It is easy to see that a greater self-reliance must work a revolution in all the offices and relations of men; in their religion; in their education; in their pursuits; their modes of living; their association; in their property; in their speculative views.
Interpretation
Greater self-reliance leads to transformative changes in all aspects of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote emphasizes the importance of self-reliance as a foundational principle that can bring about significant change in various spheres of human activity. By advocating for individuals to depend on themselves, Emerson suggests that this trait can revolutionize personal relationships, educational systems, religious beliefs, and societal structures, promoting a more independent and fulfilling way of living.
In practice
A motivational speaker might use this quote during a seminar about personal growth.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
XXIX Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking. Traveller, the path is your tracks And nothing more. Traveller, there is no path The path is made by walking. By walking you make a path And turning, you look back At a way you will never tread again Traveller, there is no road Only wakes in the sea.
I believe the best definition of man is the ungrateful biped.
The solution of the problem of life is life itself. Life is not attained by reason and analysis but first of all by living.
Tolerance always has limits - it cannot tolerate what is itself actively intolerant.
The anarchic is the true divine state of man in the end as in the beginning; but in between it would lead us straight to the devil and his kingdom.
A gentleman is ashamed to let his words outrun his deeds.
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