Great men are more distinguished by range and extent than by originality.
Interpretation
True greatness stems from a broad understanding and acceptance rather than merely from original ideas.
Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that the mark of truly great individuals lies not just in their unique creations or thoughts but in their ability to encompass and synthesize a wide array of experiences and knowledge. Greatness is characterized by breadth and depth in understanding rather than isolated originality, highlighting the importance of learning from various sources and perspectives.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of collaboration and teamwork, one could use this quote to emphasize the value of learning from others.
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?
One of the most beneficial of remedies is persisting in duβa.
The source of anxiety lies in the future. If you can keep the future out of mind, you can forget your worries.
Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.
I don't want people to be inspired or offended by what I do. If you determine your behavior by what [other people] want, you're screwed.
The deepest words _x000D_ of the wise man teach us _x000D_ the same as the whistle of the wind when it blows _x000D_ or the sound of the water when it is flowing.
Do not answer the person whose questions are vile. Do not question a person whose answers are vile.
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