Emerson - Fate

[Nightmare9870]

I've been reading Emerson since I was 14 and while I've enjoyed his works for years now, I've never fully understood a lot of his poems/essays. At the moment, I'm reading Fate and the meaning of the poem is a little vague to me. Could anyone give me some help?

Oh, and the references two references he made to Cromwell, could that be Oliver Cromwell? He's the only one that came to mind.


DEEP in the man sits fast his fate
To mould his fortunes, mean or great:
Unknown to Cromwell as to me
Was Cromwell's measure or degree;
Unknown to him as to his horse,
If he than his groom be better or worse.
He works, plots, fights, in rude affairs,
With squires, lords, kings, his craft compares,
Till late he learned, through doubt and fear,
Broad England harbored not his peer:
Obeying time, the last to own
The Genius from its cloudy throne.
For the prevision is allied
Unto the thing so signified;
Or say, the foresight that awaits
Is the same Genius that creates.

[mono]

Hello, Nightmare, welcome to the forum.
To answer your question, yes, Emerson does refer to Oliver Cromwell, and, though history has never proved as my strongest area of knowledge, Emerson references vaguely into Cromwell's wars, reign, fall, etc. True, Emerson's poetry and essays can appear difficult to understand, but I find him full of the greatest wisdom.
If you researched some of the history of Oliver Cromwell, some lines may make more sense, but to understand the poem, I have always found the first two lines ("Deep in the man sits fast his fate / To mould his fortunes, mean or great") and the last two lines ("Or say, the foresight that awaits / Is the same Genius that creates") as the most important and essential to read in great depth. Whether Emerson suggests forms of pre-destination, I have no idea, as if an individual from birth has a planned path ahead of him/her, which will always appear inevitable despite any prevention (much like in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex); Emerson, I think, only uses Oliver Cromwell as an example (in history, as the phrase goes, "hindsight is always 20/20").
If you ever have the immense pleasure of reading the essays of Emerson, and understanding them (a little difficult), much of his philosophy I have viewed as similar to William James and somewhat similar to Immanuel Kant, especially in terms of transcendentalism, skepticism, and the admittedly unknown. The "Genius" of which Emerson writes (notice the capitalizing of the "G") refers the Being who creates, and a lot of transcendental philosophy focuses on, to put it bluntly, knowing nothing - that some things exist beyond human perception and comprehension whether in faith or reason, including time which, judge for yourself, does the future already exist, though we have yet to experience it? Hence the line "the foresight that awaits."
Hopefully this has helped some, and, I agree, Emerson never has seemed easy to read. I would love to discuss this further if you have any more ideas or questions.

[Nightmare9870]

Thanks for clearing that up, mono. I don't have any more questions at the moment but I'm sure I will in the future. I've always been something of a bibliophile so I think I'll stick around this forum for a while.

Again, thanks for the help. Take care.