Note 142 — VII THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW
Reading edition
Page 235, note 1. The hydrostatic paradox has been before alluded to as one of Mr. Emerson’s favorite symbols, the balancing of the ocean by a few drops of water. In many places he dwells on the power of minorities—a minority of one. In “Character” (Lectures and Biographical Sketches) he says, “There was a time when Christianity existed in one child.” For the value and duty of minorities, see Conduct of Life, pp. 249 ff., Letters and Social Aims, pp. 219, 220.