Inspiration Quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson
1884 - 1962
American Human Rights Activist, Diplomat

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s.

Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature. As a result of this ground breaking work he gave a speech entitled The American Scholar in 1837, which Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. considered to be America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence". Emerson once said "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."

Considered one of the great orators of the time, Emerson's enthusiasm and respect for his audience enraptured crowds. His support for abolitionism late in life created controversy, and at times he was subject to abuse from crowds while speaking on the topic, however this was not always the case. When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was "the infinitude of the private man."

Enjoy these famous quotes that are inspirational by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Mr. Emersons quotes which are great for reflection

Hitch your wagon to a star.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The things taught in schools and colleges are not an education, but the means of education.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

No great man ever complains of want of opportunity.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

All our progress is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud, you have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A true friend is somebody who can make us do what we can.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some books leave us free and some books make us free.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The glory of friendship is not in the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is in the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everybody keeps telling me how surprised they are with what I've done. But I'm telling you honestly that it doesn't surprise me. I knew I could do it.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every artist was first an amateur.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man's growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A friend is one before whom I may think aloud.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A great man is always willing to be little.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man in debt is so far a slave.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

All life is an experiment.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Earth laughs in flowers.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The reward of a thing well done is having done it.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is not length of life, but depth of life.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We acquire the strength we have overcome.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man is what he thinks about all day long.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Keep your friendships in repair.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

All mankind love a lover.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man is usually more careful of his money than he is of his principles.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson