Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

Great people aren't those who are happy at times of convienience and content, but of how they are in times of catastrophy and controversy.

Be strong. Live honorably and with dignity. When you don't think you can, hold on.

Not gold but only men can makeA people great and strong;Men who for truth and honors sakeStand fast and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep,Who dare while others flyThey build a nations pillars deepAnd lift them to the sky.

Ability may get you to the top, nut it takes chracter to keep you there - mental, moral, and physical.

In the worst of times the best among us never lose their moral compass, and that is how they emerge relatively unscathed.

Character is far more important than intellect in making a man a good citizen or successful at his calling- meaning by character not only such qualities as honesty and truthfulness, but courage, perseverance and self-reliance.

Heroism is endurance for one moment more.

This is the mark of a really admirable man: steadfastness in the face of trouble.

I learned from the example of my father that the manner in which one endures what must be endured is more important than the thing that must be endured.

He who voluntarily confronts tremendous odds must have very great internal resources to draw upon

The greatest man is he who chooses the Right with invincible resolution, who resists the sorest temptations from within and without, who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully, who is calmest in storms and most fearless under menace and frowns, whose reliance on truth, on virtue, on God, is most unfaltering. I believe this greatness to be most common among the multitude, whose names are never heard.

I want you to think about your grandfather's integrity and grit when you're staring at the ceiling of your barracks room, but I also want you to think a little deeper.

Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.

Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you.

Be strong, be brave, be true. Endure.

Wisdom and courage make mutual contributions to greatness.

Every man of character will have that character questioned. Every man of honor and courage will be faced with unjust criticism, but never forget that unjust criticism has no impact whatsoever upon the truth. And the only sure way to avoid criticism is to do nothing and be nothing.

Great men, great nations, have not been boasters and buffoons, but perceivers of the terror of life, and have manned themselves to face it.

From long familiarity, we know what honor is. It is what enables the individual to do right in the face of complacency and cowardice. It is what enables the soldier to die alone, the political prisoner to resist, the singer to sing her song, hardly appreciated, on a side street.

Be true, be brave, stand All the rest is darkness.

It is an important part of our life’s experience to develop the strength, courage, and integrity to hold fast to truth and righteousness despite the buffeting we may experience.

Honor is the moral conscience of the great.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Grit is the grain of character. It may generally be described as heroism materialized,--spirit and will thrust into heart, brain, and backbone, so as to form part of the physical substance of the man.

A house built on granite and strong foundations, not even the onslaught of pouring rain, gushing torrents and strong winds will be able to pull down. Some people have written the story of my life representing as truth what in fact derives from ignorance, error or envy; but they cannot shake the truth from its place, even if they attempt to make others believe it.