Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes


A man is reputed to have thought and eloquence; he cannot, for all that, say a word to his cousin or his uncle. They accuse his silence with as much reason as they would blame the insignificance of a dial in the shade. In the sun it will mark the hour. Among those who enjoy his thought, he will regain his tongue.


Citations

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Friendship." Essays: First Series, James Munroe and Company, 1841, p. 165.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Born: May 25, 1803
  • Died: April 27, 1882
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Poet

Ralph Waldo Emerson, who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.