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Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nature enhances her beauty, to the eye of loving men, from their belief that the poet is beholding her shows at the same time. He is isolated among his contemporaries by truth and by his art, but with this consolation in his pursuits, that they will draw all men sooner or later. For all men live by truth and stand in need of expression. In love, in art, in avarice, in politics, in labor, in games, we study to utter our painful secret. The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.”

Book:The Poet

Work

The Poet

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Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American essayist, poet, and philosopher. Born on May 25, 1803, and died on April 27, 1882. Known for his transcendentalist philosophy, his works have had a profound impact on literature and the intellectual world. more

“I started carrying an old tour book for the Florida Keys in my bag with me at all times. I'd had it since I was a kid, and after my daddy died, I read it to escape back to memories of him taking me there. As I read it to my guys, we'd leave whatever hospital we were in, and go somewhere beautiful, away from trouble and worry. They'd all come home to Arkansas, a place that had birthed them but wouldn't claim them. So we left. . . . We went someplace else, where they were safe and warm. Where there was nothing to be hidden and nothing wrong with admiring the way the sun shone down on the beauty of men. As it it existed for that very reason -- to be admired and loved.”

Suffering Reading Beauty Books Escape

Book:All the Young Men: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South

Source: All the Young Men: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South

“Paul and I had one umbrella between us, and we rushed through the rain to get to the tent. "This is for family only," Billy's mother said. We stood there in the rain for a minute, away from them, huddling under Paul's umbrella.. And I gritted my teeth. "Paul," I said slowly. "Throw that umbrella away. We're gonna stand in the pouring rain, and we're gonna get as wet as God wants us to get." I paused. "And then we're gonna hug every member of that family, so they know what they did to us. SO they can *feel* what they did to us. All of us. Because they are assholes.”

Suffering Cruelty Mourning

Book:All the Young Men: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South

Source: All the Young Men: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South

“Amusement always means putting things out of mind, forgetting suffering, even when it is on display. At its root is powerlessness.”

Suffering Media Capitalism Alienation Powerlessness Frankfurt School Culture Industry Escapsim

Author:Theodor Adorno et al

“Don't you think saying goodbye to your child will make your death more painful?' 'Wouldn't it be great if it did?' I said. Lucy and I both felt that life wasn't about avoiding suffering.”