Emerson is the Master.
I’ve been reading his book of essays. My God! That mind! He’s brilliant.
Compensation is the original “The Secret.” The essay is about cause and effect. Seed and fruit. Crime and Punishment. Good deed and reward. About how every part is contained in the whole. About how the whole world is contained in a grain of corn. Emerson came long before Napoleon Hill. He came before Emmet Fox. He came before A Course in Miracles. He came before Einstein. My guess is that Einstein’s quote “God does not play dice” comes from Emerson’s quote “The dice of God are always loaded.”
Here are a few of my favorite passages/sentences from Compensation:
“Put God in your debt.”
“These appearances indicate the fact that the universe is represented in every one of its particles”
“The world looks like a multiplication table, or a mathematical equation, which turn it how you will, balances itself.”
“The death of a dear friend, wife, brother, lover, which seemed nothing but privation, somewhat later assumes the aspect of a guide or genius; for it commonly operates revolutions in our way of life, terminates an epoch of infancy of youth which was waiting to be closed, breaks up a wonted occupation, or a household, or a style of living, and allows the formation of new ones more friendly to the growth of character. it permits or constrains the formation of new acquaintances, and the reception of new influences that prove of the first importance to the next years, and the man or woman who would have remained a sunny garden flower, with no room for its roots and too much sunshine for its head, by the falling of the walls and the neglect of the gardener, is made the banyan of the forest, yielding shade and fruit to wide neighborhoods of men.
“There is a third silent party to all our bargains. The nature and soul of things takes on itself the guarantee of the fulfillment of every contract, so that honest service cannot come to loss. If you serve an ungrateful master, serve him the more. Put God into your debt. Every stroke shall be repaid. The longer the payment is withholden, the better for you; for compound interest on compound interest is the rate and usage of this exchequer.”
To read the full essay, click here:
http://www.emersoncentral.com/compensation.htm
Facebook comments:
When The Secret became the rage a couple of years ago, I couldn’t help but dig out my Earl Nightingale self-help tape. The date on the tape is 1972. The name of the tape is The Strangest Secret. The subject of the tape is-you become what you think about!