Every man is a borrower and a mimic, life is theatrical and literature a quotation.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that humans inherently take from others while trying to navigate life, which is like a performance, heavily influenced by existing works.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote reflects the idea that individuals are not original creators but rather borrowers of thoughts and experiences. He implies that life itself is akin to a play where people imitate others, and literature serves as a compendium of borrowed ideas and expressions. This highlights the interconnectedness of human experiences and the notion that our actions and creations are often influenced by those who came before us, challenging the idea of absolute originality.
In practice
In a speech about creativity, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of drawing inspiration from past works.
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?
If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all.
All human problems are ultimately symptoms, and our separation from God is the cause.
She [the Virgin Mary] was normal. She had already had other children. The Bible tells us that Jesus had two brothers. Virginity, as it relates to Jesus, is based on a different thing: Mary initiated a new generation of grace. A new era began. She is the cosmic bride, Earth, which opens to the heavens and allows itself to be fertilized.
The unrealistic nature of these tales (which narrowminded rationalists object to) is an important device, because it makes obvious that the fairy talesβ concern is not useful information about the external world, but the inner process taking place in an individual.
[W]e must never allow the future to collapse under the burden of memory.
According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.