"Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right and a perfect contentment."-Ralph Waldo Emerson In Spiritual Laws (1841), Emerson makes a case for simplicity as the path to serenity and success. According to the author, our intellects are clouded by material interests, and he argues that it is only by emptying our minds and turning to spiritual solutions that great men are able to use their natural intuition and talents effectively.