dodge us.” Emerson is saying, quite simply, that there are no certainties in life other than death. It is something that eventually happens to everything in nature, and it serves, in a strange way, as a cosmic connection for man, animals, plants. Emerson seems to suggest that grief is merely an escape into self-pity, a way of denying death or what it represents. For Emerson, life was nothing without faith in nature. In nature, nothing can live unless something dies. It is all part of the eternal cycle of life. Experience taught Ralph Waldo Emerson that wallowing in grief provides neither comfort nor closure. It does not answer any questions and does not change anything. However, faith in nature can offer solace during life’s darkest moments. It is a human ‘experience’ which he, fortunately, shared with us all. ...
