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though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Success and fulfillment come through hard work and effort in our personal endeavors.

This quote suggests that while there is goodness and potential in the world around us, individual success is dependent on the dedicated work we put into our own lives and responsibilities. It emphasizes the importance of personal effort—the 'toil'—in reaping rewards, which are symbolized by the 'kernel of nourishing corn'.

Themes

Hard WorkEffortSuccessResponsibilityToil

In practice

Example use cases

During a graduation speech to inspire students about their futures.

More from Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
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Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
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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.
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The world belongs to the energetic.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead

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