“Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit.”
Documented source
Every quote here is traced to a documented source. How we verify →
About this line
It comes from “Circles,” the tenth essay in Emerson’s Essays: First Series, published in 1841. Just before it, he writes: “In nature every moment is new; the past is always swallowed and forgotten; the coming only is sacred.”
The sentence is a list of three, and only one of them sits still. A few sentences on, he puts it plainly: “People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.”
Why we carry this line
Transitions can be so difficult. Focusing on the energizing spirit is the kick in the pants: with the right mindset, transitions get easier. An excellent reminder for all of us!
The design
A thin rule runs under “transition,” and breaks. The gap lands right under the comma, so the line changes where the sentence does.
The words step in and out as they go: “life,” at the edge, “transition,” set in and largest, “the energizing spirit.” pushed right. The sentence moves, so the type does too.
