Ralph Waldo Emerson

“ The gospel has no revelation Of peace and hope until there is response From the deep chambers of thy mind thereto,----- The rest is straw. It can reveal no truth unknown before. The Providence Thou art thyself that doth dispense Wealth to thy work, want to thy sloth, Glory to goodness, to neglect, the moth. Thou sow’st the wind, the whirlwind reapest, Thou payest the wages Of thy own work, through all ages. The almighty energy within Crowneth virtue, curseth sin. Virtue sees by its own light ”

“ What is thine evil meed? Thy worse mind, with error blind And more prone to evil That is, the greater hiding of the God within: The loss of peace The terrible displeasure of this inmate And next the consequence More faintly as more distant wro’t Upon our outward fortunes Which decay with vice With Virtue rise. ”

“ This is the reason why thou dost recognize Things now first revealed, Because in thee resides The Spirit that lives in all; And thou canst learn the laws of nature Because its author is latent in thy breast. ”