For the prevision is allied Unto the thing so signified; Or say, the foresight that awaits Is the same Genius that creates.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Emerson suggests that foresight and creation are linked, implying that understanding the future is part of bringing it into being.
- In plain terms
- Seeing the future is connected to making it happen.
- What can you take from it?
- Vision shapes reality.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does your vision of the future influence your actions today?
- Do you believe we create the future or just predict it?
Another view
Foresight can sometimes lead to self-fulfilling prophecies that limit freedom.
More from Ralph Waldo Emerson
Deep in the man sits fast his fate To mould his fortunes, mean or great.
Permalink to quote #226 Daughters of Time, the hypocritic Days, Muffled and dumb like barefoot dervishes, And marching single in an endless file, Bring diadems and fagots in their han…
Permalink to quote #228 Wilt thou seal up the avenues of ill? Pay every debt as if God wrote the bill.
Permalink to quote #225
Related quotes
You can see the future best through peripheral vision.
Nicholas NegroponteNicholas Negroponte quote #4 Si hubiera estado presente en la Creacion, habria dado algunas indicaciones utiles.
Alfonso X of CastileAlfonso X of Castile quote #1 As long as I breathe I hope. As long as I breathe I shall fight for the future, that radiant future, in which man, strong and beautiful, will become master of …
Leon TrotskyLeon Trotsky quote #1