Let him be great, and love shall follow him. Nothing is more deeply punished than the neglect of the affinities by which alone society should be formed, and the insane levity of choosing associates by others eyes.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that greatness and love are interconnected, and that choosing friends and associates wisely is crucial for a healthy society.
In this quote, Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that true greatness naturally attracts love, and neglecting important personal connections is severely punished. He criticizes the superficiality of forming relationships based on others' perceptions rather than genuine affinities, highlighting the importance of authenticity in our social connections for a flourishing society.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about building meaningful relationships in a community.
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?
A good compromise is one where everybody makes a contribution.
Citizenship to me is more than a piece of paper. Citizenship is also about character. I am an American. We're just waiting for our country to recognize it.
I was eight years old when I got the talk about what to do if a police officer stops me. I was 15 when I was face-down on the curb for the first time.
You can't have a relationship with a device whose limits are unknown to you, because without limits, it keeps becoming something else.
We're hardwired for connection. There's no arguing with the bioscience. But we can want it so badly we're trying to hot-wire it.
I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make my marriage vows mean what they say. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh.
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