The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
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Quotes

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance, 1841 · Primary source

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance, 1841 · Primary source

“Approve not of him that commends all you say.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst. What is the right use? What is the one end which all means go to effect? They are for nothing but to inspire.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The American Scholar, 1837 · Primary source

“The one thing in the world of value is the active soul.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The American Scholar, 1837 · Primary source

“But genius always looks forward. The eyes of man are set in his forehead, not in his hindhead. Man hopes. Genius creates. To create—to create—is the proof of a divine presence.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The American Scholar, 1837 · Primary source

“Fear always springs from ignorance.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The American Scholar, 1837 · Primary source

“To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men—that is genius.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance, 1841 · Primary source

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Self-Reliance, 1841 · Primary source

“Always be ready to speak your mind, and a base man will avoid you.”

William Blake · The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1790 · Primary source

Works

George Orwell · 1949
Nineteen Eighty-Four

A dystopian novel about surveillance, propaganda and authoritarian power in a society where truth, language and individual thought are tightly controlled.

Read summary·Explore 1 quotes
Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1870
Books

An examination of reading and literary judgement, arguing for selective attention to enduring books, independent thought and active engagement with authors.

Read summary·Explore 5 quotes

Tags

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