"The law of conscience is eternal. There are two confessionals, in one of which we must kneel. Directly or indirectly, i.e. in a reflected way, you clarify to yourself that you have fulfilled the scope of your duties. Think about whether you have fulfilled your relationship to your father, mother, relative, neighbor, city, dog, cat; may not one of these reproach you? But on the other hand, I can neglect this indirect mirror measure and I can also dissolve myself. Because I have the hard demands of ownership on myself, and they come full circle. (...) But only the one who has something divine in him can be confident that he can be his own legislator. His heart must be elevated, his will full of faith, his eyes sharp; he must be his own teaching, company, and law with profound seriousness; his simple determination must be as strong for him as iron tyranny is for others!
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Author
Ralph Waldo EmersonAll Translations
All Translations
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The law of conscience is eternal. There are two confessionals, in one of which we must kneel. Directly or indirectly, i.e. in a reflected way, you clarify to yourself that you have fulfilled the scope of your duties. Think about whether you have fulfilled your relationship to your father, mother, relative, neighbor, city, dog, cat; may not one of these reproach you? But on the other hand, I can neglect this indirect mirror measure and I can also dissolve myself. Because I have the hard demands of ownership on myself, and they come full circle. (...) But only the one who has something divine in him can be confident that he can be his own legislator. His heart must be elevated, his will full of faith, his eyes sharp; he must be his own teaching, company, and law with profound seriousness; his simple determination must be as strong for him as iron tyranny is for others!
""A lelkiismeret törvénye örök. Két gyóntatószék van, amelyek egyikében le kell térdelnünk. Közvetlen vagy közvetett, azaz visszatükrözött úton tisztázod magad, hogy kötelességeid körét mint teljesítetted. Elmélkedjél, vajon eleget tettél-e viszonyodnak atyád, anyád, rokonod, szomszédod, városod, kutyád, macskád iránt; vajon ezek valamelyike nem tehet-e szemrehányást neked? De viszont elhanyagolhatom ezt a közvetett tükörmértéket, és föloldozhatom magamat is. Mert megvannak magammal szemben a tulajdon kemény követeléseim, és azok teljes kört alkotnak. (...) De csak az, akiben valami isteni van, bizakodhatik abban, hogy a maga törvényhozója tud lenni. Kell hogy szíve emelkedett, akarata hittel teljes, szeme éles legyen; kell hogy mélységes komolysággal ő legyen a maga tanítása, társasága, törvénye; kell hogy egyszerű elhatározása oly erős legyen számára, mint a vaskényszerűség az mások számára!"