The Over Soul Rhetorical Analysis

(pg.292) “How dear, how soothing to man, arises the idea of God, peopling the lonely place, effacing the scars of our mistakes and disappointments! When we have broken our god of tradition and ceased from our god of rhetoric, then may God fire the heart with his presence.” There is a sharp contrast between a god of perception and the God of the universal over- soul. A god of perception is one defined by the senses or unstable, biased opinion and because of this is flawed like our senses. When analyzing Emerson’s “The Over- Soul” we must pay close attention to his rhetorical techniques because although we might not consciously see it, his rhetoric sways the audience reading his work in his favor. For example, in the preceding quote Emerson capitalization

of “God” implies the True God while he uses lower case letters to describe the “god” that we have created for ourselves. In his work, Emerson draws a tie between this “god of tradition” and the god dominating organized religions. He believes that although organized religions hold accounts of justice, it also imposes beliefs upon the masses through tactics that are fear driven.

(pg.282) “The nature of these revelations is the same; they are perceptions of the absolute law. They are solutions of the soul’s own questions. They do not answer the questions which the understanding asks. The soul answers never by words, but by the thing itself that is inquired after.” Emerson doesn’t believe we can define God through a scope of law and that instead each persons belief system should come through the action of questioning ones individual position. It is through that internal and personal struggle that one sees the true nature of the over- soul. Emerson’s position in the “The Over- Soul” is rather unique, through his work we see that although he is a spiritually oriented individual and believes in a higher being (The Over- Soul) he in fact holds himself to the same level as that soul and aims at discrediting the validity behind organized religions by arguing that belief in them causes a negative effect on our spiritual

development.

(pg.295) “Before that heaven which our presentiments foreshow us, we cannot easily praise any form of life we have seen or read of.” In this quote, Emerson creates an analogy between “any form of life we have seen or read of” and the profits and idealized men from scripture.

He creates this idea that we should not spend our time praising those saints and gods that came before us. He believes that if we choose to live as though there was no history or great men before us that we are better able to aspire to greatness and perfection. Instead of relying on those from the past he believes we should decide for ourselves what we believe. (pg. 295) “It makes no difference whether the appeal is to numbers or to one. The faith that stands on authority is not faith. The reliance on authority measures the decline of religion, the withdrawal of the soul. The position men have given to Jesus, now for many centuries of history, is a position of authority.” Emerson further backs his position through his use of parallelism and satire in this quote.
He uses parallelism when he describes that “faith that stands on authority is not faith” and relates it to the faith of those religions that praise Jesus as he says “Jesus, now for many centuries of history, is a position of authority.” For this reason he creates this sort of satire against Jesus by discrediting him as a valid figure to be praised and followed and argues that by praising Jesus we actually cause a “withdrawal of the soul” by reversing

one’s connection to the true Over- Soul.

(pg.283) “In the past oracles of the soul the understanding seeks to find answers to sensual questions… But we must pick no locks… An answer to the questions you ask do not require a description of the countries towards which you sail. The description does not describe them to you, and tomorrow you arrive there and know them by inhabiting them.” Emerson’s use of imagery in this quote paints a beautiful picture of the adventure to a distant unseen land and creates an allusion between this mysteries land and heaven. Moreover, Emerson creates an analogy between organized religions and the past oracles. He believes that like the past oracles, the problem with religion is that it tries to seek answers to “sensual questions” and questions about the future, which causes a blurry view of the present. One way he believes religion does this is by creating personal interpretations of heaven or what is next and how one must live to be allowed passage to that place. Emerson’s statement saying that tomorrow we will arrive at those lands serves as a hyperbole that makes it a point to the reader that instead of living in what we will come to see in a fraction of a second from now, we should live in the moment; we shouldn’t fear with our minds because “although our body is running to meet our friend” we are aware of fate and the natural attraction to what we live by. If we live solidifying our humanity and character we should not fear uncertainty of what is next for those virtues will follow. Emerson believes that by following the beliefs of organized religion’s and past oracles we will inhibit our true integration with the universal soul.

Emerson believes our beliefs should be of individual fulfillment. (pg.295) “He must greatly listen to himself, withdrawing himself from all the accents of other men’s devotion. Even their prayers are hurtful to him, until he have made his own.” The extent of Emerson belief seems almost paradoxical because he believes that even good intention can be hurtful to an individual that has not defined spirituality for himself. It is vital in Emerson’s mind for each person to define their own reality at the pace they need within the given time they have. He believes that in many ways to force a way of thought or understanding on a person would hurt their growth because they were not given the ability to define it on their own. Through this way of thought we can conclude that Emerson believes that all humans are gifted with the discernment between right and wrong and for this reason we must stop forcing ideology down the throats of anyone, especially those unreceptive or under-experienced in that area within themselves. (pg.293) “In the presence of law to his mind he is overflowed with reliance so universal that it sweeps away all cherished hopes and the most stable projections of mortal condition in its flood.” Emerson creates an allusion between the “law” he describes in his quote and the laws, commandments, and beliefs that serve as the backbone of many organized religions. Emerson believes if someone is unfamiliar or undefined with his or her belief system and the extent of morality we must give them time to discover these things on their own. He believes it is wrong for organized religions to define sin and threaten people with eternal suffering because this overwhelms them and limits their ability to distinguish between truth and fallacy; to be a perceiver of The Over- Soul.

When we are the sole interpreters of our reality, like Emerson intends us to be, and define our own laws, like Emerson intends us to do, we begin to feel as though we assume a position as a creator; we assume the position of God. (pg.292) “The simplest person who in his integrity worship God, becomes God; yet for ever and ever the influx of this better and universal self is new and unsearchable.” Emerson’s rhetoric and capitalization of God in this quote should not be overlooked because this God he describes is The Over- Soul he believes is true and not the fake god he believes religion creates. To empower his audience with the idea that they can not only aspire but also attain purity and perfection is a stance I value as integral in our evolutionary development for in a spiritual realm it is possible. Emerson further solidifies his belief when he says, (pg.271) “There is no screen or ceiling between our heads and the infinite heavens, so is there no bar or wall in the soul, where man, the effect, ceases, and God, the cause, begins.” Emerson’s diction in this quote and the use of the words “screen,” “ceiling,” “bar,” and “wall” allows us to relate in a physical realm and understand that there are no limitations of the soul within ourselves; if we choose to, we can allow our souls to transcend into The Over- Soul and become one with it.

Emerson’s position in the “The Over- Soul” is rather unique, through his work we see that although he is a spiritually oriented individual and believes in a higher being (The Over- Soul) he in fact holds himself to the same level as that soul and aims at discrediting the validity behind organized religions by arguing that belief in them causes a negative effect on our spiritual development. Emerson believes that we should not be entangled in worship of the past but rather be working towards our own beliefs in the present moment. He draws a connection between the “oracles of the past” and organized religion because he believes their desire to answer “sensual questions” puts us backwards in our spiritual development. He believes our beliefs should be uniquely defined by ourselves and that the imposition of laws engrained in organized religions creates a burden that actually inhibits spiritual growth. Furthermore, he discredits faith that stands on authority because he believes truth should be inherent and not forced upon the masses to seemingly gain validity. Lastly, Emerson leaves us with words of inspiration as he empowers us with the ability to achieve purity and perfection because he explains there is no limit on our soul and its connection with The Over- Soul.