A man builds a fine house; and now he has a master, and a task for life: he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days.

Emerson warns that material acquisitions can invert the proper order of mastery: what begins as an expression of freedom and taste (building a “fine house”) quickly becomes a form of servitude. The house turns into a “master” because it demands continual labor—furnishing, guarding, displaying, and repairing—absorbing time, attention, and identity. The line crystallizes a central Emersonian theme: self-reliance and inward cultivation are threatened when one’s life is organized around property, status, and maintenance. The “task for life” suggests not only ongoing expense but a narrowing of possibility, as the owner’s days are structured by upkeep rather than growth, thought, or moral purpose.