Great men or men of great gifts you shall easily find, but symmetrical men never.
Interpretation
Emerson suggests that while we often find extraordinary individuals, truly balanced and well-rounded people are rare.
In this quote, Ralph Waldo Emerson reflects on the nature of greatness and balance in human character. He posits that while society may celebrate individuals with exceptional talents, achievements, or gifts, those who embody symmetry—meaning balance, moderation, and holistic development across various aspects of life—are much harder to encounter. This commentary invites readers to consider the value of being well-rounded over merely excelling in one area.
In practice
In a discussion about personal development, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of being well-rounded.
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?
The further off from England the nearer is to France-_x000D_ _x000D_ Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
...yet a memory cannot be trusted, for so much of the experience of the past is determined by the experience of the present.
In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.
But it does make me sad that we've forgotten our names. Out of everything, this seems to me the most tragic. I miss my own and I mourn for everyone else's, because I'd like to love them, but I don't know who they are.
We are all living in cages with the door wide open.
...religion is a tool to bind people together, to strengthen their unity, but like every tool, it can be mismanaged, even used in opposition to the way it should.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.