Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was an American lecturer, poet, and essayist, the leading exponent of New England Transcendentalism. Emerson’s voice and rhetoric sustained the faith of thousands in the American lecture circuits between 1834 and the American Civil War. He served as a cultural middleman through whom the aesthetic and philosophical currents of Europe passed to America, and he led his countrymen during the burst of literary glory known as the American renaissance (1835–65). 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 person.
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These are among Emerson’s most valuable insights:
o Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
o What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
o Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.
o When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
o your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.
o 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.
o Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.
o I cannot remember all of the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.
o All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
o Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.
o It is not the length of life, but the depth.
o The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
o The earth laughs in flowers.
o Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
o Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
o Life is a journey, not a destination.
o “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.
o If you’re enjoying these quotes, read our collection of ambition quotes to set your sights sky high.
o Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
o Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.
o Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.
o Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
o You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
o If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.
o The only way to have a friend is to be one.
o A great man is always willing to be little.
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To learn more about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life and work, please click here.