A great man stands on God. A small man on a great man.
Interpretation
True greatness is rooted in a higher purpose, while lesser individuals depend on those who are greater than themselves.
This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that true greatness comes from a strong foundation of faith and principles, represented by 'God', indicating that a truly great person is humble and recognizes a greater power. In contrast, those who merely stand upon the successes of others lack true depth and significance, as their greatness is derived from someone else's achievements.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire leaders to seek deeper meaning in their actions.
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?
We can learn much from wise words, little from wisecracks, and less from wise guys.
... as a slow-witted human being I have a very small head and I had better learn to live with it and to respect my limitations and give them full credit, rather than to try to ignore them, for the latter vain effort will be punished by failure.
Wherever smart people work, doors are unlocked.
I find that by putting things in writing I can understand them and see them a little more objectively. ... For words are merely tools and if you use the right ones you can actually put even your life in order, if you don't lie to yourself and use the wrong words.
In both writing and sleeping, we learn to be physically still at the same time we are encouraging our minds to unlock from the humdrum rational thinking of our daytime lives.
If a person studies too much and exhausts his reflective powers, he will be confused, and will not be able to apprehend even that which had been within the power of his apprehension. For the powers of the body are all alike in this respect.
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