“Standing on the bare ground—my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space—all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nature (Primary source)
This is considered Emerson’s foundational text and the cornerstone of American Transcendentalism. In it, he outlines his philosophy of nature as a source of spiritual insight and a mirror to the human soul. It calls for an original relation to the universe and a rejection of traditional ways of understanding the world.
“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 →
“Nothing so popular as goodness.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“God helps them that help themselves.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“Nothing augments a battalion like success.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte Disputed“Intelligence precedes force. Force itself is nothing without intelligence. In the heroic age the leader was the strongest man; with civilization he has become the most intelligent of the brave.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte Disputed