Quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson with virtue

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American poet and philosopher

Lived from: 1803 - 1882

Category: Philosophers | Poets (Contemporary) Country: FlagUnited States

Born: 25 may 1803 Died: 27 april 1882

  • 'Tis a superstition to insist on a special diet. All is made at last of the same chemical atoms.
  • Courage charms us, because it indicates that a man loves an idea better than all things in the world, that he is thinking neither of his bed, nor his dinner, nor his money, but will venture all to put in act the invisible thought of his mind.
  • Society is infested by persons who, seeing that the sentiments please, counterfeit the expression of them. These we call sentimentalists - talkers who mistake the description for the thing, saying for having.
  • The studious class are their own victims: they are thin and pale, their feet are cold, their heads are hot, the night is without sleep, the day a fear of interruption - pallor, squalor, hunger, and egotism.
  • Gross and obscure natures, however decorated, seem impure shambles; but character gives splendor to youth, and awe to wrinkled skin and gray hairs.
  • That which we call character is a reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means. It is conceived of as a certain undemonstrable force, a familiar or genius, by whose impulses the man is guided, but whose counsels he cannot impart.
  • Society is a masked ball, where every one hides his real character, and reveals it by hiding.
  • Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure, adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and leather, to some required function in the work of the world.
  • The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defying though he look, he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own.
  • The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue; and no genius can long or often utter anything which is not invited and gladly entertained by men around him.
  • Sincerity is the luxury allowed, like diadems and authority, only to the highest rank. Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.
  • Books are the best of things if well used; if abused, among the worst. They are good for nothing but to inspire. I had better never see a book than be warped by its attraction clean out of my own orbit, and made a satellite instead of a system.
  • What your heart thinks is great, is great. The soul's emphasis is always right.
  • Nothing is beneath you if it is in the direction of your life.
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  • Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. 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
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  • The essence of greatness is the perception that virtue is enough.
    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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  • The highest virtue is always against the law.
    Conduct of Life (1876) Worship
    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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  • The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.
    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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  • The torpid artist seeks inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice, by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by wine.
    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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  • The virtue in most request is conformity.
    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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  • Beauty is the mark God sets on virtue. Every natural action is graceful; every heroic act is also decent, and causes the place and the bystanders to shine.
    ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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What are the most famous quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson?

The two most famous quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson are:

  • "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs."
  • "The essence of greatness is the perception that virtue is enough."

When did Ralph Waldo Emerson live?

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803 and died in the year 1882.