What does this line mean, "If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is its own excuse for being?

Question

this line came from the poem The Rhodora by Ralph Waldo Emerson. i really need your help as soon as possiple. HELP ME!!

Answer 1

It sounds like Emerson is saying that beauty in itself simply exists for our own pleasure, to be seen by our eyes. There is no greater "meaning" behind it: it is there for the sole purpose of...well, being. In the contextual entirety of the poem, Emerson seems to be searching for a reason as to why he finds this plant--the rhodora--so extraordinary, but his ultimate conclusion is that there is no reason. It is simply beautiful.

This page has a pretty useful analysis of selected words and phrases in the poem:

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendental...

Good luck!

Answer 2

Beauty simply is, just like all things.