Quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“ It is not the length of life, but the depth. ”

“ It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. ”

“ The earth laughs in flowers. ”

“ All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. ”

“ The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship. ”

“ Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet. ”

“ Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood. ”

“ When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ”

“ What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say. ”

“ Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me. ”