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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Ralph Waldo Emerson – 19 April 2007
By Mary T. Hoffman

Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, poet, and philosopher, was born 25 May 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. As the leader of American Transcendentalism, which began in New England during the early part of the 1800’s, Emerson was part of a group who believed that individuals should make use of their intuition to achieve an ideal spiritual state and not merely rely on the doctrines of established religions. Henry David Thoreau is another famous American Transcendentalist. Emerson died 27 April 1882.

I like the following poem, especially the first line!

Forbearance
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
(25 May 1803 – 27 Apri1 1882)

Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Loved the wood-rose, and left it on its stalk?
At rich men's tables eaten bread and pulse?
Unarmed, faced danger with heart of trust?
And loved so well a high behavior,
In man or maid, that thou from speech refrained,
Nobility more nobly to repay?
O, be my friend, and teach me to be thine!

See also:
http://www.all-creatures.org/poetrydir.html

Go on to: Ralph Waldo Emerson (continued) – 20 April 2007
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