“Nature suffers nothing to remain in her kingdoms which cannot help itself.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (verified)
Self-Reliance (Primary source)
Perhaps Emerson’s most famous essay, Self-Reliance passionately urges individuals to trust their own instincts and intuitions rather than conforming to societal pressures or external authorities. It champions nonconformity, self-trust, and the power of the individual. Its famous opening line, Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string, encapsulates its core message.
“The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (verified)“In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (verified)“The law of nature is, Do the thing, and you shall have the power: but they who do not the thing have not the power.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (verified)“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (verified)More quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson →
“Nothing augments a battalion like success.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte (verified, secondary source)“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”
— Amelia Earhart (unverified)“Necessity is the mistress and guide of nature.”
— Leonardo da Vinci (verified)“Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (verified)