Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1867-09-06

The Man of the World.
BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON.
The first lesson of nature was perpet-
ual assertion. Nieduhr showed that,
OF necessity, everything had been In
vented over and over. Sir David
Brewster showed that Of the kaleid-
oscope. The world showed signs Of
age, Its very face showed vast cul-
ture. There was doctrine I'm chemis-
try and vegetation, one illustration
was, that a pot OF Garth might remain
unchanged for d hundred years, but put
q seed in IL, aud II changed entirely.
30 put q man In the earth, and that
great pot began to change. Man was
the born collector Of all that belongs 10
humanity. 1t was far from tho gorilla
OF Shakespeare TO the sanctities Of relig-
ion and the SUBMITS OF art. Reas-
on went to evorything-to the roasting
or an egg, and to tho sharpening Of .
knife; but there was many ways OF do
ing each. Civilization meant collccti N
There was never marked man who
had not . deep susceptibility Of the
beauties of nature. Nature was the
teacher Of language, and tutor Of the
mind. A knowledge Of astronomy, Of
botany, added iron to the soul.
The man Of the world is with
sound OF organization and healthy pre-
ceptions. The ancients ascrfbed to
their mobiles great physical powers.
They dreamed that the great man must
have certain wild strength of nature.
Pericles, Aristotle, Julius Cesar and
other might be quoted ~ examples of
culture; But the culturers, the heroes,
of liberty, religion, and science, such
as Alfred, Huss, &C., were the ones who
startled the dull world, and elevated
the public taste. Such were national
men, who carried the genius Of their
races, and led them. There were 9TH
ers, like Columbus, Larlace, and
Humboldt who were spoken Of as men
of the world. O. a iGd Htali
He heard them spoken Of as men Of
the world, who knew but of horses,
stock /, and champagne but he want.
ed catholic, men who carried the world
In their thoughts, who saw general
effects, who loved tho power and spir-
In real elevation where ever they
might be. ii#l oa
< They had fallen on times or tradition
ary and acquiescent that they were apt
10 forget that the basis ofaristocracy
must he truth. They would like To ask
OF the professor of botany the cause Of
potato rot and OF other things. If he
cannot answer let him come down and
give up his place to Mr.. Jenks' civil
service examination bill. All incom-
petent ones would at once cease to APP
ply. Honest members Of Congress
had allowed competition for their
nomination to West Point and An
opolis. II this wore steadily carried
out, drunkards would not 10 sent to
represent the country abroad. st NiltI
Nature played the greatest part In
all the progress, and the first property
Of man, when his intellectual proper
ties are enumerated, Is common sense
which Is az rare as genius. Genius is
q direct perception Of n truth--common
sense, Ofn fact. If genius Ii the pure
light, common sense In the torch In
demand for tho common uses Of the
people. 1t Is always right; has the
precedence Of all wit, and It's rebuke
staggsrs Its victim. 1t deals only with
reality y--mows, sails. fights; tastes It,
self every fact, and abhors what Is not
fact. IL Itshowcd itself fact enough In
speech aud manners. Heroes were
tbcy Wuo Csti scEVc tucutsc'Nob uuu
others at . pinch. The king Of the IL
was, too, nothing which Napoleon
could not do. Every one wished the
young man to be well armored: not a
weak creature to be slapped I'm the
face. 1t was redeenlng trait OF one
of the sophists, that he made oil his
clothes and ornaments. The young
man should learn to harness a horse,
learn TO ride and work. AT West
Point, he had found the cadets doing
for themselves, These
wero the first steps to power. The
young man who made his first step I'm
literature should learn that it was q
primary duty TO secure his indepen-
dencs. There was nothing which
man would gladly know. For new
studies and large views there must be
a resource to something above expert
ence and common sense. We should
watch and follow the primitive in
OF the mind In order TO arrive
at great discovery. Thus II was with
poets. The value Of juries was for Sec
Ing through for conflicting evidence.
A distinguished Judge told him juries
had given correct verdicts In nine
cases out Of ten. TO build house IL a
work Of good sense but how rare was
q good house. On one shore Of tho
Staten Island convenience had nearly
always been sacrificed to appearances.
That perception was greater In some
rnces than others. The Romans had
much Of IL, the Celts less. In England
there was a great deal of It, though 10
became brutal. or this, he
gave number of instances. a
I thfo x<xst Vttrv f1tnRo. nnrfnS,.
progress through the arts to love Of
practical truth, There were no longer
laws against witchcraft. Indeed, all
the world over there was progressive
sense. The man OF the world
must have an eye to the fact that moth
Ing could dispense with common sense.
No one could listen to the discourse of
merchants without being struck by IL.
It showed they constantly met people.
S0 with law, which called out the fac-
ulties Of tile mind, and exercised those
who practiccd them. s,i7 ri bF8l sdf
That was the exercise which made
the man Of the world. He balanced
opinions. Most people were heady,
and were easily overcome but the man
VI the world listened quietly and coed |
while his devotion to his |
,wn cause never faltered. 8afi
Thethird class had been eniancipated, |
which made new class to be addressed. |
50 the man of the world had several |
,ocial languages to be used. But there |
,ame to each the power Of books and !
solitary thought. Friendship was an
,rder of nobility whence one went |
more easily into nature. Society meant
many things. 1t might mean that |
which was frivolous, or that which was
rue. Society loved decorum; IL loved !
he man who could conquer his face.
In ordinary experience, it was the sift-
ID assemblage Of the best Of the COM
nunity. II was q good school. There
dullness, and affectation were |
and Of each man his best
vas required. 1t was not enough that |
.l>A A..