt and angular1 but by gradual and  
curving movements4  ,i have been told by
 persons of experience in matters of    
taste1 that the fashions follow a law of
 gradation1 and are never arbitrary4    

,the new mode is always only a step     
onward in the same direction as the last
 mode2 and a cultivated eye is prepared 
for and predicts the new fashion4  ,this
 fact suggests the reason of all        
mistakes and offence in our own modes4  
,it is necessary in music1 when you     
strike a discord1 to let down the ear by
 an intermediate note or two to the     
accord again3 and many a good           
experiment1 born of good sense1 and     
destined to succeed1 fails1 only because
 it is offensively sudden4  ,i suppose1 
the ,parisian milliner who dresses the  
world from her imperious boudoir will   
know how to reconcile the ,bloomer      
costume to the eye of mankind1 and make 
it triumphant over ,punch himself1 by   
interposing the just gradations4  ,i    
need not say1 how wide the same law     
ranges2 and how much it can be hoped to 
effect4  ,all that is a little harshly  
claimed by progressive parties1 may     
easily come to be conceded without      
question1 if this rule be observed4     

,thus the circumstances may be easily   
imagined1 in which woman may speak1     
vote1 argue causes1 legislate1 and drive
 a coach1 and all the most naturally in 
the world1 if only it come by degrees4  
,to this streaming or flowing belongs   
the beauty that all circular movement   
has2 as1 the circulation of waters1 the 
circulation of the blood1 the periodical
 motion of planets1 the annual wave of  
vegetation1 the action and reaction of  
,nature3 and1 if we follow it out1 this 
demand in our thought for an ever-onward
 action1 is the argument for the        
immortality4  ,one more text from the   
mythologists is to the same             
purpose1--,beauty rides on a lion4      
,beauty rests on necessities4  ,the line
 of beauty is the result of perfect     
economy4  ,the cell of the bee is built 
at that angle which gives the most      
strength with the least wax2 the bone or
 the quill of the bird gives the most   
alar strength1 with the least weight4   
,it is the purgation of superfluities1  

said ,michel ,angelo4  ,there is not a  
particle to spare in natural structures4
  ,there is a compelling reason in the  
uses of the plant1 for every novelty of 
color or form3 and our art saves        
material1 by more skilful arrangement1  
and reaches beauty by taking every      
superfluous ounce that can be spared    
from a wall1 and keeping all its        
strength in the poetry of columns4  ,in 
rhetoric1 this art of omission is a     
chief secret of power1 and1 in general1 
it is proof of high culture1 to say the 
greatest matters in the simplest way4   
,veracity first of all1 and forever4    
,rien de beau que le vrai4  ,in all     
design1 art lies in making your object  
prominent1 but there is a prior art in  
choosing objects that are prominent4    
,the fine arts have nothing casual1 but 
spring from the instincts of the nations
 that created them4  ,beauty is the     
quality which makes to endure4 ,in a    
house that ,i know1 ,i have noticed a   
block of spermaceti lying about closets 

and mantel-pieces1 for twenty years     
together1 simply because the tallow-man 
gave it the form of a rabbit2 and1 ,i   
suppose1 it may continue to be lugged   
about unchanged for a century4  ,let an 
artist scrawl a few lines or figures on 
the back of a letter1 and that scrap of 
paper is rescued from danger1 is put in 
portfolio1 is framed and glazed1 and1 in
 proportion to the beauty of the lines  
drawn1 will be kept for centuries4      
,burns writes a copy of verses1 and     
sends them to a newspaper1 and the human
 race take charge of them that they     
shall not perish4  ,as the flute is     
heard farther than the cart1 see how    
surely a beautiful form strikes the     
fancy of men1 and is copied and         
reproduced without end4 ,how many copies
 are there of the ,belvedere ,apollo1   
the ,venus1 the ,psyche1 the ,warwick   
,vase1 the ,parthenon1 and the ,temple  
of ,vesta8  ,these are objects of       
tenderness to all4  ,in our cities1 an  
ugly building is soon removed1 and is   

never repeated1 but any beautiful       
building is copied and improved upon1 so
 that all masons and carpenters work to 
repeat and preserve the agreeable forms1
 whilst the ugly ones die out4  ,the    
felicities of design in art1 or in works
 of ,nature1 are shadows or forerunners 
of that beauty which reaches its        
perfection in the human form4 ,all men  
are its lovers4  ,wherever it goes1 it  
creates joy and hilarity1 and everything
 is permitted to it4 ,it reaches its    
height in woman4  ,to ,eve1 say the     
,mahometans1 ,god gave two thirds of all
 beauty4  ,a beautiful woman is a       
practical poet1 taming her savage mate1 
planting tenderness1 hope1 and          
eloquence1 in all whom she approaches4  
,some favors of condition must go with  
it1 since a certain serenity is         
essential1 but we love its reproofs and 
superiorities4  ,nature wishes that     
woman should attract man1 yet she often 
cunningly moulds into her face a little 
sarcasm1 which seems to say1 ',yes1 ,i  

