Cities give us collision. 'Tis said, London and New York take the nonsense out of a man.
Interpretation
Cities expose individuals to diverse ideas and experiences, stripping away pretense.
In this quote, Emerson suggests that urban environments like London and New York create an environment where people encounter a variety of perspectives and experiences that challenge their assumptions and social facades. The 'collision' of ideas and cultures in these cities promotes authenticity and a more genuine understanding of oneself, as the hustle and bustle of city life forces individuals to confront their biases and superficialities.
In practice
In a speech about urban life, one could highlight how cities like New York and London promote personal growth through conflict and diversity.
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?
One can acquire everything in solitude except character.
Human history began with an act of disobedience and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience.
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
There are no surprising facts, only models that are surprised by facts; and if a model is surprised by the facts, it is no credit to that model.
On the occasion of every accident that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use.
This overcoming of all the usual barriers between the individual and the Absolute is the great mystic achievement. In mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness. This is the everlasting and triumphant mystical tradition, hardly altered by differences of clime or creed.
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