December 25, 2008
Heraclitus was a fool, who wept always for the miseries of human life. or was he blind and deaf to beauty and melody? In his day, was the sky black, and were snakes instead of flowers coiled in his path? Was his mind reversed in its organization;- had he Despair for Hope, and Remorse for Memory? Could his disordered eye discern a savage Power sitting in this Splendid Universe, thwarting the good chances of Fortune and promoting the bad, sowing seeds of sorrow for glory, turning grace and tranquility to desolation, and heaven to hell? Then let him weep on. True philosophy hath a clearer sight, and remarks amid the vast disproportions of human condition a great equalization of happiness; an intimate intermingling of pleasure with every gradation, down to the very lowest of all. Pleasant and joyous are the connections of our sympathy and affection – this is proved by the very tear which marks their dissolution; and even that pang of separation and loss is relieved by its own indulgence…
Happiness lies at our own door. Misery is further away. Until I know by bitter personal experience that the world is the accursed seat of all misfortunes, and as long as I find it a garden of delights – I am bound to adore the Beneficent Author of my life…No representations of foreign misery can liquidate your debt to Heaven. You must join the choral hymn to which the Universe resounds in the ear of Faith, and I think, of Philosophy…
Emerson - Journals Volume I
Posted by amin at December 25, 2008 12:54 PM