Ralph Waldo Emerson, a preeminent American essayist, lecturer, and poet, was a central figure in the transcendentalist movement. His profound insights on nature, self – reliance, and the human spirit continue to inspire and resonate across generations. These 45 quotes distill his wisdom, offering a window into his unique perspective on life, creativity, and the pursuit of truth.
45 Famous Emerson Quotes
1. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
2. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
3. “Every artist was first an amateur.”
4. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
5. “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.”
6. “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
7. “The earth laughs in flowers.”
8. “The surest poison is time.”
9. “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”
10. “The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.”
11. “Beauty without expression is boring.”
12. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
13. “The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”
14. “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
15. “A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.”
16. “The first wealth is health.”
17. “If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.”
18. “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.”
19. “The years teach much which the days never know.”
20. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
21. “Life is a journey, not a destination.”
22. “In the woods, we return to reason and faith.”
23. “Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”
24. “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.”
25. “The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people.”
26. “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
27. “We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.”
28. “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”
29. “Men are what their mothers made them.”
30. “The secret of fortune is joy in our hands.”
31. “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
32. “People only see what they are prepared to see.”
33. “The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life.”
34. “The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable.”
35. “The ancestor of every action is a thought.”
36. “The virtue in most request is conformity. Self – reliance is its aversion.”
37. “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.”
38. “The past is but the beginning of a beginning, and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn.”
39. “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide
universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.”
40. “The only gift is a portion of thyself.”
41. “Nature never hurries: atom by atom, little by little, she achieves her work.”
42. “What is genius but the power of expressing a new individuality?”
43. “A man is a god in ruins.”
44. “The world is his who has money to go over it.”
45. “Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone.”
Conclusion
These 45 quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson offer a profound exploration of the human experience. From the importance of self – discovery and individuality to the beauty of nature and the power of ideas, Emerson’s words challenge us to think deeply, live authentically, and embrace the world with open hearts and minds. Whether you’re seeking inspiration, guidance, or a fresh perspective on life, these quotes can serve as a wellspring of wisdom and motivation.
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