"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes"
About this Quote
The phrasing also borrows the pulse of Christian language (the Lord's Prayer sits right behind "daily bread") while redirecting devotion away from churches and into direct perception. That’s classic Emerson: a Protestant-inflected America, increasingly commercial and industrial, gets told to find its spiritual authority in the seen world, not inherited institutions. The subtext is democratic and defiant. Anyone can look up; no gatekeeper is required. The poor, the busy, the skeptical - all have access to this sacrament of attention.
"Of the eyes" matters because it makes seeing an act, not a passive reception. The sky feeds you only if you show up to it. In an era when factories were reorganizing time and focus, Emerson insists on an older rhythm: the daily, the recurring, the inexhaustible. The sky becomes a reminder that the mind has needs capitalism cannot price, and that replenishment can be as simple - and as radical - as looking.
Quote Details
| Topic | Nature |
|---|---|
| Source | Ralph Waldo Emerson, essay "Nature" (1836) , commonly cited line: "The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. (2026, January 14). The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-sky-is-the-daily-bread-of-the-eyes-28870/
Chicago Style
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-sky-is-the-daily-bread-of-the-eyes-28870/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-sky-is-the-daily-bread-of-the-eyes-28870/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.