am willing to attract1 but to attract a 
little better kind of a man than any ,i 
yet behold4'  ,french memoires of the   
fifteenth century celebrate the name of 
,pauline de ,viguiere1 a virtuous and   
accomplished maiden1 who so fired the   
enthusiasm of her contemporaries1 by her
 enchanting form1 that the citizens of  
her native city of ,toulouse obtained   
the aid of the civil authorities to     
compel her to appear publicly on the    
balcony at least twice a week1 and1 as  
often as she showed herself1 the crowd  
was dangerous to life4  ,not less1 in   
,england1 in the last century1 was the  
fame of the ,gunnings1 of whom1         
,elizabeth married the ,duke of         
,hamilton2 and ,maria1 the ,earl of     
,coventry4  ,walpole says1 the concourse
 was so great1 when the ,duchess of     
,hamilton was presented at court1 on    
,friday1 that even the noble crowd in   
the drawing-room clambered on chairs and
 tables to look at her4  ,there are mobs
 at their doors to see them get into    

their chairs1 and people go early to get
 places at the theatres1 when it is     
known they will be there4  ,such crowds1
 he adds1 elsewhere1 flock to see the   
,duchess of ,hamilton1 that seven       
hundred people sat up all night1 in and 
about an inn1 in ,yorkshire1 to see her 
get into her post-chaise next morning4  
,but why need we console ourselves with 
the fames of ,helen of ,argos1 or       
,corinna1 or ,pauline of ,toulouse1 or  
the ,duchess of ,hamilton8  ,we all know
 this magic very well1 or can divine it4
  ,it does not hurt weak eyes to look   
into beautiful eyes never so long4      
,women stand related to beautiful       
,nature around us1 and the enamored     
youth mixes their form with moon and    
stars1 with woods and waters1 and the   
pomp of summer4  ,they heal us of       
awkwardness by their words and looks4   
,we observe their intellectual influence
 on the most serious student4  ,they    
refine and clear his mind2 teach him to 
put a pleasing method into what is dry  

and difficult4  ,we talk to them1 and   
wish to be listened to2 we fear to      
fatigue them1 and acquire a facility of 
expression which passes from            
conversation into habit of style4  ,that
 ,beauty is the normal state1 is shown  
by the perpetual effort of ,nature to   
attain it4  ,mirabeau had an ugly face  
on a handsome ground2 and we see faces  
every day which have a good type1 but   
have been marred in the casting3 a proof
 that we are all entitled to beauty1    
should have been beautiful1 if our      
ancestors had kept the laws1--as every  
lily and every rose is well4  ,but our  
bodies do not fit us1 but caricature and
 satirize us4  ,thus1 short legs1 which 
constrain us to short1 mincing steps1   
are a kind of personal insult and       
contumely to the owner2 and long stilts1
 again1 put him at perpetual            
disadvantage1 and force him to stoop to 
the general level of mankind4  ,martial 
ridicules a gentleman of his day whose  
countenance resembled the face of a     

swimmer seen under water4  ,saadi       
describes a schoolmaster so ugly and    
crabbed1 that a sight of him would      
derange the ecstasies of the orthodox4  
,faces are rarely true to any ideal     
type1 but are a record in sculpture of a
 thousand anecdotes of whim and folly4  
,portrait painters say that most faces  
and forms are irregular and             
unsymmetrical2 have one eye blue1 and   
one gray2 the nose not straight2 and one
 shoulder higher than another2 the hair 
unequally distributed1 etc4  ,the man is
 physically as well as metaphysically a 
thing of shreds and patches1 borrowed   
unequally from good and bad ancestors1  
and a misfit from the start4  ,a        
beautiful person1 among the ,greeks1 was
 thought to betray by this sign some    
secret favor of the immortal gods3 and  
we can pardon pride1 when a woman       
possesses such a figure1 that wherever  
she stands1 or moves1 or leaves a shadow
 on the wall1 or sits for a portrait to 
the artist1 she confers a favor on the  

world4  ,and yet--it is not beauty that 
inspires the deepest passion4 ,beauty   
without grace is the hook without the   
bait4 ,beauty1 without expression1      
tires4  ,abbe ,menage said of the       
,president ,le ,bailleul1 that he was   
fit for nothing but to sit for his      
portrait4  ,a ,greek epigram intimates  
that the force of love is not shown by  
the courting of beauty1 but when the    
like desire is inflamed for one who is  
ill-favored4 ,and petulant old          
gentlemen1 who have chanced to suffer   
some intolerable weariness from pretty  
people1 or who have seen cut flowers to 
some profusion1 or who see1 after a     
world of pains have been successfully   
taken for the costume1 how the least    
mistake in sentiment takes all the      
beauty out of your clothes1--affirm1    
that the secret of ugliness consists not
 in irregularity1 but in being          
uninteresting4  ,we love any forms1     
however ugly1 from which great qualities
 shine4  ,if command1 eloquence1 art1 or

