"The law of nature is: Do the thing, and you shall have the power, but they who do not the thing have not the power."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Compensation

Emerson's essay on Compensation (1841) affirms the author's belief that there are natural laws governing the universe which everyone must follow or risk failure. The laws Emerson is concerned with ensure balance in the universe. Thus, every condition has its opposite; for every action there is a reaction, day is offset by night, up by down, even by odd, spirit by matter, and so on. According to Emerson, any excesses practiced by man, such as greed, need to be moderated, or they will create imbalance and eventually lead to destruction.