“To be rich is to have a ticket of admission to the masterworks and chief men of each race. It is to have the sea, by voyaging; to visit the mountains, Niagara, the Nile, the desert, Rome, Paris, Constantinople; to see galleries, libraries, arsenals, manufactories.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wealth (Primary source)
In Wealth, Emerson argues that true wealth is not merely material accumulation, but the ability to create and contribute. It stems from aligning oneself with natural laws and serving others, leading to a flourishing and abundant life beyond mere possessions.
“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 →
“If you see smoke, there must be fire.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“Every thing impossible, until we see a success.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“He that is rich need not live sparingly, and he that can live sparingly, need not be rich.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source