We see the world piece by piece, as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which these are shining parts, is the soul.
Interpretation
We perceive the world in fragments, but together they form a greater essence or soul.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote reflects on the nature of perception and existence, suggesting that while we observe the world through individual elements such as the sun, the moon, animals, and trees, these entities collectively contribute to a larger spiritual truth or essence, referred to as the 'soul.' This comparison underscores the interconnectedness of all things and invites contemplation of the deeper meanings that arise when we consider the world as a cohesive whole rather than isolated parts.
In practice
In a discussion about environmental conservation, you might use this quote to illustrate the interconnectedness of nature.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
The clear problem of the outlawing of insult is that too many things can be interpreted as such. Criticism, ridicule, sarcasm, merely stating an alternative point of view to the orthodoxy, can be interpreted as insult.
Introspection and preserved writings give us far more insight into the ways of past humans than we have into the ways of past dinosaurs. For that reason, I'm optimistic that we can eventually arrive at convincing explanations for these broadest patterns of human history.
How we put our collective talents to work is a social issue, not solely a personal one.
No one can hurry me down to Hades before my time, but if a man's hour is come, be he brave or be he coward, there is no escape for him when he has once been born.
Darkness has completely descended onto the landscape and I stood up and stretched my arms above my head and I wondered what it would be like if it were a perfect world. Only god knows. And he is dead.
Theology being the work of males, original sin was traced to the female.
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