“ Not less conspicuous is the preponderance of nature over will in all practical life. ”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Spiritual Laws (1841). copy citation
| Author | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|---|---|
| Source | Spiritual Laws |
| Topic | life |
| Date | 1841 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | in "Essays: First Series" |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Essays:_First_Series/Spiritual_Laws |
Context
“When we see a soul whose acts are all regal, graceful, and pleasant as roses, we must thank God that such things can be and are, and not turn sourly on the angel, and say, `Crump is a better man with his grunting resistance to all his native devils.'
Not less conspicuous is the preponderance of nature over will in all practical life. There is less intention in history than we ascribe to it. We impute deep-laid, far-sighted plans to Caesar and Napoleon; but the best of their power was in nature, not in them. Men of an extraordinary success, in their honest moments, have always sung, `Not unto us, not unto us.' According to the faith of their times, they have built altars to Fortune, or to Destiny, or to St.”
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