, does an angel seem to arise before a man and lead
him by the hand out of all the wards of the prison.

That which befits us, embosomed in beauty and wonder as we are, is
cheerfulness and courage, and the endeavor to realize our aspirations.
The life of man is the true romance, which when it is valiantly
conducted will yield the imagination a higher joy than any fiction.
All around us what powers are wrapped up under the coarse mattings of
custom, and all wonder prevented. It is so wonderful to our neurologists
that a man can see without his eyes, that it does not occur to them that
it is just as wonderful that he should see with them; and that is ever
the difference between the wise and the unwise: the latter wonders at
what is unusual, the wise man wonders at the usual. Shall not the heart
which has received so much, trust the Power by which it lives? May it
not quit other leadings, and listen to the Soul that has guided it so
gently and taught it so much, secure that the future will be worthy of
the past?

End of Project Gutenberg's Essays, Second Series, by Ralph Waldo Emerson

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS, SECOND SERIES ***

***** This file should be named 2945.txt or 2945.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/4/2945/

Produced by Tony Adam

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
red