Richard G. Geldard :The Escape From All False Ties

Whereas “Fate” and “Illusions” both reaffirm the Idealist in Emerson, “Considerations,” like its parent essay, takes the position that although we are cabined, cribbed and confined to the profane on a daily basis, we always have the means to move to higher ground. The specific steps are outlined in the essay’s final paragraph, and we can almost see Emerson pausing to find the mot juste to sum the “considerations” in the previous thirty-odd pages. Here is what he settled upon:

The secret of culture is to learn, that a few great points steadily reappear, alike in the poverty of the obscurest farm, and in the miscellany of metropolitan life, and that these few are alone to be regarded, -- the escape from all false ties; courage to be what we are; and love of what is simple and beautiful; independence, and cheerful relation, these are the essentials, -- these, and the wish to serve, -- to add somewhat to the well-being of men.