Hear you, or forbear...

Posted by R. Berg on April 08, 2008 at 17:33:

In Reply to: Hear you, or forbear... posted by RRC on April 07, 2008 at 19:07:

: : Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about Goethe in "Representative Men" thus: "He has the formidable independence which converse with truth gives: hear you, or forbear, his fact abides; and..." What does the segment "hear you, or forbear, his fact abides" mean?

: Whether you listen to it or do not listen to it, it endures (remains the same).

"Forbear" (to hear) = hold back, abstain (from hearing) = don't listen. ~rb