Leaves Symbol Analysis

Emerson compares the way a friend may come and go to the seasonal lifecycle of leaves. The soul “puts forth” friends—that is, forms friendships with people whom one encounters—organically, just as a tree naturally produces leaves. The soul also loses friends, when it changes or when the friend changes; in the same way, the tree “extrudes the leaf” when “new buds” germinate. The comparison of friends to leaves serves not merely as an illustration, but also helps advance Emerson’s argument that friendship is regulated by the forces of nature, not by the human will, and itself should be seen as part of the natural dynamics of the world, not merely part of human society. The image has further resonance in literary history, recalling the famous comparison by Glaukos in the Iliad of the generations of humans to leaves that flourish and then fall from the branches of trees.