Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.
Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes
When I read a good book I wish that life were 3000 years long.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The world exists for the education of each man
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ah how we wander from goal to goal of our life, and often it seems as if one thread of consciousness did not tie the far parts together.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
He that does nothing is poorer than he that has nothing.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is not the length of life, but the depth.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Make yourself necessary to the world and mankind will give you bread.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
There are no fixtures in nature. The universe is fluid and volatile. Permanence is but a word of degrees.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A divine person is the prophecy of the mind; a friend is the hope of the heart.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A man never gets acquainted with himself, but is always a surprise. We get news daily of the world within.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Beauty rests on necessities. The line of beauty is the result of perfect economy.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Try the rough water as well as the smooth. Rough water can teach lessons worth knowing.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
I saw a maiden so pure that she exchanged glances only with the stars.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The earth laughs in flowers.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do not foolishly ask of the inscrutable, obliterated past, what it cannot tell.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
I can find my biography in every fable that I read.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson