Ralph Waldo Emerson

Death comes to all, but great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold.

You cannot do wrong without suffering wrong.

We aim above the mark to hit the mark.

Not he is great who can alter matter, but he who can alter my state of mind.

The soul’s emphasis is always right.

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.

God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.

Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labors, had it been early, had been kind; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary, and cannot impart it; till I am known, and do not want it.

Though analogy is often misleading, it is the least misleading thing we have.

Nothing destroys authority more than the unequal and untimely interchange of power stretched too far and relaxed too much.

This body of mine is my teacher. This heart of mine, my guide. My dear head struggles to make sense of it all whilst my hands gently remind me to trust and let go.

Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.

Never learn to do anything. If you don’t learn, you will always find someone else to do it for you.

Blows are sarcasm’s turned stupid.

I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.

No matter how often you are defeated, you are born to victory.

You cannot be a hero without being a coward.

We are always paid for our suspicion by finding what we suspect.

Self-sacrifice enables us to sacrifice other people without blushing.