168 BIEDS AND POETS 



and nothing more; he has thought in the manner of 

 artists and poets, and he speaks after the manner of 

 prophets and seers. ' Cogita et visa, ' — this title 

 of one of his books might be the title of all. His 

 process is that of the creators; it is intuition, not 

 reasoning. . . . There is nothing more hazardous, 

 more like fantasy, than this mode of thought when 

 it is not checked by natural and good strong com- 

 mon sense. This common sense, which is a kind of 

 natural divination, the stable equilibrium of an in- 

 tellect always gravitating to the true, like the needle 

 to the north pole. Bacon possesses in the highest 

 degree. He has a preeminently practical, even an 

 utilitarian mind." 



It is significant, and is indeed the' hidden seed or 

 root out of which comes the explanation of much, 

 if not the main part, of his life and writings, that 

 Emerson comes of a long line of clergymen ; that the 

 blood in his veins has been teaching, and preaching, 

 and thinking, and growing austere, these many gen- 

 erations. One wonders that it is still so bounding 

 and strong, so red with iron and quick with oxygen. 

 But in him seems to be illustrated one of those rare 

 cases in the genealogy of families where the best is 

 carried forward each time, and steadily recruited and 

 intensified. It does not seem possible for any man 

 to ^ecome just what Emerson is from the stump, 

 though perhaps great men have been the fruit of 

 one generation; but there is a quality in him, an 

 aroma of fine manners, a propriety, a chivalry in the 

 blood, that dates back, and has been refined and 



