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Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let not the tie be mercenary, though the service is measured in money. Make yourself necessary to somebody. Do not make life hard to any.
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
Our chief want in life, is, someone who shall make us do what we can. This is the service of a friend. With him we are easily great.
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud.
I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with the roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frost-work, but the solidest thing we know.
In the uttermost meaning of the words, thought is devout, and devotion is thought. Deep calls unto deep.
The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end, requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs.
Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
In the matter of religion, people eagerly fasten their eyes on the difference between their own creed and yours; whilst the charm of the study is in finding the agreements and identities in all the religions of humanity.
What lies behind us, and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Character is higher than intellect. Thinking is the function. Living is the functionary. The stream retreats to its source. A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.
Character wants room; must not be crowded on by persons, nor be judged from glimpses got in the press of affairs, or on few occasions. It needs perspective, as a great building.
There are other measures of self-respect for a man, than the number of clean shirts he puts on every day.
Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it.
There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light.
Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself.
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.