“The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
This opening line establishes the central metaphor of the essay, illustrating how perception itself begins a process of expansion.
Circles (Primary source)
In this essay, Emerson discusses the idea that everything in life is constantly expanding and evolving, like concentric circles. It emphasizes the fluid and ever-changing nature of truth and knowledge.
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