| RALPH WALDO EMERSON |
 |
| �A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.�
�A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.� �A great man is always willing to be little.� �A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.� �An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man.� �And what is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.� �Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.� �By God, I will not obey this filthy enactment!� (of the Fugitive Slave Act) �By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. In fact, it is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to invent.� �Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again; you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.� �Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.� �Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your objective. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.� �Every actual state is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well.� �Every hero becomes a bore at last.� �Every reform is only a mask under cover of which a more terrible reform, which dares not yet name itself, advances.� �Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.� �Fate, then, is a name for facts not yet passed under the fire of thought; for causes which are unpenetrated.� |
| page 1 |