Reunion in the universe

Essays — First Series primary

In a poem and prose, Emerson praises friendship as steadfast kindness, explains how affection boosts intellectual power and social courage, and imagines reuniting with friends beyond death.

many we see in the street, or sit with in church, whom, though silently, we warmly rejoice to be with! Read the language of these wandering eye-beams. The heart knoweth. The effect of the indulgence of this human affection is a certain cordial exhilaration. In poetry and in common speech, the emotions of benevolence and complacency which are felt towards others are likened to the material effects of fire; so swift, …