“The absolute balance of Give and Take, the doctrine that every thing has its price—and if that price is not paid, not that thing but something else is obtained, and that it is impossible to get any thing without its price—is not less sublime in the columns of a ledger than in the budgets of states.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Compensation (Primary source)
Emerson explores the law of compensation, suggesting that every action (cause) has a corresponding reaction (effect), meaning that there is no free lunch, but we get what we give.
“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 Primary source“The years teach much which the days never know.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary sourceMore quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson →
“The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get but what you give.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt Primary source“Every thing impossible, until we see a success.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“It is better to take many injuries, than to give one.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“In France, only the impossible is admired.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte DisputedCause and Effect Economics Action