Emerson has that gracious and clever cheerfulness which discourages all seriousness; he simply does not know how old he is already and how young he is still going to be; he could say of himself, quoting Lope de Vega: "I am my only heir." His spirit always finds reasons for being satisfied and even grateful; and at times he touches on the cheerful transcendence of the worthy gentleman who returned from an amorous rendezvous, "as if he had accomplished his mission."
"Though the power is lacking," he said gratefully, "the lust nevertheless is praiseworthy."
-Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols
If you asked (and it's really only a matter of time) I would say some of my favs were Emerson and Nietzsche. I've read Nietzsche go on and on about Schopenhauer and Wagner and Socrates and Homer, but this is the first time I've seen him reference Emerson. I guess I should have known. I sense a subtle lusting on Nietzsche's part, which is something he spoke against time and time again. Yet, how does one ever know if their lifestyle was any bit as noble as their writing? I can't help but fall for it everytime: the myth of the genius...
And it makes me feel a bit less guilty about my own subtle lusting...
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