"The Wise Silence"
This question is worth 10 extra credit points for those of you who answered the last post on time, and 10 make-up points for those who did not answer the post.Please respond (on this blog, with your name in the comment) to this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Answer to two aspects in your response: (1) how does this quote strike you personally? Does it relate to your own feelings or view on life? (2) how do you believe this idea of Emerson's might play itself out in the book you have now begun to read?
Here's the quote:
"We live in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related, the eternal ONE. And this deep power in which we exist and whose beatitude is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every hour, but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject and the object, are one. We see the world piece by piece, as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which these are shining parts, is the soul."
posted by lisa schamess @ 8:25 AM
3 Comments:
I think this quote is hard to understand mainly because, like it says, people view the world in seperate and devided objects. However, I think of the universe as being ONE and that some powerful force has control of all the little things inside it. If humans have souls, then that soul has to be whole and round as we are naturally attracted to round shapes from infancy. Anything circular, whole, or round reminds me of peace. If humans view everything in our universe as seperate objects, then could there really be peace on earth? I think though that if the powerful force has kept us from a WWIII, then the whole goal of mankind is to find peace, be united, and see objects as ONE. If we can ever accomplish that, we will have gained some massive knowledge. Only then can we become aware of what the whole universe really is and answer questions that to modern scientists may have no answer.
I agree with Anna, this quote is hard to understand but think I get the gist of it. It basically means everything is divided into smaller things and eventually all of the small things connect to create one big universe. Being able to see the smaller things and the connections is a great thing that not all have, but can accomplish over time. This quote by Emerson affects me personally because I agree, that the soul is the shining part of a person or thing. This quote relates to my own feelings on life because external beauty can only go so far, but when you get to know someone/something then you really can see their true beauty. This idea of Emerson might play itself out in the book I have just begun to read (House on Mango Street) because it is about a girl who grows up in a broken home in Chicago and although she may not be rich or beautiful, she is a very wise girl who I believe makes some very wise decisions with her life. This displays the idea that internal beauty is greater than external.
I would have to agree with both Anna and Eric that this quote is confusing, but i feel like i can associate myself to it. the world is made up of particles, and those very particles make up the larger images of life. I think by looking at life this way can bring happiness and can allow such an indivual to enjoy the little things in life. by taking things piece by piece, you cant miss a second of beuty or something interesting because every minute of your day is valuable and should be taken advantage of. Another thing that i find to be important is the soul of a person, which is very vauluable compared to physical characteristics because we all get old and beuty, like eric said, can go only so far.
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