Ralph Waldo Emerson

United States
25 May 1803 // 27 Apr 1882
Author / Poet/ Philosopher

Quotes

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Art is the path of the creator to his work
An actually existing fly is more important than a possibly existing angel
All the great speakers were bad speakers at first
All persons are puzzles until at last we find in some word or act the key to the man, to the woman; straightway all their past words and actions lie in light before us
All life is an experiment
All great men find eternity affirmed in the very promise of their faculties
Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience
A sufficient measure of civilization is the influence of good women
A man is what he thinks about all day long
A man in debt is so far a slave
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays