But genius always looks forward. The eyes of man are set in his forehead, not in his hindhead. The third essential influence which Emerson identified is action. Without it, he is not yet man. The true scholar grudges every opportunity of action past by, as a loss of power.
Character is higher than intellect.
Emerson concluded his oration with a discussion of the duties a scholar thus educated by nature, books, and action should embrace. Not he is great who can alter matter, but he who can alter my state of mind. They are the kings of the world who give the color of their present thought to all nature and all art, and persuade men by the cheerful serenity of their carrying the matter, that this thing which they do, is the apple which the ages have desired to pluck, now at last ripe, and inviting nations to the harvest. Considering the state of our seemingly chaotic world, you may think that Emerson's perspective is far too optimistic for us. But here again he may be instructive.