 invention1 exist in the most deformed  
person1 all the accidents that usually  
displease1 please1 and raise esteem and 
wonder higher4  ,the great orator was an
 emaciated1 insignificant person1 but he
 was all brain4  ,cardinal ,de ,retz    
says of ,de ,bouillon1 ,with the        
physiognomy of an ox1 he had the        
perspicacity of an eagle4  ,it was said 
of ,hooke1 the friend of ,newton1 he is 
the most1 and promises the least1 of any
 man in ,england4  ,since ,i am so ugly1
 said ,du ,guesclin1 it behooves that ,i
 be bold4  ,sir ,philip ,sidney1 the    
darling of mankind1 ,ben ,jonson tells  
us1 was no pleasant man in countenance1 
his face being spoiled with pimples1 and
 of high blood1 and long4  ,those who   
have ruled human destinies1 like        
planets1 for thousands of years1 were   
not handsome men4  ,if a man can raise a
 small city to be a great kingdom1 can  
make bread cheap1 can irrigate deserts1 
can join oceans by canals1 can subdue   
steam1 can organize victory1 can lead   

the opinions of mankind1 can enlarge    
knowledge1 'tis no matter whether his   
nose is parallel to his spine1 as it    
ought to be1 or whether he has a nose at
 all3 whether his legs are straight1 or 
whether his legs are amputated2 his     
deformities will come to be reckoned    
ornamental1 and advantageous on the     
whole4  ,this is the triumph of         
expression1 degrading beauty1 charming  
us with a power so fine and friendly and
 intoxicating1 that it makes admired    
persons insipid1 and the thought of     
passing our lives with them             
insupportable4  ,there are faces so     
fluid with expression1 so flushed and   
rippled by the play of thought1 that we 
can hardly find what the mere features  
really are4  ,when the delicious beauty 
of lineaments loses its power1 it is    
because a more delicious beauty has     
appeared2 that an interior and durable  
form has been disclosed4 ,still1 ,beauty
 rides on her lion1 as before4  ,still1 
it was for beauty that the world was    

made4  ,the lives of the ,italian       
artists1 who established a despotism of 
genius amidst the dukes and kings and   
mobs of their stormy epoch1 prove how   
loyal men in all times are to a finer   
brain1 a finer method1 than their own4  
,if a man can cut such a head on his    
stone gate-post as shall draw and keep a
 crowd about it all day1 by its beauty1 
good nature1 and inscrutable            
meaning3--if a man can build a plain    
cottage with such symmetry1 as to make  
all the fine palaces look cheap and     
vulgar2 can take such advantage of      
,nature1 that all her powers serve him2 
making use of geometry1 instead of      
expense2 tapping a mountain for his     
water-jet2 causing the sun and moon to  
seem only the decorations of his estate2
 this is still the legitimate dominion  
of beauty4  ,the radiance of the human  
form1 though sometimes astonishing1 is  
only a burst of beauty for a few years  
or a few months1 at the perfection of   
youth1 and in most1 rapidly declines4   

,but we remain lovers of it1 only       
transferring our interest to interior   
excellence4  ,and it is not only        
admirable in singular and salient       
talents1 but also in the world of       
manners4  ,but the sovereign attribute  
remains to be noted4 ,things are pretty1
 graceful1 rich1 elegant1 handsome1 but1
 until they speak to the imagination1   
not yet beautiful4  ,this is the reason 
why beauty is still escaping out of all 
analysis4  ,it is not yet possessed1 it 
cannot be handled4  ,proclus says1 it   
swims on the light of forms4  ,it is    
properly not in the form1 but in the    
mind4  ,it instantly deserts possession1
 and flies to an object in the horizon4 
,if ,i could put my hand on the north   
star1 would it be as beautiful8  ,the   
sea is lovely1 but when we bathe in it1 
the beauty forsakes all the near water4 
,for the imagination and senses cannot  
be gratified at the same time4          
,wordsworth rightly speaks of a light   
that never was on sea or land1 meaning1 

that it was supplied by the observer1   
and the ,welsh bard warns his           
countrywomen1 that      --half of their 
charms with ,cadwallon shall die4  ,the 
new virtue which constitutes a thing    
beautiful1 is a certain cosmical        
quality1 or1 a power to suggest relation
 to the whole world1 and so lift the    
object out of a pitiful individuality4  
,every natural feature1--sea1 sky1      
rainbow1 flowers1 musical tone1--has in 
it somewhat which is not private1 but   
universal1 speaks of that central       
benefit which is the soul of ,nature1   
and thereby is beautiful4  ,and1 in     
chosen men and women1 ,i find somewhat  
in form1 speech1 and manners1 which is  
not of their person and family1 but of a
 humane1 catholic1 and spiritual        
character1 and we love them as the sky4 
,they have a largeness of suggestion1   
and their face and manners carry a      
certain grandeur1 like time and justice4
  ,the feat of the imagination is in    
showing the convertibility of every     

thing into every other thing4 ,facts    
which had never before left their stark 
common sense1 suddenly figure as        
,eleusinian mysteries4 ,my boots and    
chair and candlestick are fairies in    
disguise1 meteors and constellations4   
,all the facts in ,nature are nouns of  
the intellect1 and make the grammar of  
the eternal language4  ,every word has a
 double1 treble1 or centuple use and    
meaning1 ,what6 has my stove and        
pepper-pot a false bottom6 ,i cry you   
mercy1 good shoe-box6  ,i did not know  
you were a jewel-case4  ,chaff and dust 
begin to sparkle1 and are clothed about 
with immortality4 ,and there is a joy in
 perceiving the representative or       
symbolic character of a fact1 which no  
bare fact or event can ever give4 ,there
 are no days in life so memorable as    
those which vibrated to some stroke of  
the imagination4  ,the poets are quite  
right in decking their mistresses with  
the spoils of the landscape1            
flower-gardens1 gems1 rainbows1 flushes 

