As we are, so we associate. The good, by affinity, seek the good; the vile, by affinity, the vile. Thus of their own volition, souls proceed into Heaven, into Hell.
Interpretation
Our associations reflect our character; like-minded individuals gravitate towards each other, shaping our destinies.
This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that the nature of our associations and relationships is a reflection of our own character. Good individuals tend to seek out and connect with others of similar virtue, while those with negative or vile traits naturally congregate with like-minded individuals. This idea emphasizes the concept that we actively choose our companions based on our own moral and ethical standing, which ultimately influences our path in life, leading us either towards enlightenment or despair.
In practice
During a motivational speech about self-improvement, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of surrounding oneself with positive influences.
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?
Home life is no more natural to us than a cage is natural to a cockatoo.
Where to begin? Do we measure the relaxing of the feet? The moment when the eye glimpses the hawk, when instinct functions? For in this pure action, this pure moving of the bird, there is no time, no space, but only the free doing-being of this very moment -now!
The alienation of man thus appeared as the fundamental evil of capitalist society.
My good works, however wretched and imperfect, have been made better and perfected by Him Who is my Lord: He has rendered them meritorious. As to my evil deeds and my sins, He hid them at once. The eyes of those who saw them, He made even blind; and He has blotted them out of their memory.
I never really thought of my neighborhood in South Philly as being a neighborhood; it was more a state of mind. For people who aren't familiar with those kinds of places, it's a whole different thing. Like, 42nd Street in New York City is a state of mind.
Loyalty must arise spontaneously from the hearts of people who love their country and respect their government.
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