Essays, Second Series
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Experience

THE lords of life, the lords of life,—
I saw them pass,
In their own guise,
Like and unlike,
Portly and grim,
Use and Surprise,
Surface and Dream,
Succession swift, and spectral Wrong,
Temperament without a tongue,
And the inventor of the game
Omnipresent without name;—
Some to see, some to be guessed,
They marched from east to west:
Little man, least of all,
Among the legs of his guardians tall,
Walked about with puzzled look:—
Him by the hand dear Nature took;
Dearest Nature, strong and kind,
Whispered, ’Darling, never mind!
Tomorrow they will wear another face,
The founder thou! these are thy race!’

Continue...

The Poet  •  I. The Poet  •  Experience  •  II. Experience  •  Character  •  III. Character  •  Manners  •  IV. Manners  •  Gifts  •  V. Gifts  •  Nature  •  VI. Nature  •  Politics  •  VII. Politics  •  Nominalist and Realist  •  VIII. Nominalist and Realist  •  New England Reformers  •  New England Reformers

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ESSAYS SECOND SERIES
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
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