“Things are pretty, graceful, rich, elegant, handsome, but, until they speak to the imagination, not yet beautiful.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Beauty (Primary source)
In Beauty, Emerson explores how beauty in nature and art reflects a deeper spiritual truth and moral order. He argues that true beauty is not just aesthetic pleasure but a manifestation of the divine, elevating the soul and inspiring virtue.
“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.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary sourceMore quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson →
“Take things always by their smooth handle.”
— Thomas Jefferson Primary source“I learned from her that every woman is worried about her looks, no matter how beautiful she is.”
— Richard Feynman Primary source“A life of leisure, and a life of laziness, are two things.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“All things are easy to industry, all things difficult to sloth.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source