of morning1 and stars of night1 since   
all beauty points at identity1 and      
whatsoever thing does not express to me 
the sea and sky1 day and night1 is      
somewhat forbidden and wrong4  ,into    
every beautiful object1 there enters    
somewhat immeasurable and divine1 and   
just as much into form bounded by       
outlines1 like mountains on the horizon1
 as into tones of music1 or depths of   
space4  ,polarized light showed the     
secret architecture of bodies2 and when 
the second-sight of the mind is opened1 
now one color or form or gesture1 and   
now another1 has a pungency1 as if a    
more interior ray had been emitted1     
disclosing its deep holdings in the     
frame of things4  ,the laws of this     
translation we do not know1 or why one  
feature or gesture enchants1 why one    
word or syllable intoxicates1 but the   
fact is familiar that the fine touch of 
the eye1 or a grace of manners1 or a    
phrase of poetry1 plants wings at our   
shoulders2 as if the ,divinity1 in his  

approaches1 lifts away mountains of     
obstruction1 and deigns to draw a truer 
line1 which the mind knows and owns4    
,this is that haughty force of beauty1  
vis superba formae which the poets      
praise1--under calm and precise outline1
 the immeasurable and divine3 ,beauty   
hiding all wisdom and power in its calm 
sky4  ,all high beauty has a moral      
element in it1 and ,i find the antique  
sculpture as ethical as ,marcus         
,antoninus3 and the beauty ever in      
proportion to the depth of thought4     
,gross and obscure natures1 however     
decorated1 seem impure shambles2 but    
character gives splendor to youth1 and  
awe to wrinkled skin and gray hairs4    
,an adorer of truth we cannot choose but
 obey1 and the woman who has shared with
 us the moral sentiment1--her locks must
 appear to us sublime4  ,thus there is a
 climbing scale of culture1 from the    
first agreeable sensation which a       
sparkling gem or a scarlet stain affords
 the eye1 up through fair outlines and  

details of the landscape1 features of   
the human face and form1 signs and      
tokens of thought and character in      
manners1 up to the ineffable mysteries  
of the intellect4 ,wherever we begin1   
thither our steps tend3 an ascent from  
the joy of a horse in his trappings1 up 
to the perception of ,newton1 that the  
globe on which we ride is only a larger 
apple falling from a larger tree2 up to 
the perception of ,plato1 that globe and
 universe are rude and early expressions
 of an all-dissolving ,unity1--the first
 stair on the scale to the temple of the
 ,mind4                                 
,,ix4                                   
,,illusions       ,flow1 flow the waves 
hated1     ,accursed1 adored1     ,the  
waves of mutation3     ,no anchorage is4
     ,sleep is not1 death is not2       
,who seem to die live4     ,house you   
were born in1     ,friends of your      
spring-time1     ,old man and young     
maid1     ,day's toil and its guerdon1  
,they are all vanishing1     ,fleeing to

 fables1     ,cannot be moored4     ,see
 the stars through them1     ,through   
treacherous marbles4     ,know1 the     
stars yonder1     ,the stars            
everlasting1     ,are fugitive also1    
,and emulate1 vaulted1     ,the lambent 
heat-lightning1     ,and fire-fly's     
flight4       ,when thou dost return    
,on the wave's circulation1             
,beholding the shimmer1     ,the wild   
dissipation1     ,and1 out of endeavor  
,to change and to flow1     ,the gas    
become solid1     ,and phantoms and     
nothings     ,return to be things1      
,and endless imbroglio     ,is law and  
the world1--     ,then first shalt thou 
know1     ,that in the wild turmoil1    
,horsed on the ,proteus1     ,thou      
ridest to power1     ,and to endurance4 
,,illusions4   ,some years ago1 in      
company with an agreeable party1 ,i     
spent a long summer day in exploring the
 ,mammoth ,cave in ,kentucky4  ,we      
traversed1 through spacious galleries   
affording a solid masonry foundation for

 the town and county overhead1 the six  
or eight black miles from the mouth of  
the cavern to the innermost recess which
 tourists visit1--a niche or grotto made
 of one seamless stalactite1 and called1
 ,i believe1 ,serena's ,bower4  ,i lost 
the light of one day4  ,i saw high      
domes1 and bottomless pits2 heard the   
voice of unseen waterfalls2 paddled     
three quarters of a mile in the deep    
,echo ,river1 whose waters are peopled  
with the blind fish2 crossed the streams
 ,lethe and ,styx2 plied with music and 
guns the echoes in these alarming       
galleries2 saw every form of stalagmite 
and stalactite in the sculptured and    
fretted chambers1--icicle1              
orange-flower1 acanthus1 grapes1 and    
snowball4  ,we shot ,bengal lights into 
the vaults and groins of the sparry     
cathedrals1 and examined all the        
masterpieces which the four combined    
engineers1 water1 limestone1            
gravitation1 and time1 could make in the
 dark4  ,the mysteries and scenery of   

