Essay/Term paper: Transcendentalism

Essay, term paper, research paper:  English

Transcendentalism





"Don't trust with edge tools. Don't trust man, great God, with more power than he has, until he has learned to use that little better. What a hell should we make of the world if we could do what we would! Put a button on the foil till the young fencers have learned not to put each other's eyes out.
- Emerson
- Journals 1832

This aphorism has an extreme significance to today's society. It explains how people should not be given too much power, whereas, it can be used incorrectly. Too much power in the wrong hands can reflect evil, and one who find this power can show that. If we were able to do whatever we wanted to, the world would be abolished without question. Man should be trained to use his power wisely before unleashing it's full capabilities. Once we can use our powers the right ways we can respect the power and not use it for our own benefit at other's expense.
I have personally known people to have some power in which they use incorrectly in everyday life. These people become weights to society. They affect the world everyday, many of the world's and the Unites States' problems have arised because of these people. Man will always have greed, it is in human nature...man will always be selfish. These traits can never be extinguished, but at least they can be limited to only certain uses, and maybe man can be accustomed to use these traits the correct way. All over the world this aphorism represents society, and always will. Even in our school I believe this is a valid point by Emerson. One should never have power anywhere close to God but God himself. If they did...who knows how society would be, or if it would be.
This power does not only pertain to just mental power and ways of doing things, but also some specific problems in today's society. One of which would be the use of weapons. Kids and also adults get a hold of guns and weapons with not problem, and don't exactly use them for what they are advisable to be used for. Many die every day because of the unauthorized use of weapons. Many kids join gangs, buy these weapons and end up killing themselves. It reminds me of the saying: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." There is a lot of merit in this quote and has quite a bit to do with this aphorism. There is no way you can completely destroy the bad habits of society, and this particular custom will always be. This is a sad thing, it will only get worse. But, at least we can try to help with this problem and try to guide this power to the right track. The United States is a world power and should be a good example to the rest of the world, we have to be the big brother, and to do so we must correct some of our ways of doing things.
What this aphorism infers about the human race is what I felt was most important to today's society, that is why I chose it. I feel this is one of his best aphorisms with some of the most meaning.