Quotes by Emerson, Ralph Waldo

Men achieve a certain greatness unawares, when working to another aim. >>

The walking of Man is falling forwards. >>

Life too near paralyses art. >>

Quotations about Heroes and Heroism

Listen, my friend, there are two races of beings. The masses teeming a >>

You lived too long, we have supped full with heroes, they waste their >>

One murder makes a villain, millions often a hero. >>

The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo