“ Light and darkness are our familiar expression for knowledge and ignorance ”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature (1836). copy citation
| Author | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|---|---|
| Source | Nature |
| Topic | darkness ignorance |
| Date | 1836 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nature,_Addresses_and_Lectures/Nature |
Context
“Every appearance in nature corresponds to some state of the mind, and that state of the mind can only be described by presenting that natural appearance as its picture. An enraged man is a lion, a cunning man is a fox, a firm man is a rock, a learned man is a torch. A lamb is innocence; a snake is subtle spite; flowers express to us the delicate affections. Light and darkness are our familiar expression for knowledge and ignorance; and heat for love. Visible distance behind and before us, is respectively our image of memory and hope.
Who looks upon a river in a meditative hour, and is not reminded of the flux of all things? Throw a stone into the stream, and the circles that propagate themselves are the beautiful type of all influence.”
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