SubscribeRalph Waldo Emerson Love Quotes and Famous Sayings
Posted on Oct 23, 2008 under American Essayist, R, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar, Transcendentalist movement | 2 CommentsLove quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson and famous sayings by him as well as a short excerpt of him from Wikipedia.
2. Thou art to me a delicious torment.
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Excerpt from Wikipedia: Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society.
Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature. As a result of this ground breaking work he gave a speech entitled The American Scholar in 1837, which Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. considered to be America’s “Intellectual Declaration of Independence“. Considered one of the great orators of the time, Emerson’s enthusiasm and respect for his audience enraptured crowds. His support for abolitionism late in life created controversy, and at times he was subject to abuse from crowds while speaking on the topic. When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was “the infinitude of the private man.“
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Success, a poem, which is often attributed to Emerson but disputable.
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.
This is to have succeeded.
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Famous Sayings by Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
2. The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.
3. To laugh often and love much… to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give one’s self… this is to have succeeded.
4. A great man is always willing to be little.
5. A man is what he thinks about all day long.
6. Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
7. Always do what you are afraid to do.
8. An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.
9. As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.
10. Before we acquire great power we must acquire wisdom to use it well.
11. Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.
12. Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
13. Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.
14. Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.
15. Every man I meet is in some way my superior.
16. For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.
17. For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.
18. It is not length of life, but depth of life.
19. Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
20. Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.
21. Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
22. Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.
23. Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.
24. People only see what they are prepared to see.
25. The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.
26. The only way to have a friend is to be one.
27. The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself.
28. This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.
29. To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
30. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.
31. With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.
32. You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
33. Don’t waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour’s duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it.