the cave had the same dignity that      
belongs to all natural objects1 and     
which shames the fine things to which we
 foppishly compare them4  ,i remarked1  
especially1 the mimetic habit1 with     
which ,nature1 on new instruments1 hums 
her old tunes1 making night to mimic    
day1 and chemistry to ape vegetation4   
,but ,i then took notice1 and still     
chiefly remember1 that the best thing   
which the cave had to offer was an      
illusion4  ,on arriving at what is      
called the ,star-,chamber1 our lamps    
were taken from us by the guide1 and    
extinguished or put aside1 and1 on      
looking upwards1 ,i saw or seemed to see
 the night heaven thick with stars      
glimmering more or less brightly over   
our heads1 and even what seemed a comet 
flaming among them4  ,all the party were
 touched with astonishment and pleasure4
  ,our musical friends sung with much   
feeling a pretty song1 ,the stars are in
 the quiet sky1 c41 and ,i sat down on  
the rocky floor to enjoy the serene     

picture4  ,some crystal specks in the   
black ceiling high overhead1 reflecting 
the light of a half-hid lamp1 yielded   
this magnificent effect4  ,i own1 ,i did
 not like the cave so well for eking out
 its sublimities with this theatrical   
trick4  ,but ,i have had many           
experiences like it1 before and since2  
and we must be content to be pleased    
without too curiously analyzing the     
occasions4  ,our conversation with      
,nature is not just what it seems4  ,the
 cloud-rack1 the sunrise and sunset     
glories1 rainbows1 and northern lights  
are not quite so spheral as our         
childhood thought them2 and the part our
 organization plays in them is too      
large4 ,the senses interfere everywhere1
 and mix their own structure with all   
they report of4  ,once1 we fancied the  
earth a plane1 and stationary4  ,in     
admiring the sunset1 we do not yet      
deduct the rounding1 coordinating1      
pictorial powers of the eye4  ,the same 
interference from our organization      

creates the most of our pleasure and    
pain4  ,our first mistake is the belief 
that the circumstance gives the joy     
which we give to the circumstance4      
,life is an ecstasy4  ,life is sweet as 
nitrous oxide2 and the fisherman        
dripping all day over a cold pond1 the  
switchman at the railway intersection1  
the farmer in the field1 the negro in   
the rice-swamp1 the fop in the street1  
the hunter in the woods1 the barrister  
with the jury1 the belle at the ball1   
all ascribe a certain pleasure to their 
employment1 which they themselves give  
it4  ,health and appetite impart the    
sweetness to sugar1 bread1 and meat4    
,we fancy that our civilization has got 
on far1 but we still come back to our   
primers4  ,we live by our imaginations1 
by our admirations1 by our sentiments4  
,the child walks amid heaps of          
illusions1 which he does not like to    
have disturbed4 ,the boy1 how sweet to  
him is his fancy6 how dear the story of 
barons and battles6  ,what a hero he is1

 whilst he feeds on his heroes6 ,what a 
debt is his to imaginative books6  ,he  
has no better friend or influence1 than 
,scott1 ,shakspeare1 ,plutarch1 and     
,homer4  ,the man lives to other        
objects1 but who dare affirm that they  
are more real8  ,even the prose of the  
streets is full of refractions4  ,in the
 life of the dreariest alderman1 fancy  
enters into all details1 and colors them
 with rosy hue4  ,he imitates the air   
and actions of people whom he admires1  
and is raised in his own eyes4  ,he pays
 a debt quicker to a rich man than to a 
poor man4 ,he wishes the bow and        
compliment of some leader in the state1 
or in society2 weighs what he says2     
perhaps he never comes nearer to him for
 that1 but dies at last better contented
 for this amusement of his eyes and his 
fancy4  ,the world rolls1 the din of    
life is never hushed4 ,in ,london1 in   
,paris1 in ,boston1 in ,san ,francisco1 
the carnival1 the masquerade is at its  
height4 ,nobody drops his domino4  ,the 

unities1 the fictions of the piece it   
would be an impertinence to break4 ,the 
chapter of fascinations is very long4   
,great is paint2 nay1 ,god is the       
painter2 and we rightly accuse the      
critic who destroys too many illusions4 
,society does not love its unmaskers4   
,it was wittily1 if somewhat bitterly1  
said by ,d',alembert1 qu'un etat de     
vapeur etait un etat tres fachieux1     
parcequ'il nous faisait voir les choses 
comme elles sont4  ,i find men victims  
of illusion in all parts of life4       
,children1 youths1 adults1 and old men1 
all are led by one bawble or another4   
,yoganidra1 the goddess of illusion1    
,proteus1 or ,momus1 or ,gylfi's        
,mocking1--for the ,power has many      
names1--is stronger than the ,titans1   
stronger than ,apollo4  ,few have       
overheard the gods1 or surprised their  
secret4  ,life is a succession of       
lessons which must be lived to be       
understood4  ,all is riddle1 and the key
 to a riddle is another riddle4  ,there 

