Every man contemplates an angel in his future self.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that everyone envisions a better version of themselves as a goal to aspire to.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote reflects the idea that individuals often envision their ideal selves, which serves as both a source of inspiration and a motivating force in their lives. This 'angel' symbolizes the aspirations and potential we all see within ourselves, encouraging personal growth and the pursuit of excellence.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech to inspire self-reflection among the audience.
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?
You are the sum total of your dominating or most prominent thoughts.
Competition, by itself, always leads to cheating by the powerful, who try to establish pyramids of power, like feudalism. Yet, competition is the great creative force! So how do we save it from its own contradictions? By cooperation! By cooperating with each other, via politics, to make rules and prevent cheating, so that competition can thrive!
It was astonishing to see how angry Cersei could wax over accusations she knew perfectly well to be true.
I saw the best minds of my generation who threw their watches off the roof to cast their ballot for Eternity outside of Time, & alarm clocks fell on their heads every day for the next decade.
Scenes of blood and cruelty are shocking to our ear and heart. What man has nerve to do, man has not nerve to hear.
People will always prefer black-and-white over shades of grey, and so there will always be the temptation to hold overly-simplified beliefs and to hold them with excessive confidence
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