QuotesRalph Waldo Emerson quotes
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 to 1882) was an American essayist and lecturer. His best known essay, Self-Reliance (1841), argues that a person should trust their own mind. Each line below names its essay.
From Self-Reliance (1841)
Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)To be great is to be misunderstood.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Insist on yourself; never imitate.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance (1841)
From other essays
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Circles (1841)The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship (1841)The years teach much which the days never know.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Experience (1844)The only gift is a portion of thyself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Gifts (1844)The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, New England Reformers (1844)The first wealth is health.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life: Power (1860)Hitch your wagon to a star.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude: Civilization (1870)Every artist was first an amateur.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letters and Social Aims: Progress of Culture (1876)
Nothing matches. Try a shorter word, or choose All.
What Self-Reliance says
Most of the lines on this page come from one essay. Self-Reliance, printed in Emerson's first book of Essays in 1841, argues that every person has something of their own to see and say, and wastes it by copying others or by worrying about seeming inconsistent. That is the meaning of "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds". Note the word "foolish": Emerson is not attacking consistency, only the fear of changing your mind when you have learnt better.
Reading the hard words
- "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist": "whoso" means "whoever", and "a man" here means a full, grown-up person.
- "Every heart vibrates to that iron string": the string is trust in yourself.
- "Hitch your wagon to a star": aim your everyday work at something high.
- "The only gift is a portion of thyself": the best present is your own time and effort.
Using an Emerson line
Emerson is the natural choice for speeches to students who are leaving school: "Insist on yourself; never imitate", "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" and "Every artist was first an amateur" all fit a farewell or a prize day. The line on friendship, "the only way to have a friend is to be one", suits any gathering of friends. Name the essay. Emerson's essays have titles as short as their sentences, and saying "from his essay Friendship" takes two seconds.
Checking a line
Emerson is widely misquoted, as the note above says. His essays are in the public domain and free online. Search the exact words inside the essay named. If a "quote" gives no essay, treat it with doubt.
Good to know
- "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" is widely credited to Emerson but has not been found in his works. It is not included.