Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes


Greeley does the thinking for the whole West at $2 per year for his paper.


Context

The New York Tribune in 1856 had a circulation of 220,000—many of whom were Westerners


Citations

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, Poet & Essayist

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

Related Quotes

Dunne put these words in the mouth of his famous character, Mr. Dooley. The part of the quotation, “comforts th' afflicted, afflicts th' comfortable” without the accent, became the motto for many journalists. This is the earliest use we have found, but it ironically was not very complimentary to newspapers.


The three "estates" were the Lords Spiritual (Clergy), Lords Temporal (Aristocracy) and the Commons. The other three estates have been forgotten, but the press is still known as the "fourth estate." See Emanuel Sieyes, s.v. "Voters and Voting," on the Third Estate


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.