Preparing vs. prepared

Question

The below paragraph is from "Self-Reliance" by Emerson.

I want to ask if "prepared" is possible in the place of 'preparing.'
I know it isn't possible with googling.

The result shows no case for "good days are prepared for you," while "good days are preparing for you" has 4,520 cases.
But I still don't know why.

Can you tell me why "preparing" is good, but "prepared" is not?

"A political victory, a rise in rents, the recovery of your sick, or the return of your absent friend, or some other quite external event, raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. It can never be so.

James do · Accepted Answer

Hi Stenka25,

He is preparing for the exam.

He isn't prepared for the exam. (passive meaning)

But

What does "good days are prepared for you" mean?

Who prepare "good days"?

Mr Wordy · Answer

The overwhelming majority of the Google hits for "good days are preparing for you" seem to be quotations of the Emerson text (see http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=%22good+days+are+preparing+for+you%22+-%22raises+your+spirits%22+-%22do+not+believe+it%22 ).

This use of "preparing", though intelligible, is alien to my ear, and if you hadn't explained the provenance I would have said it was a mistake. It may be an old-fashioned form of words.

Stenka25 · Answer

I post my thread on another website, too.

The answer in the site says,
"preparing" is old-fashioned.

Since Emerson was 19th century, so the modern way of saying the equivalent of "good days are preparing" is "good times are in store/ are coming/ are in the offing."

Thanks anyway.

Preparing vs. prepared

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