Ralph Waldo Emerson

Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret.

Out of Plato come all things that are still written and debated about among men of thought.

As long as our civilization is essentially one of property, of fences, of exclusiveness, it will be mocked by delusions. Our riches will leave us sick; there will be bitterness in our laughter; and our wine will burn our mouth. Only that good profits, which we can taste with all doors open, and which serves all men.

The world is upheld by the veracity of good men: they make the earth wholesome. They who lived with them found life glad and nutritious. Life is sweet and tolerable only in our belief in such society.

Every man is a consumer and ought to be a producer.

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

Nothing is beneath you if it is in the direction of your life.

People usually think according to their inclinations, speak according to their learning and ingrained opinions, but generally act according to custom.

The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. But he won’t sit upon a cold stove lid, either.

A heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears for a change in fortune.

The President has paid dear for his White House. It has commonly cost him all his peace, and the best of his manly attributes. To preserve for a short time so conspicuous an appearance before the world, he is content to eat dust before the real masters who stand erect behind the throne.

Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.

Americans adore me and will go on adoring me until I say something nice about them.

The rich mind lies in the sun and sleeps, and is Nature.

These are not dark days: these are great days – the greatest days our country has ever lived.

Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself.

I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

All of our actions take their hue from the complexion of the heart, as landscapes their variety from light.

If you have nothing to say, say nothing.

Upon awakening, let the words Thank You flow from your lips, for this will remind you to begin your day with gratitude and compassion.