The most active lives have so much routine as to preclude progress almost equally with the most inactive. Ralph Waldo Emerson More Quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson More Quotes From Ralph Waldo Emerson Society always consists, in greatest part, of young and foolish persons. The old, who have seen through the hypocrisy of the courts and statesmen, die, and leave no wisdom to their sons. They believe their own newspaper, as their fathers did at their age. Ralph Waldo Emerson believe father son Health, south wind, books, old trees, a boat, a friend. Ralph Waldo Emerson wind happiness book Men have come to speak of the revelation as somewhat long ago given and done, as if God were dead. The injury to faith throttles the preacher; and the goodliest of institutions becomes an uncertain and inarticulate voice. Ralph Waldo Emerson faith god men Men are so charmed with valor that they have pleased themselves with being called lions, leopards, eagles and dragons, from the animals contemporary with us in the geologic formations. Ralph Waldo Emerson courage animal men There is a persuasion in the soul of man that he is here for cause, that he was put down in this place by the Creator to do the work for which he inspires him, that thus he is an overmatch for all antagonists that could combine against him. Ralph Waldo Emerson god courage men Who does not sometimes envy the good and the brave, who are no more to suffer from the tumults of the natural world, and await with curious complacency the speedy term of his own conversation with finite nature? Ralph Waldo Emerson envy brave courage The rain has spoiled the farmer's day; Ralph Waldo Emerson rain loss book The finished man of the world must eat of every apple at once. He must hold his hatreds also at arm's length, and not remember spite. He has neither friends nor enemies, but values men only as channels of power. Ralph Waldo Emerson apples hate men An English family consists of a few persons, who, from youth to age, are found revolving within a few feet of each other, as if tied by some invisible ligature, tense as that cartilage which we have seen attaching the two Siamese. Ralph Waldo Emerson family feet two For, when men shall meet as they ought, each a benefactor, a shower of stars, clothed with thoughts, with deeds, with accomplishments, it should be the festival of nature which all things announce. Of such friendship, love in the sexes is the first symbol, as all other things are symbols of love. Those relations to the best men, which, at one time, we reckoned the romances of youth, become, in the progress of character, the most solid enjoyment. Ralph Waldo Emerson stars friendship sex You shall not come nearer a man by getting into his house. Ralph Waldo Emerson friends friendship men We begin with friendships, and all our youth is a reconnoitering and recruiting of the holy fraternity they shall combine for thesalvation of men. But so the remoter stars seem a nebula of united light, yet there is no group which a telescope will not resolve; and the dearest friends are separated by impassable gulfs. Ralph Waldo Emerson stars friendship men An eminent teacher of girls said, "the idea of a girl's education, is, whatever qualifies them for going to Europe. Ralph Waldo Emerson girl education teacher You must treat the days respectfully, you must be a day yourself, and not interrogate it like a college professor. Ralph Waldo Emerson professors college knowledge All the facts of nature are nouns of the intellect, and make the grammar of the eternal language. Every word has a double, trebleor centuple use and meaning. Ralph Waldo Emerson nouns use facts We are like travellers using the cinders of a volcano to roast their eggs. Whilst we see that it always stands ready to clothe what we would say, we cannot avoid the question whether the characters are not significant of themselves. Ralph Waldo Emerson volcanoes eggs character This immediate dependence of language upon nature, this conversion of an outward phenomenon into a type of somewhat in human life,never loses its power to affect us. It is this which gives that piquancy to the conversation of a strong-natured farmer or backwoodsman, which all men relish. Ralph Waldo Emerson strong giving men Children and savages use only nouns or names of things, which they convert into verbs, and apply to analogous mental acts. Ralph Waldo Emerson savages names children Every word which is used to express a moral or intellectual fact, if traced to its root, is found to be borrowed from some material appearance. Ralph Waldo Emerson intellectual roots facts But wise men pierce this rotten diction and fasten words again to visible things; so that picturesque language is at once a commanding certificate that he who employs it, is a man in alliance with truth and God. Ralph Waldo Emerson diction wise men
