“I would study, I would know, I would admire forever.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Harvard Divinity School Address (Primary source)
Delivered at Harvard, this controversial speech challenged traditional religious doctrines and called for a more personal and intuitive understanding of spirituality. Emerson advocated for a direct experience of God within oneself, rather than relying on intermediaries or historical dogma.
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“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“It was for beauty that the world was made.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“The true test of civilization is, not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops—no, but the kind of man the country turns out.”
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“Do not do that which you would not have known.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“If you’d know the value of money, go and borrow some.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher’s stone.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source