Year: 1859

The Sixth Lecture of the Course before the Mercantile
Library Association, delivered last evening by Ralph
Waldo Emerson ESQ., the subject of his discourse being
"The Law of Success" He commenced by saying: The
earth is shaken by energies feeling youth
and nerve, and power Our eyes approvngly along
the lines Of railroads and teegraph. He spoke the per-
fecton with which Giotto could draw circle with his
hand of the varied talents Bein and Sherdan-quoted
conversation between Byron and Polydore the
historical anecdote of Columbus sailing from Veragua
Spain laden with abundance of gold but keeping even
from his pilots the knowledge of the course he steered;
passed passing tribute to of genius in their va
rous spheres of usefulness and then spoke of Inventors
They inventors, he sad who put their thoughts
into brass, wood iron. One makes reapng machines
another revolvers-a third wheel that shall save
ninety per cent of water fourth excels at chess. All
these arts for which ought be thankful neither
do begrudge these beneacors the fruits of their victory
Some OF these feats involve power OF very high kind Yet
there great before such inventions known
Newton was great and yet he knew nothing of the
telegraph or OF india rubber shoes or OF ucer matches
These arts are local converence The public value these
evidences of than the inventor does The
yentor greater feats beyond Success is in the popu
lar opinion the touchstone of merit without regard to the
mode in which it has been attained Nelson used to say


never mind justice or the right only let me succeed
Brougham has said it is the duty of the lawyer
his client The French proverb tells that nothing
ceeds better than success We Americans have become
great by grasping egotsm. Our success is haggard,
kind of buckram and then said; Nature knows





foibles but mustn't think think too much of our
fobles for that The lecturer denounced the ordinary
idea of success and the modes of attaining it, life of
snow and advertisement, and manufacture of public
opinion. The true law of is conde in ones
SELL and to be something of worth and value. Each
has an aptitude born with him to do some feat not capable
of being done by any other. Crime that eats out
heart of society and bankrupts States is obwork Men
primary secondary according their opinions
acts are organic not He charged that the great fault
Of the age is that many imtators. The man
who patiently works out his own thought said the Lectu
Is the primary person. True genius is deveoped
in public, but in private. Every fine genius into
the world for its development for benefit
of the public. The public invariably lowers the
the author The little respect that is accorded to mita
tors was next alluded to. Echo the leaders said
the Lecturer and they will soon in your hand moth
ing for them 1t is find who speaks his own
thoughts. Any work looks wonderful to man but that
which he can do Our reliance precedent was alluded
to- and passion for quoting We shun new


ons The greatest Court in the country will wait months
and years until it finds precedent Self the first
secret OF success NO matter how you work that you
work IN the right direction The fame of each discovery
rightly attaches to the who discovered the
formula, and not to him who works out the details
In the scale of forces it is not power but SEN
sibility that is best. 1t is the fulness of man
that into Objects 1t is that which makes
your Homers Shakspeares, and St. Johns We assume
that have but few great and that all the rest
tte that there but one Shakespeare and one Homer
but It's the good reader that makes good book The
hneness OF perception in boyhood next referred to-
and the influence of nature upon the youthful mind
when all visions or rare presences people his paradise


Our perception said the lecturer outruns our talent
The chief difference between and man is the differ
euee Vi iliPfesshihty. lie spoke of Nature Who'll
ly superficial she has breadth but no thickness The
secret of life eude the knife Psychologists teach us that
nearly all human maadies originate in the skin, 1t is
not drugs that avail most in healing-the kind eye the
soft hand air and wate-thescare the best medica
ments The power of sensbility shown in the hom
age paid to beauty. Dante, Petrarch Michael Angelo
and others doctors in this science The
Poet is his knowledge of Love, Eros is older than
Saturn. The universally of Love was next discussed
1t makes life new-urns all the world into phantasms
with the exception OF its favOrtes True love is state
of extreme impressionability The lover has finer
senses He reads omens, and reads them right.
The lecturer ridculed the popular idea
of fortunate men, Cause and effect he said are the chan
cellors of God We what are We make ourselves
what we The best lightning rod for seprotection
your own spine Love he regarded the of all
power The affirmative of alternatives is Love Giotto
Vasa renewed art because put goodness into
his head The lecturer closed by paying glowing tr
butte to tranquil life and the quiet wise perception
which loves truth for its sake and works out insens
bly, and from original stores the benefcent results