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Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

Philosopher

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a central figure in the American Transcendentalist movement, celebrated individualism, self-reliance, and the power of nature and intuition. His quotes reflect his profound insights on personal growth, moral courage, and the pursuit of a meaningful life. Together, they offer timeless inspiration to think independently, embrace one’s potential, and live with integrity and purpose.
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Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
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As long as all that is said is said against me, I feel a certain sublime assurance of success, but as soon as honied words of praise are spoken for me, I feel as one that lies unprotected before his enemies.
From Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820-1824
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Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed.
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For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
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The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship
From Nature
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Even in the mud and scum of things, something always, always sings.
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We aim above the mark to hit the mark.
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A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.
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Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.
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I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching.
From Self-Reliance and Other Essays
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The selfish man suffers more from his selfishness than he from whom that selfishness withholds some important benefit.
From The Portable Emerson
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Imagination is not a talent of some men, but is health of every man.
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When a man is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something.
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What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.
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It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
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Miss Austen’s novels … seem to me vulgar in tone, sterile in artistic invention, imprisoned in the wretched conventions of English society, without genius, wit, or knowledge of the world. Never was life so pinched and narrow. The one problem in the mind of the writer … is marriageableness.
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Napoleon said of Massena, that he was not himself until the battle began to go against him; then, when the dead began to fall in ranks around him, awoke his powers of combination, and he put on terror and victory as a robe. So it is in rugged crises, in unweariable endurance, and in aims which put sympathy out of question, that the angel is shown.
From Nature, Addresses, and Lectures (Volume I)
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Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right and a perfect contentment.
From Spiritual Laws
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But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoe to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time.
From Self-Reliance: An Excerpt from Collected Essays, First Series
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Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.
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Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
As long as all that is said is said against me, I feel a certain sublime assurance of success, but as soon as honied words of praise are spoken for me, I feel as one that lies unprotected before his enemies.
From Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820-1824
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship
From Nature
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Even in the mud and scum of things, something always, always sings.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
We aim above the mark to hit the mark.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching.
From Self-Reliance and Other Essays
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The selfish man suffers more from his selfishness than he from whom that selfishness withholds some important benefit.
From The Portable Emerson
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Imagination is not a talent of some men, but is health of every man.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
When a man is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Miss Austen’s novels … seem to me vulgar in tone, sterile in artistic invention, imprisoned in the wretched conventions of English society, without genius, wit, or knowledge of the world. Never was life so pinched and narrow. The one problem in the mind of the writer … is marriageableness.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Napoleon said of Massena, that he was not himself until the battle began to go against him; then, when the dead began to fall in ranks around him, awoke his powers of combination, and he put on terror and victory as a robe. So it is in rugged crises, in unweariable endurance, and in aims which put sympathy out of question, that the angel is shown.
From Nature, Addresses, and Lectures (Volume I)
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right and a perfect contentment.
From Spiritual Laws
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoe to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time.
From Self-Reliance: An Excerpt from Collected Essays, First Series
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
As long as all that is said is said against me, I feel a certain sublime assurance of success, but as soon as honied words of praise are spoken for me, I feel as one that lies unprotected before his enemies.
From Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820-1824
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship
From Nature
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Even in the mud and scum of things, something always, always sings.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
We aim above the mark to hit the mark.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching.
From Self-Reliance and Other Essays
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The selfish man suffers more from his selfishness than he from whom that selfishness withholds some important benefit.
From The Portable Emerson
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Imagination is not a talent of some men, but is health of every man.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
When a man is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Miss Austen’s novels … seem to me vulgar in tone, sterile in artistic invention, imprisoned in the wretched conventions of English society, without genius, wit, or knowledge of the world. Never was life so pinched and narrow. The one problem in the mind of the writer … is marriageableness.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Napoleon said of Massena, that he was not himself until the battle began to go against him; then, when the dead began to fall in ranks around him, awoke his powers of combination, and he put on terror and victory as a robe. So it is in rugged crises, in unweariable endurance, and in aims which put sympathy out of question, that the angel is shown.
From Nature, Addresses, and Lectures (Volume I)
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right and a perfect contentment.
From Spiritual Laws
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoe to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time.
From Self-Reliance: An Excerpt from Collected Essays, First Series
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Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
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