What is the foundation of that interest all men feel in Greek history, letters, art, and poetry, in all its periods, from the Heroic or Homeric age down to the domestic life of the Athenians and Spartans, four or five centuries later? What but this, that every man passes personally through a Grecian period.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the universal relevance of Greek history and culture to individual human experiences.
Ralph Waldo Emerson reflects on the enduring interest that every person has in Greek history and culture, suggesting that this fascination arises from the personal connection each individual feels to the Grecian era. He proposes that everyone passes through their own 'Grecian period'—a time when the ideals, achievements, and explorations of ancient Greece resonate with their own life experiences, thereby illustrating the timeless influence of Greek civilization on humanity.
In practice
During a lecture on the influences of ancient civilizations on modern society.
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?
Live up to your convictions. You walk in grace or you walk in fear. You can't have it both ways.
I think it can be shown that the law makes ten criminals where it restrains one.
Thought can be so seductive and hypnotic that it absorbs your attention totally, so you become your thoughts.
However strong, however imposing a ship may appear, it is not 'disgraced' because it flies before the tempest. A commander ought always to remember that a man's life is worth more than the mere satisfaction of his own pride. In any case, to be obstinate is blameable, and to be wilful is dangerous.
Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go.
Humanity's a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.
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