I hate this shallow Americanism which hopes to get rich by credit, to get knowledge by raps on midnight tables, to learn the economy of the mind by phrenology, or skill without study, or mastery without apprenticeship.
Interpretation
Emerson criticizes superficial methods of achieving success without deep understanding or hard work.
In this quote, Ralph Waldo Emerson expresses disdain for the American tendency to seek wealth and knowledge through shortcuts, rather than through diligent effort and deep learning. He highlights the futility of trying to attain mastery in various fields without proper study, training, or apprenticeship, emphasizing the importance of dedication and thorough understanding in the pursuit of true knowledge and success.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of education, someone might use this quote to highlight the value of hard work.
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?
An ad hominem attack against an individual, not against an idea, is highly flattering. It indicates that the person does not have anything intelligent to say about your message.
The open mind never acts: when we have done our utmost to arrive at a reasonable conclusion, we still must close our minds for the moment with a snap, and act dogmatically on our conclusions.
Don't borrow someone else's plan. Develop your own philosophy and it will lead you to unique places.
I attempt an arduous task but there is no worth in that which is not a difficult achievement
Imagine that the universe is a great spinning engine. You want to stay near the core of the thing - right in the hub of the wheel - not out at the edges where all the wild whirling takes place, where you can get frayed and crazy. The hub of calmness - that's your heart. That's where God lives within you. So stop looking for answers in the world. Just keep coming back to that center and you'll always find peace.
Gratitude is one of the most effective ways of getting in touch with your soul.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.