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Fate

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Topics: classic

Deep in the man sits fast his fate     To mould his fortunes, mean or great:     Unknown to Cromwell as to me     Was Cromwell's measure or degree;     Unknown to him as to his horse,     If he than his groom be better or worse.     He works, plots, fights, in rude affairs,     With squires, lords, kings, his craft compares,     Till late he learned, through doubt and fear,     Broad England harbored not his peer:     Obeying time, the last to own     The Genius from its cloudy throne.     For the prevision is allied     Unto the thing so signified;     Or say, the foresight that awaits     Is the same Genius that creates.

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"Deep in the man sits fast his fate..."

"Fate" is a quintessential example of Ralph Waldo Emerson's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Deep in the man sits fast his fate..." by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

About Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement. His poems—including "Brahma," "The Rhodora," and "Concord Hymn"—explore nature, self-reliance, and the oversoul.

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"One musician is sure,     His wisdom will not fail..."

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