New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-02-20
LECTURES.
THE CONDUCT OF LIFE.


,rcruRE I-BY R. W. EMERSON.
M. Emerson commenced by speaking
a.. ,.ce.t universal interest In discussions OF
~. writ of the age 70 which Carlyles Latter Day
p.mnhl~,s so much contributed To me, said be, the
cnes,iop seemed 10 be OF higher impor-a question:
namely. of the conduct Of life IL is mighty hneto
.,ect our course but It is already elected Tor US
that in 10 saw there is Fate in the laws OF the "oi
Let us not therefore, be content with tnlh ana
HIppan. theology bu. grspple the best we may WIN
rude Truth. We Americans are accused OF super
Scialitv We live IN Liliput But the grea' races
were grave and humble x
Cause and tfect are the gameste's that WIN Nature
q. mn .en,imentalist- and the Lecturer SPIKE OF inc
;mnsy;ous elemental forces Frost freezes mth d.
!, doe. an spple Menare what mothers make tnen
Won nav as well ask the loom that weaVes hacka
hack why It does not turn out CASHMERE as tals en-
.,,.sr vhv ne does not write poetry When ne
somes from his mothers womb the gate Of gifts
closes behind him. What vast importance the CIR
evmstancs acquires, in the revelations OF mooern
aeiepcs. Mr.. E. spoke OF the thousand years oil
I.te and the thousand Of coal and he thousand OF
marble SO with the race lie aiverted, al some
length, to the great fact OF race. Race is every
hing One Of the best oriental travellers mas well
characterized the three Eastern races Inc one nas
the instinct OF beautythe other adopts beauty, ana
searches the lawthe third cares for nothing out OPP
preston and conquest One more proof OF these
aSamabtine laws in the system Of statisies-sao"
ing the universal triumph OF genus over Species o
speeies over the Individual IL the basis OF p'jua
tion il only broad enough, yOB can calculate WIN
much accuracy the existence Of the mystic, Of the
met ofthe navigator. COpernIcus and Gallleo are
not new. They are only Thales and Anex mines
over again
We cannot trihe With Fate. Ne estimate OF it can
Asvs any veracity that does no. admit all facts
odous or otherwise. 1t must be conceded tina Fate,
il II be not the plan Of things, is in the pan o
thirss-shadow of our genius, night Of our lay
Freedom we instinctvely know to exist, but if you
insist upon Fate then again freedom is a part OF 1t
But Fate has its law, limitation It's limit. Fate is
immense, but the opposite fact is co equal Man is
n stupendous antagonsm, craving together the two
poles of the universe He must not despise his free
will for the old adsge says truly Freedom is ne
sssssry The true view of Fate is from 1t, not to
ward it, Men who acknowledge Fate are, for that
reason, serene Men who gossip about destiny are
restless because they are ruled by, and do not ac-
ouiesce in Fate. Man should hold his purpose with
The tough inpracticablity OF gravitation itself.
think man ought to compare advantageously with
Yiver and mountain. The question OF Fate is
question Of time. No statement Of the universe is
just which does not recognize the ascending impulse
For anne Iteration is also in the plan Of Fate. Which
are the realities, the thoughts or the iron rails Men
are always wanted. Does man write or sing or
ypeak-then his speech flies over the world His
dream last night told in the Senate this morning
Providence is rude. Nature makes fifty bad to one
good. Out Of myriad irishmen, now and then
good head, a Burke, Moore. II she succeeds once
in q century, she does well We live in system OF
correspondence, and we are therefore, interpreters
of Nature, because we are made OF il The secret
OF the world is tie between the person and the
event. Many are the ra,tes by which men are led
and we live In delusion. God is the great painter
and teaches us by illusions. And Of all drums
with Which our heads are boken the saying
that events are arbitrary is most ridiculous. We
see the HAIR that moves the puppet, but We cannot
the fine thread OF Nature. Life is ecstacy--it
10 sweet as nitrous oxyd In youth We clothe our
selves in ranbows and 60 bravery as the Zodiac. A
mans fortune the fnit of his character his friends
are his magnetism. There IL the double conscious
ness of which the schOomen speak. Awon1erful web
II this ME and what we WISH find. Goethe says,
what man wished in his youth comes heaps TO
has age. Shall We not learn, them to wish only the
highest