Emerson argues that intellectual ability alone is not the highest measure of a person. Thinking has value, but character is revealed through the way someone lives, acts and responds to experience. By saying that character is “higher than intellect”, he places moral strength, conduct and the capacity to live according to one’s principles above intelligence considered in isolation.

The surrounding passage reinforces this contrast between thought and action. Emerson describes thinking as a function and living as the person who carries that function into the world. A “great soul” must therefore possess both intellectual strength and the ability to act with conviction. The quotation reflects his broader emphasis on self-reliance and the unity of thought and conduct. Ideas matter most when they shape behaviour, and intellectual distinction without corresponding strength of character is, in Emerson’s view, incomplete.

Full quotation

“Character is higher than intellect. Thinking is the function. Living is the functionary. The stream retreats to its source. A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.”