are as many pillows of illusion as      
flakes in a snow-storm4  ,we wake from  
one dream into another dream4  ,the     
toys1 to be sure1 are various1 and are  
graduated in refinement to the quality  
of the dupe4  ,the intellectual man     
requires a fine bait2 the sots are      
easily amused4 ,but everybody is drugged
 with his own frenzy1 and the pageant   
marches at all hours1 with music and    
banner and badge4  ,amid the joyous     
troop who give in to the charivari1     
comes now and then a sad-eyed boy1 whose
 eyes lack the requisite refractions to 
clothe the show in due glory1 and who is
 afflicted with a tendency to trace home
 the glittering miscellany of fruits and
 flowers to one root4  ,science is a    
search after identity1 and the          
scientific whim is lurking in all       
corners4  ,at the ,state ,fair1 a friend
 of mine complained that all the        
varieties of fancy pears in our orchards
 seem to have been selected by somebody 
who had a whim for a particular kind of 

pear1 and only cultivated such as had   
that perfume2 they were all alike4  ,and
 ,i remember the quarrel of another     
youth with the confectioners1 that1 when
 he racked his wit to choose the best   
comfits in the shops1 in all the endless
 varieties of sweetmeat he could only   
find three flavors1 or two4 ,what then8 
,pears and cakes are good for something2
 and because you1 unluckily1 have an eye
 or nose too keen1 why need you spoil   
the comfort which the rest of us find in
 them8  ,i knew a humorist1 who1 in a   
good deal of rattle1 had a grain or two 
of sense4  ,he shocked the company by   
maintaining that the attributes of ,god 
were two1--power and risibility2 and    
that it was the duty of every pious man 
to keep up the comedy4  ,and ,i have    
known gentlemen of great stake in the   
community1 but whose sympathies were    
cold1--presidents of colleges1 and      
governors1 and senators1--who held      
themselves bound to sign every          
temperance pledge1 and act with ,bible  

societies1 and missions1 and            
peace-makers1 and cry ,hist-a-boy6 to   
every good dog4  ,we must not carry     
comity too far1 but we all have kind    
impulses in this direction4  ,when the  
boys come into my yard for leave to     
gather horse-chestnuts1 ,i own ,i enter 
into ,nature's game1 and affect to grant
 the permission reluctantly1 fearing    
that any moment they will find out the  
imposture of that showy chaff4  ,but    
this tenderness is quite unnecessary2   
the enchantments are laid on very thick4
  ,their young life is thatched with    
them4  ,bare and grim to tears is the   
lot of the children in the hovel ,i saw 
yesterday2 yet not the less they hung it
 round with frippery romance1 like the  
children of the happiest fortune1 and   
talked of the dear cottage where so many
 joyful hours had flown4  ,well1 this   
thatching of hovels is the custom of the
 country4  ,women1 more than all1 are   
the element and kingdom of illusion4    
,being fascinated1 they fascinate4      

,they see through ,claude-,lorraines4   
,and how dare any one1 if he could1     
pluck away the coulisses1 stage effects1
 and ceremonies1 by which they live8    
,too pathetic1 too pitiable1 is the     
region of affection1 and its atmosphere 
always liable to mirage4  ,we are not   
very much to blame for our bad          
marriages4  ,we live amid               
hallucinations2 and this especial trap  
is laid to trip up our feet with1 and   
all are tripped up first or last4  ,but 
the mighty ,mother who had been so sly  
with us1 as if she felt that she owed us
 some indemnity1 insinuates into the    
,pandora-box of marriage some deep and  
serious benefits1 and some great joys4  
,we find a delight in the beauty and    
happiness of children1 that makes the   
heart too big for the body4  ,in the    
worst-assorted connections there is ever
 some mixture of true marriage4  ,teague
 and his jade get some just relations of
 mutual respect1 kindly observation1 and
 fostering of each other1 learn         

something1 and would carry themselves   
wiselier1 if they were now to begin4    
',tis fine for us to point at one or    
another fine madman1 as if there were   
any exempts4  ,the scholar in his       
library is none4  ,i1 who have all my   
life heard any number of orations and   
debates1 read poems and miscellaneous   
books1 conversed with many geniuses1 am 
still the victim of any new page2 and1  
if ,marmaduke1 or ,hugh1 or ,moosehead1 
or any other1 invent a new style or     
mythology1 ,i fancy that the world will 
be all brave and right1 if dressed in   
these colors1 which ,i had not thought  
of4 ,then at once ,i will daub with this
 new paint2 but it will not stick4 ',tis
 like the cement which the peddler sells
 at the door2 he makes broken crockery  
hold with it1 but you can never buy of  
him a bit of the cement which will make 
it hold when he is gone4  ,men who make 
themselves felt in the world avail      
themselves of a certain fate in their   
constitution1 which they know how to    

use4  ,but they never deeply interest   
us1 unless they lift a corner of the    
curtain1 or betray never so slightly    
their penetration of what is behind it4 
',tis the charm of practical men1 that  
outside of their practicality are a     
certain poetry and play1 as if they led 
the good horse ,power by the bridle1 and
 preferred to walk1 though they can ride
 so fiercely4  ,bonaparte is            
intellectual1 as well as ,caesar2 and   
the best soldiers1 sea-captains1 and    
railway men have a gentleness1 when off 
duty2 a good-natured admission that     
there are illusions1 and who shall say  
that he is not their sport8  ,we        
stigmatize the cast-iron fellows1 who   
cannot so detach themselves1 as         
dragon-ridden1 thunder-stricken1 and    
fools of fate1 with whatever powers     
endowed4  ,since our tuition is through 
emblems and indirections1 'tis well to  
know that there is method in it1 a fixed
 scale1 and rank above rank in the      
phantasms4  ,we begin low with coarse   

