“ The soul refuses limits, and always affirms an Optimism, never a Pessimism. ”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Compensation (1841). copy citation
| Author | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|---|---|
| Source | Compensation |
| Topic | pessimism optimism |
| Date | 1841 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | in "Essays: First Series" |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Essays:_First_Series/Compensation |
Context
“I plant into deserts conquered from Chaos and Nothing, and see the darkness receding on the limits of the horizon. There can be no excess to love; none to knowledge; none to beauty, when these attributes are considered in the purest sense. The soul refuses limits, and always affirms an Optimism, never a Pessimism.
His life is a progress, and not a station. His instinct is trust. Our instinct uses "more" and "less" in application to man, of the presence of the soul, and not of its absence; the brave man is greater than the coward;”
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