Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) is one of the leading figures in the history of American literature and thought. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from Harvard University, he briefly became a minister of religion in the Unitarian Church before turning to a life of writing and lecturing. He believed that every person should be guided by his conscience in matters of religion.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s doctrine of self-sufficiency and self-reliance naturally springs from his view that the individual need only look into his own heart for the spiritual guidance that has hitherto been the province of the established churches. The individual must then have the courage to be himself and to trust the inner force within him as he lives his life according to his intuitively derived precepts.

As a principal spokesman for Transcendentalism, the American tributary of European Romanticism, Emerson gave direction to a religious, philosophical, and ethical movement that above all stressed belief in the spiritual potential of every man.

“A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A man is what he thinks about all day long” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A man’s wife has more power over him than the state has.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Always do what you are afraid to do.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Concentration is the secret of strength.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Do the thing and you will have the power.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. “ – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“God enters by a private door in every individual” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Happy is the house that shelters a friend!”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Hitch your wagon to a star” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the Universe against me.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Insist on yourself. Never imitate.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, – “Always do what you are afraid to do”“ – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Money often costs too much.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“No great man ever complains of want of opportunities.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Self trust is the first secret of success.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The best effect of fine persons is felt after we have left their presence” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The hero is no braver than the ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The only true gift is a portion of yourself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going”. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There was never a child so lovely, but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, – that is genius” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change” – Ralph Waldo Emerson