masks1 and rise to the most subtle and  
beautiful4  ,the red men told ,columbus1
 they had an herb which took away       
fatigue2 but he found the illusion of   
arriving from the east at the ,indies   
more composing to his lofty spirit than 
any tobacco4  ,is not our faith in the  
impenetrability of matter more sedative 
than narcotics8 ,you play with          
jackstraws1 balls1 bowls1 horse and gun1
 estates and politics2 but there are    
finer games before you4  ,is not time a 
pretty toy8 ,life will show you masks   
that are worth all your carnivals4      
,yonder mountain must migrate into your 
mind4  ,the fine star-dust and nebulous 
blur in ,orion1 the portentous year of  
,mizar and ,alcor1 must come down and be
 dealt with in your household thought4  
,what if you shall come to discern that 
the play and playground of all this     
pompous history are radiations from     
yourself1 and that the sun borrows his  
beams8  ,what terrible questions we are 
learning to ask6  ,the former men       

believed in magic1 by which temples1    
cities1 and men were swallowed up1 and  
all trace of them gone4 ,we are coming  
on the secret of a magic which sweeps   
out of men's minds all vestige of theism
 and beliefs which they and their       
fathers held and were framed upon4      
,there are deceptions of the senses1    
deceptions of the passions1 and the     
structural1 beneficent illusions of     
sentiment and of the intellect4 ,there  
is the illusion of love1 which          
attributes to the beloved person all    
which that person shares with his or her
 family1 sex1 age1 or condition1 nay1   
with the human mind itself4  ',tis these
 which the lover loves1 and ,anna       
,matilda gets the credit of them4  ,as  
if one shut up always in a tower1 with  
one window1 through which the face of   
heaven and earth could be seen1 should  
fancy that all the marvels he beheld    
belonged to that window4  ,there is the 
illusion of time1 which is very deep2   
who has disposed of it8 or come to the  

conviction that what seems the          
succession of thought is only the       
distribution of wholes into causal      
series8  ,the intellect sees that every 
atom carries the whole of ,nature2 that 
the mind opens to omnipotence2 that1 in 
the endless striving and ascents1 the   
metamorphosis is entire1 so that the    
soul doth not know itself in its own    
act1 when that act is perfected4  ,there
 is illusion that shall deceive even the
 elect4  ,there is illusion that shall  
deceive even the performer of the       
miracle4  ,though he make his body1 he  
denies that he makes it4 ,though the    
world exist from thought1 thought is    
daunted in presence of the world4  ,one 
after the other we accept the mental    
laws1 still resisting those which       
follow1 which however must be accepted4 
,but all our concessions only compel us 
to new profusion4  ,and what avails it  
that science has come to treat space and
 time as simply forms of thought1 and   
the material world as hypothetical1 and 

withal our pretension of property and   
even of self-hood are fading with the   
rest1 if1 at last1 even our thoughts are
 not finalities2 but the incessant      
flowing and ascension reach these also1 
and each thought which yesterday was a  
finality1 to-day is yielding to a larger
 generalization8  ,with such volatile   
elements to work in1 'tis no wonder if  
our estimates are loose and floating4   
,we must work and affirm1 but we have no
 guess of the value of what we say or   
do4  ,the cloud is now as big as your   
hand1 and now it covers a county4 ,that 
story of ,thor1 who was set to drain the
 drinking-horn in ,asgard1 and to       
wrestle with the old woman1 and to run  
with the runner ,lok1 and presently     
found that he had been drinking up the  
sea1 and wrestling with ,time1 and      
racing with ,thought1 describes us who  
are contending1 amid these seeming      
trifles1 with the supreme energies of   
,nature4  ,we fancy we have fallen into 
bad company and squalid condition1 low  

debts1 shoe-bills1 broken glass to pay  
for1 pots to buy1 butcher's meat1 sugar1
 milk1 and coal4  ',set me some great   
task1 ye gods6 and ,i will show my      
spirit4'  ',not so1' says the good      
,heaven2 'plod and plough1 vamp your old
 coats and hats1 weave a shoestring2    
great affairs and the best wine by and  
by4'  ,well1 'tis all phantasm2 and if  
we weave a yard of tape in all humility1
 and as well as we can1 long hereafter  
we shall see it was no cotton tape at   
all1 but some galaxy which we braided1  
and that the threads were ,time and     
,nature4  ,we cannot write the order of 
the variable winds4 ,how can we         
penetrate the law of our shifting moods 
and susceptibility8  ,yet they differ as
 all and nothing4  ,instead of the      
firmament of yesterday1 which our eyes  
require1 it is to-day an eggshell which 
coops us in2 we cannot even see what or 
where our stars of destiny are4  ,from  
day to day1 the capital facts of human  
life are hidden from our eyes4 ,suddenly

