rectly on practice;
with new heroes, things unvoiced before;--the German Plutarch
(now that we have exhausted the Greek and Roman and British
Plutarchs), with a range, too, of thought and wisdom so large and
so elastic, not so much applying as inosculating to every need
and sensibility of man, that we do not read a stereotype page,
rather we see the eyes of the writer looking into ours, mark his
behavior, humming, chuckling, with under-tones and trumpet-tones
and shrugs, and long-commanding glances, stereoscoping every
figure that passes, and every hill, river, road, hummock, and
pebble in the long perspective. With its wonderful new system of
mnemonics, whereby great and insignificant men are ineffaceably
ticketed and marked and modeled in memory by what they were, had,
and did; and withal a book that is a Judgment Day, for its moral
verdict on the men and nations and manners of modern times.

---------
* In the first edition, this extract was printed from the
original Diary; it is now printed according to the copy
sent abroad.
--------

And this book makes no noise; I have hardly seen a notice of it
in any newspaper or journal, and you would think there was no
such book. I am not aware that Mr. Buchanan has sent a special
messenger to Great Cheyne Row, Chelsea, or that Mr. Dallas has
been instructed to assure Mr. Carlyle of his distinguished
consideration. But the secret wits and hearts of men take note
of it, not the less surely. They have said nothing lately in
praise of the air, or of fire, or of the blessing of love, and
yet, I suppose, they are sensible of these, and not less of this
book, which is like these.

CLXV. Emerson to Carlyle

Concord, 16 April, 1860

My Dear Carlyle,--Can booksellers break the seal which the gods
do not, and put me in communication again with the loyalest of
men? On the ground of Mr. Wight's honest proposal to give you a
benefit from his edition,* I, though unwilling, allowed him to
copy the Daguerre of your head. The publishers ask also some
expression of your good will to their work....

--------
* Mr. O.W. Wight of New York, an upright "able editor," who, had
just made arrangements for the publication of a very satisfactory
edition of Carlyle's _Miscellaneous Essays._
--------

I commend you to the gods who love and uphold you, and who do not
like to make their great gifts vain, but teach us that the best
life-insurance is a great task. I hold you to b