Emerson on “Goodies”
I hate goodies. I hate goodness that preaches. Goodness that preaches undoes itself. A little electricity of virtue lurks here & there in kitchens & among the obscure— chiefly women, that flashes out occasional light & makes the existence of the thing still credible. But one had as lief curse & swear as be guilty of this odious religion that watches the beef & watches the cider in the pitcher in the table, that shuts the mouth hard at any remark it cannot twist or wrench into a sermon, & preaches as long as itself & hearer is awake. Goodies make us very bad. We should, if the race should increase, be scarce restrained from calling for bowl & dagger. We almost sin to spite them. Better indulge yourself, feed fat, drink liquors, than go strait laced for such cattle as these.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journal Entry, June 23 1838.