 the mist rolls up1 and reveals them1   
and we think how much good time is gone1
 that might have been saved1 had any    
hint of these things been shown4  ,a    
sudden rise in the road shows us the    
system of mountains1 and all the        
summits1 which have been just as near us
 all the year1 but quite out of mind4   
,but these alternations are not without 
their order1 and we are parties to our  
various fortune4  ,if life seem a       
succession of dreams1 yet poetic justice
 is done in dreams also4  ,the visions  
of good men are good2 it is the         
undisciplined will that is whipped with 
bad thoughts and bad fortunes4 ,when we 
break the laws1 we lose our hold on the 
central reality4  ,like sick men in     
hospitals1 we change only from bed to   
bed1 from one folly to another2 and it  
cannot signify much what becomes of such
 castaways1--wailing1 stupid1 comatose  
creatures1--lifted from bed to bed1 from
 the nothing of life to the nothing of  
death4  ,in this kingdom of illusions we

 grope eagerly for stays and            
foundations4 ,there is none but a strict
 and faithful dealing at home1 and a    
severe barring out of all duplicity or  
illusion there4  ,whatever games are    
played with us1 we must play no games   
with ourselves1 but deal in our privacy 
with the last honesty and truth4  ,i    
look upon the simple and childish       
virtues of veracity and honesty as the  
root of all that is sublime in          
character4  ,speak as you think1 be what
 you are1 pay your debts of all kinds4  
,i prefer to be owned as sound and      
solvent1 and my word as good as my bond1
 and to be what cannot be skipped1 or   
dissipated1 or undermined1 to all the   
eclat in the universe4  ,this reality is
 the foundation of friendship1 religion1
 poetry1 and art4  ,at the top or at the
 bottom of all illusions1 ,i set the    
cheat which still leads us to work and  
live for appearances1 in spite of our   
conviction1 in all sane hours1 that it  
is what we really are that avails with  

friends1 with strangers1 and with fate  
or fortune4  ,one would think from the  
talk of men1 that riches and poverty    
were a great matter2 and our            
civilization mainly respects it4  ,but  
the ,indians say1 that they do not think
 the white man with his brow of care1   
always toiling1 afraid of heat and cold1
 and keeping within doors1 has any      
advantage of them4 ,the permanent       
interest of every man is1 never to be in
 a false position1 but to have the      
weight of ,nature to back him in all    
that he does4  ,riches and poverty are a
 thick or thin costume2 and our         
life--the life of all of us--identical4 
,for we transcend the circumstance      
continually1 and taste the real quality 
of existence2 as in our employments1    
which only differ in the manipulations1 
but express the same laws2 or in our    
thoughts1 which wear no silks1 and taste
 no ice-creams4  ,we see ,god face to   
face every hour1 and know the savor of  
,nature4  ,the early ,greek philosophers

 ,heraclitus and ,xenophanes measured   
their force on this problem of identity4
  ,diogenes of ,apollonia said1 that    
unless the atoms were made of one stuff1
 they could never blend and act with one
 another4  ,but the ,hindoos1 in their  
sacred writings1 express the liveliest  
feeling1 both of the essential identity1
 and of that illusion which they        
conceive variety to be ,the notions1 ',i
 am1' and ',this is mine1' which        
influence mankind1 are but delusions of 
the mother of the world4  ,dispel1 ,o   
,lord of all creatures6 the conceit of  
knowledge which proceeds from ignorance4
  ,and the beatitude of man they hold to
 lie in being freed from fascination4   
,the intellect is stimulated by the     
statement of truth in a trope1 and the  
will by clothing the laws of life in    
illusions4  ,but the unities of ,truth  
and of ,right are not broken by the     
disguise4  ,there need never be any     
confusion in these4  ,in a crowded life 
of many parts and performers1 on a stage

 of nations1 or in the obscurest hamlet 
in ,maine or ,california1 the same      
elements offer the same choices to each 
new comer1 and1 according to his        
election1 he fixes his fortune in       
absolute ,nature4 ,it would be hard to  
put more mental and moral philosophy    
than the ,persians have thrown into a   
sentence3--      ,fooled thou must be1  
though wisest of the wise3     ,then be 
the fool of virtue1 not of vice4        
,there is no chance1 and no anarchy1 in 
the universe4  ,all is system and       
gradation4  ,every god is there sitting 
in his sphere4  ,the young mortal enters
 the hall of the firmament3 there is he 
alone with them alone1 they pouring on  
him benedictions and gifts1 and         
beckoning him up to their thrones4 ,on  
the instant1 and incessantly1 fall      
snow-storms of illusions4  ,he fancies  
himself in a vast crowd which sways this
 way and that1 and whose movement and   
doings he must obey3 he fancies himself 
poor1 orphaned1 insignificant4  ,the mad

 crowd drives hither and thither1 now   
furiously commanding this thing to be   
done1 now that4  ,what is he that he    
should resist their will1 and think or  
act for himself8  ,every moment1 new    
changes1 and new showers of deceptions1 
to baffle and distract him4  ,and when1 
by and by1 for an instant1 the air      
clears1 and the cloud lifts a little1   
there are the gods still sitting around 
him on their thrones1--they alone with  
him alone4                              
,,the ,,end4