Emerson

A friend of mine sent me some Emerson quotes recently. Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of America's great philosophers. If you click on the title of this post, you'll be directed to the Wikipedia entry for him.

While R.W. Emerson was truly a great, great thinker; I still prefer Thoreau, his friend. I just think Thoreau walked the talk a little better. The picture is a replica of Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond. At any rate, below are the quotes. Enjoy.

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."

"What your heart thinks is great, is great. The soul's emphasis is always right."

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

"If well used, books are the best of all things; if abused, among the worst."

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."

Insist on yourself; never imitate...Every great man is unique.

"Men are what their mothers made them."

"A man is a god in ruins."

"In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed."

"Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect."

"Insist on yourself; never imitate... Every great man is unique. "