iStock
Let’s Wax Poetic! 150 Thought-Provoking Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes
When it comes to wisdom, Ralph Waldo Emerson certainly knows his stuff. The esteemed writer, poet, and thinker penned several meaningful phrases throughout the 19th century. Most amazingly of all, despite how many years ago Emerson lived, many of his words still ring true today.
More than ring true—these quotes still resonate with anyone who has thought about life in a big way and ultimately, pondered what it means to be human. In fact, we still see so many of his most poignant sayings on bumper stickers, plastered onto phone cases and lockers, and of course, all over social media.
Keep reading for 150 thought-provoking Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes.
150 Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes
1. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”
2. “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
3. “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.”
4. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
5. “Life is a journey, not a destination.”
Related: 100 Inspirational Quotes To Keep You Motivated—You Can Do Hard Things!
6. “It is not the length of life, but the depth.”
7. “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”
8. “Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.”
9. “I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me."
10. “Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.”
11. “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”
12. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
13. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
14. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
15. “Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
16. “The earth laughs in flowers.”
17. “A great man is always willing to be little.”
18. “Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.”
19. “To be great is to be misunderstood.”
20. “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”
Related: 100 Inspiring Quotes About Happiness To Lift Your Mood
21. “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
22. “People do not seem to realise that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.”
23. “When friendships are real, they are not glass threads or frost work, but the solidest things we can know.”
24. “You become what you think about all day long.”
25. “Character is higher than intellect… A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think."
26. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
27. “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.”
28. “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
29. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
30. “Self-trust is the first secret of success.”
31. “Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.”
32. “The ancestor of every action is a thought.”
33. “The good news is that the moment you decide that what you know is more important than what you have been taught to believe, you will have shifted gears in your quest for abundance. Success comes from within, not from without.”
34. “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.”
35. “What you are comes to you.”
36. “The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.”
37. "What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
38. “The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon. We are never tired, so long as we can see far enough.”
39. “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”
40. “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”
Related: 101 Nature Quotes to Appreciate the Beauty of the Outdoors
41. “Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait.”
42. “Before we acquire great power we must acquire wisdom to use it well.”
43. “People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.”
44. “How much of human life is lost in waiting.”
45. “The secret in education lies in respecting the student.”
46. “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.”
47. “People destined to meet will do so, apparently by chance, at precisely the right moment.”
48. “One of the most beautiful compensations in life is that no person can help another without helping themselves.”
49. “Imagination is a very high sort of seeing.”
50. “Throw a stone into the stream and the ripples that propagate themselves are the beautiful type of all influence.”
51. “Happy will the house be in which the relationships are formed from character.”
52. “Little minds have little worries, big minds have no time for worries.”
53. “We are always getting ready to live but never living.”
54. “We are by nature observers, and thereby learners. That is our permanent state.”
55. “I do not wish more external goods—neither possessions, nor honors, nor powers, nor persons. The gain is apparent; the tax is certain."
56. "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting."
57. “What your heart thinks is great, is great. The soul’s emphasis is always right.”
58. “Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, in denying them.”
59. “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.”