If he was an exacting moralist, he was never a narrow or pettifogging
one. It is true he laid down the rule that a young lady had always the
right to break off an engagement, but not so a gentleman, for he has the
opportunity, which she has not, of making his own choice,--what no man
would have said who was aware of the arts and stratagems which women
often practise to obtain the man they desire; but he was not generally a
censorious man.
[Illustration: KING'S BUST OF EMERSON. MODELLED IN 1854.]
He believed firmly in the old saying of every man to his trade. He never
preached sermons on week-days; or discoursed on public and private
duties; or lectured about self-sacrifice and the necessity of living for
others. He believed that such talk did quite as much harm as good. "Do
not try to be good," he would say, "but true to yourself." Wisdom was
the best of all virtues because it included all. He thought there were
cases in which divorce from incompatibility is justifiable. When a
certain transcendentalist left his wife and children in Newport, and
came to Concord to write poetry and live the life of an old bachelor,
there were many who blamed him severely; but Emerson said, "He is no
doubt to blame, but you cannot tell how much; perhaps this is the only
way in which he can live." So that there was a large portion of
liberality mixed with his natural severity.
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