QuotesRalph Waldo Emerson quotes
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 to 1882) was an American essayist and lecturer. His best known essay, Self-Reliance (1841), argues that a person should trust their own mind. Each line below names its essay.
From Self-Reliance (1841)
Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)To be great is to be misunderstood.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Insist on yourself; never imitate.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)
From other essays
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Circles (1841)The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship (1841)The years teach much which the days never know.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Experience (1844)The only gift is a portion of thyself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Gifts (1844)The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, New England Reformers (1844)The first wealth is health.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life: Power (1860)Hitch your wagon to a star.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude: Civilization (1870)Every artist was first an amateur.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letters and Social Aims: Progress of Culture (1876)
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Good to know
- "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" is widely credited to Emerson but has not been found in his works. It is not included.